With a 2-1 win over FC Zurich on Thursday night, Arsenal got off to a great start in the Europa League. The Gunners are the favorites to win the competition. In their first game, they won with a team that had a lot of new players.
Mikel Arteta’s team wants to make up for the fact that Arsenal lost the Europa League final three years ago. The Gunners were led by Unai Emery to the final in Azerbaijan, but Chelsea beat them 4-1.
It was Arsenal’s first European final since they lost the Champions League final to Barcelona 13 years ago, but the end result was the same. The season after Arsenal lost to Chelsea, they were knocked out of the Europa League in the round of 32. The following season, Villarreal beat them in the semi-final.
Granit Xhaka, who was in the starting lineup on that embarrassing night in 2019, wants the Gunners to make up for what happened three years ago. The Swiss midfielder thinks Arsenal can live up to their reputation as favorites and win their first European trophy.
“When asked about the final in Baku three years ago, Xhaka said, “Very disappointed, first of all, because when you get to the final, you definitely want to win it.”
“But all you can do about this is learn. We are still in the Europa League after three years, and it’s time to win.”
