Ghanaian-born forward Eddie Nketiah was involved in both goals as Arsenal travelled to beat FC Zurich 2-1 in their Europa League Group A opener on Thursday.
The 23-year-old set up Brazilian youngster Marquinhos for the opener before scoring the winner after Mirling Kryeziu converted a penalty to level for the hosts.
In the group’s other match, PSV Eindhoven got off to a mediocre start as they were held 1-1 at home by Bodo/Glimt.
There was a minute’s silence before the second half of Arsenal’s game against Zurich in Switzerland as the stadium screen showed a picture of Britain’s Queen Elizabeth, who died earlier on Thursday.
A reshuffled Gunners side took an early lead when Nketiah sent the ball across for Marquinhos, who fired into the top corner at the end of a swift counterattack after 16 minutes.
The Londoners continued to dominate but the hosts weathered the storm and levelled on the stroke of halftime, Kryeziu coolly converting a penalty after Nketiah brought down Fidan Aliti.
Nketiah made up for his mistake in the 62nd minute by heading home from Marquinhos’s cross to give the Premier League leaders a deserved three points.
