Zurich vs Arsenal prediction, odds and preview

On Thursday, Arsenal’s next bid for Europa League success gets underway as the Gunners travel to Kybunpark to take on Swiss champions FC Zurich.

Due to their fifth-place Premier League result, Mikel Arteta’s team had an easy path into the group stage while their opponents were eliminated from Champions League qualifying.

Contrary to their opponents, Zurich has played in the Champions League in 2022–23; nevertheless, Franco Foda was unable to lead his team past Qarabag of Azerbaijan, and Zurich lost on aggregate by a score of 5–4.

After dropping to the second tier of continental play, Zurich bounced back to defeat Hearts 3-1 on aggregate and put five past Linfield over the course of two legs, securing their spot in the Europa League group stage for the sixth time in 11 years.

The 13-time defending champions from Switzerland exited the competition at the group stage in each of the editions from 2011–12, 2014–15, and 2016–17. However, they broke this curse in their final appearance in the secondary competition, reaching the last 32 in 2018–19 before being defeated by Napoli.

From being viewed as favourites for the fourth and final Champions League spot – even being hailed as dark horses for third by some – to another sojourn in the Europa League, Arsenal undoubtedly were delivered a reality check last season.
The North London club, who were losing finalists in 2019, losing semi-finalists in 2018 and 2021, and the less said about their last-32 exit to Olympiacos in 2020, the better, now faces a fifth season in the second tier of European football.

Nevertheless, the Mikel Arteta approach has been successful for the Gunners in recent weeks, with the club’s wise acquisitions adding to their newfound reputation as a pressing machine. However, Manchester United dragged the Gunners back to reality at the weekend.

The game on Thursday will be the first competitive encounter between Arsenal and Zurich, but the Gunners travel with a 100% winning record against Swiss opposition (six victories from six), thanks to the hat-trick of the misunderstood Lucas Perez in a 4-1 Champions League victory over Basel.