Arsenal 1-0 FC Zurich: Gunners top group as fine Kieran Tierney strike earns victory that keeps them ahead of PSV

A fantastic strike from Kieran Tierney sent Arsenal through to the Last 16 of the UEFA Europa League on Thursday with a 1-0 win over FC Zurich.

The game started brightly with both sides committing men forward. FC Zurich were brave in their approach, knowing only a win would do if they were to drop into the Europa Conference League.

Arsenal started to settle into the game and Mikel Arteta's side broke the deadlock after just 17 minutes courtesy of a fantastic Kieran Tierney strike. Fabio Vieira had an effort which was blocked and then cleared, the ball bounced up to Tierney who was just outside the box and the Scotland international rifled it first time into the back of the net.

FC Zurich continued to go forward but without creating too much. The Swiss side won a succession of corners but failed to create anything close to threatening with them. Their best moment came after 34 minutes, the lively Okita fired a strike towards goal which deflected off Elneny but Ramsdale was equal to it, diving smartly to push it round for a corner.

The second half was very stop-start thanks to a combination of injuries, substitutions and the referee blowing frequently for fouls. Arsenal defended well when they had to but in reality it wasn't until the last five or so minutes that they were put under real pressure. Zurich had done excellently to keep the game at 1-0 and then pushed forward late on in search of an equaliser but Mikel Artetat's men stood firm and managed to see the game out. They finish as group winners and thus qualify directly for the Round of 16, avoiding a tricky play-off match against one of the Champions League dropouts in the process.

Mikel Arteta's intentions were clear coming into this game, saying "winning helps winning" in his pre-match press conference. It was imperative that Arsenal won tonight and topped the group in order to qualify directly for the knockout stage of the UEFA Europa League. PSV won their game so had Arsenal dropped points tonight, they would have faced one of the UEFA Champions League dropouts such as Barcelona, Sevilla, Ajax and Juventus. It wasn't easy at times for Arsenal, especially late on, but they defended with maturity and as result managed to get over the line.

Arteta will certainly hope that winning helps winning ahead of Arsenal's trip to Stamford Bridge in three days time.

The Scotland international was fantastic tonight in both ends of the pitch. His goal, a sublime strike from distance, was the difference between the two sides but his game was much more than just his goal. He won all three of his duels, made two tackles, provided two key passes and the Zurich attackers had very little joy one v one against him. You could see from his celebration just how much the goal meant to him, and you could also see how much he means to the rest of his squad as they all sprinted over to him to congratulate him.

ARSENAL: Ramsdale 7, White 7, Holding 7, Gabriel 7, Tierney 9, Vieira 7, Elneny 7, Lokonga 7, Nelson 7, Jesus 7, Nketiah 7

Subs: Partey 6, Odegaard 6, Saka 7, Tomiyasu N/A, Cedric N/A

FC ZURICH: Brecher 7, Aliti 6, Katic 6, Kamberi 7, Boranijasevic 6, Conde 7, Selnaes 6, Guerrero 6, Rohner 6 Okita 7, Aiyegun 5

Subs: Hornschuh 6, Krasniqi 6, Marchesano 7, Santini N/A, Viunnyk 6

17' GOAL - ARSENAL! What a fantastic goal! Fabio Vieira's effort is blocked and cleared and the ball bounces out to Keiran Tierney who rifles it home first time from outside the box.

34' DEFLECTED! - That's Zurich's best chance so far, Okita's shot deflects off Elneny and Ramsdale has to dive across to deal with it.

36' SO CLOSE TO 2-0! - Fabio Vieira whips in a delicious ball from the corner, Nketiah finds space and powers a brilliant header but Brecher is equal to it. Great play all around!

67' IT WON'T COUNT! - FC Zurich thought they were on terms! Guerrero fired past Ramsdale but it's ruled out for offside. That is a warning sign for Arteta and Arsenal that this game isn't over.

Arsenal have kept a clean sheet in every home European group stage game for the first time since 2008/09.