Match ends, Östersunds FK 0, Arsenal 3.
Arsene Wenger praised his Arsenal side for the way they overcame unfamiliar surroundings as they easily beat Swedish side Ostersunds FK to more or less guarantee their place in the last 16 of the Europa League.
The game was played in -4C temperatures on a 4G plastic pitch at the Jamtkraft Arena, but the visitors made light of alien conditions to win comfortably.
Left-back Nacho Monreal scored the Gunners' first from close range when Ostersund goalkeeper Aly Keita fumbled Alex Iwobi's strike.
Then the home side's centre-back Sotirios Papagiannopoulos diverted Henrikh Mkhitaryan's cross into his own net after the Armenian seized on a loose pass.
Ostersund improved after the break but any prospect of a revival was ended by Mesut Ozil, who made a well-timed run into the area and squeezed his shot past Keita for the third, before the hosts had a late penalty saved.
"I think we adapted quite well to the pitch," Wenger said after the game. "[Ostersund] were maybe a bit cautious at the start and we took advantage of it.
"I feel that at 2-0 at half-time, it was important for us not to concede a goal and win the second half.
"The risk at the start was that I didn't know how tough the pitch would be for our players. But overall we have no game over the weekend, so it was an easier decision.
"The only risk was the injuries. I'm happy we had no problems."
The Swedish club's English manager Graham Potter, who has led them to three promotions since 2010, could at least reflect on a bright performance from striker Saman Ghoddos.
The Iran international forced Arsenal goalkeeper David Ospina into a couple of saves and led the line with pace and determination.
Arsenal host the second leg of the last-32 tie at Emirates Stadium next Thursday (20:05 GMT).
Welbeck's wasted opportunity
Freezing temperatures, an artificial pitch and a surprise package of an opponent - for Arsenal, this could have been the dreaded banana skin.
But it quickly became apparent, as the startled hosts passed their way into trouble, that it would be an opportunity for the Gunners instead - a chance, in fact, for some of their fringe men to stake their claims for more playing time, Danny Welbeck chief among them.
The 27-year-old has only made 12 starts this season, after the club signed France striker Alexandre Lacazette from Lyon for £46.5m in the summer.
Gabon forward Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang followed from Borussia Dortmund for a club record £56m in January, seeming to diminish Welbeck's prospects further.
But with Lacazette out for up to six weeks after knee surgery, this was a chance for Welbeck, who has scored five goals this term, to remind everyone of his ability.
He skewed an early header badly wide and at other times passed when he should have shot, frequently striking the ball without conviction.
A clue to his diffident performance came in his post-match interview when Welbeck, who has suffered badly from knee injuries, spoke of his concerns over the plastic surface.
"I've had injuries in the past and it was a 3G pitch," he said after being replaced near the end by Eddie Nketiah. "You hear stories about playing on those pitches with an injury. It was a little bit hard."
Mitigation, perhaps, for a subdued display. Maybe he can compensate back on the Emirates' lush turf next week.
Stage-fright crippling for hosts
Ostersunds FK chairman Daniel Kindberg dreams of one day guiding his incredible success story of a club to new heights in the Champions League.
So he and manager Graham Potter were never going to be happy simply to go along for the ride - even if this was arguably the biggest game of their history.
A club formed on 31 October 1996, 30 days after Arsene Wenger took charge of Arsenal, have come a long way, battling their way up through the divisions at home, before beating Galatasaray in the preliminary rounds to qualify for this season's Europa League.
But in front of 9,165 fans at the Ostersund Arena they stalled in a disastrous first half.
Potter's side favour a passing, possession-based game but they constantly lived on the edge in playing from the back. Mkhitaryan punished a sloppy pass by defender Tom Pettersson for Arsenal's second goal but even that did not deter the Swedes from their preferred approach.
Some of the slackness in their passing could be blamed on a lack of competitive match sharpness: the Swedish domestic season ended in early November and will not start again until the beginning of April.
There were positive signs during an improved second half, and they were unfortunate not to have a penalty sooner than they did after Arsenal defender Shkodran Mustafi shoved the livewire Ghoddos in the area.
Potter and his colleagues will rue Pettersson's weak attempt when the hosts did get a spot-kick, and hope for perhaps the least likely chapter yet in their fairytale when they travel to north London next week.
"It was a difficult start, we weren't ourselves, we were too deep, too short," said Potter. "We could have gone under in a big way against their quality but we didn't.
"We showed what we were about in the second half, it is a shame we didn't score the penalty but I'm most proud of how the players responded.
"Arsenal are rightly one of the favourites. They've left a few players at home and they still had World Cup winners on the pitch, talent all over and technically good level.
"They are clearly the best team we've faced."
Man of the match - Mohamed Elneny (Arsenal)
What's next?
With the Swedish domestic season over and Arsenal out of the FA Cup, neither side plays again until the return leg on Thursday 22 February (20:05 GMT).
Line-ups
Östersunds FK
Formation 3-5-2
- 1Keita
- 24Mukiibi
- 4Papagiannopoulos
- 2Pettersson
- 23Mensah
- 17Edwards
- 22NouriSubstituted forTekieat 45'minutes
- 12Sema
- 19WidgrenSubstituted forBergqvistat 73'minutes
- 93Ghoddos
- 9Abdullahi GeroSubstituted forHopcuttat 45'minutes
Substitutes
- 3Tekie
- 6Bergqvist
- 8Hopcutt
- 10Aiesh
- 18Andersson
- 77Sonko Sundberg
- 99Islamovic
Arsenal
Formation 4-2-3-1
- 13Ospina
- 24Bellerín
- 21Chambers
- 20Mustafi
- 18MonrealSubstituted forKolasinacat 73'minutes
- 35Elneny
- 30Maitland-Niles
- 77MkhitaryanSubstituted forNelsonat 84'minutes
- 11Özil
- 17Iwobi
- 23WelbeckSubstituted forNketiahat 83'minutes
Substitutes
- 16Holding
- 29Xhaka
- 31Kolasinac
- 54Macey
- 61Nelson
- 62Nketiah
- 69Willock
- Referee:
- David José Fernández Borbalán
- Attendance:
- 7,665
Match Stats
- Possession
- Home39%
- Away61%
- Shots
- Home10
- Away17
- Shots on Target
- Home5
- Away6
- Corners
- Home3
- Away2
- Fouls
- Home9
- Away5
Live Text
Post update
Full Time
Second Half ends, Östersunds FK 0, Arsenal 3.
Post update
Penalty saved! Tom Pettersson (Östersunds FK) fails to capitalise on this great opportunity, left footed shot saved in the bottom left corner.
Post update
Penalty conceded by Héctor Bellerín (Arsenal) after a foul in the penalty area.
Post update
Penalty Östersunds FK. Tesfaldet Tekie draws a foul in the penalty area.
Post update
Offside, Östersunds FK. Tom Pettersson tries a through ball, but Curtis Edwards is caught offside.
Post update
Attempt missed. Jamie Hopcutt (Östersunds FK) right footed shot from outside the box is high and wide to the left. Assisted by Curtis Edwards.
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Foul by Eddie Nketiah (Arsenal).
Post update
Douglas Bergqvist (Östersunds FK) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
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Alex Iwobi (Arsenal) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
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Foul by Douglas Bergqvist (Östersunds FK).
Substitution
Substitution, Arsenal. Reiss Nelson replaces Henrikh Mkhitaryan.
Post update
Corner, Arsenal. Conceded by Ken Sema.
Substitution
Substitution, Arsenal. Eddie Nketiah replaces Danny Welbeck.
Post update
Attempt missed. Danny Welbeck (Arsenal) right footed shot from outside the box is close, but misses to the right. Assisted by Ainsley Maitland-Niles.
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Foul by Héctor Bellerín (Arsenal).
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Saman Ghoddos (Östersunds FK) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Substitution
Substitution, Östersunds FK. Douglas Bergqvist replaces Dennis Widgren.
Substitution
Substitution, Arsenal. Sead Kolasinac replaces Nacho Monreal.
Post update
Attempt blocked. Nacho Monreal (Arsenal) left footed shot from the left side of the box is blocked. Assisted by Danny Welbeck.
Comments
Join the conversation
Why do you keep typing This comment is awaiting moderation. Explain lol
Alas yes the Spud trolls are here. Take a look at N17. He’s already been moderated. What a waste of human skin. He just doesn’t get the message. Wonder what he got up to last night in his bedsit in Chatham. Not opening valentine cards that’s a dead cert
We need a HYS on mental illness. Or why football attracts morons.
You are totally deluded. Trolling Arsenal for being in the Europa League. Lol. Despite your and N17’s insistence on being in the European elite, your resurgence as a club has you what, winning....what exactly? Party time at the spuds eh? Enjoy your long cheese room at the new stadium and win something. Pathetic troll
Arsenal have a good chance of winning silverware in this competition.
Amusing that the only fans who seem to be saying the Europa, FA Cup, League Cup are not worth winning are the fans who have won sweet fa for about a decade...
Whoever you support, and whatever level they're at, this team is great in the modern context.
I'm a Man Utd fan, and a football fan. On a football level, Östersunds F K imo is a great football story.