Arsenal Europa League win overshadowed by death of Queen

Arsenal’s winning start to their Europa League campaign was overshadowed by the death of the Queen as their players and those of FC Zurich held a minute’s silence before the start of the second half in Switzerland.

The announcement came from Buckingham Palace during the interval in St Gallen, where Arsenal secured a 2-1 victory in their opening Group A encounter.

Zurich sit ninth in a 10-team Swiss Super League with no wins and just two points from their first seven fixtures and saw this game moved from their home ground following a clash with a Diamond League athletics meeting.

We are deeply saddened to hear of the passing of Her Majesty The Queen. Along with many of our supporters today, we will be taking time to mourn and reflect on Her Majesty’s incredible life and devoted service.

Mikel Arteta made seven changes from the Premier League defeat to Manchester United with Marquinhos impressing on his senior debut with a goal and an assist.

The 19-year-old opened the scoring with a well-taken finish after good work from Fabio Vieira, making his full debut, and Eddie Nketiah.

Vieira cold not double the lead after lifting an effort over the crossbar following a fine run which saw him latch on to a smart Albert Sambi Lokonga pass.

Switzerland captain Granit Xhaka arrowed a shot wide with Vieira impressing in midfield as Arsenal began to dominate, only to concede a penalty three minutes before the break.

Nketiah was adjudged to have fouled Fidan Aliti inside the box and Mirlind Kryeziu made no mistake from the spot, sending debutant goalkeeper Matt Turner the wrong way to level.

With the news breaking of the Queen’s death during half-time, the Arsenal players re-emerged wearing black armbands as the two sides congregated