Bukayo Saka chests fortunate Arsenal to victory over Bodø/Glimt

Arsenal survived their trip to Norway’s far north, but only after skating on thin ice. They would have been limited to a point had Bodø/Glimt crowned a dominant second-half display with the goal it merited, but instead they left one of the continent’s most formidable venues with all three.

Their creative radar was off for most of the night but Bukayo Saka’s first-half winner, the result of a fortunate ricochet, puts them well in control of Group A and dangles the prospect of early qualification if they beat PSV Eindhoven at the Emirates next week. While their opponents’ hopes of a top-two place hang in the balance, they maintained their reputation as one of the region’s most progressive clubs in a setting that offered a refreshing alternative to Europe’s traditional footballing citadels.

Bodø had seen few occasions like this. It felt as if, quite apart from facing Kjetil Knutsen’s team, Arsenal were up against the civic pride of an entire community. Bodø/Glimt’s signature yellow and black are unmissable at every turn in this remote, attractive fishing town 50 miles north of the arctic circle; flags flew proudly outside houses in the suburbs while, inside the stadium, the number of fans not wearing at least a trace of their colours could have been counted on one hand. An MC led them through a range of club anthems before kick-off and, in an atmosphere this distinct, it was not hard to see why the hosts had won their last 14 European games here.

Two of those victories had come against Roma in last season’s Conference League. José Mourinho had expressed distaste for the artificial surface after the second of them but Mikel Arteta did not see it as a reason to keep key players under wraps. Saka, William Saliba and Ben White