Football News : Kieran Tierney strike sends Arsenal into last 16 of Europa League

With a tight 1-0 victory over FC Zurich at the Emirates Stadium to clinch first place in Group A, Arsenal has advanced to the round of 16 of the Europa League. In North London, just Kieran Tierney's exquisite half-volley at the 17-minute mark separated the two teams.

Mikel Arteta's team survived a suspenseful conclusion to the match to fend off PSV Eindhoven's threat. Arsenal struggled to get control of the game early on while Arteta made a total of seven substitutions for the final Group A European championship clash..

Aaron Ramsdale was mostly unbothered despite aggressive pressing from Zurich high up the field; the hosts would eventually score in the 17th minute. Following a blocked shot from Fabio Vieira, Reiss Nelson found Ben White on the overlap, who then crossed the ball for Tierney to score at the edge of the box.

The left-back gave the Gunners the lead with a fantastic half-volley into the far corner Arteta's team was fired up after taking the lead and pushed for a second.

Despite being hauled back in the penalty area and having an attempt blocked by Yanick Brecher, Eddie Nketiah chose to stay on his feet rather than go down and possibly earn a penalty.

Although the striker came agonisingly close to extending Arsenal's lead in the 37th minute after collecting a superb header from a corner kick by Vieira, Brecher made a strong stop. The striker's honesty did not pay off as the move failed.

Ramsdale only needed to make one save, on a deflected shot from Jonathan Okita, in the first half. Two minutes into the second half, Brecher had to make another save, stopping Gabriel Jesus from shooting from close range as the Brazilian's goalless drought continued.

PSV Eindhoven's 2-0 lead over Bodo/Glimt increased Arsenal's desire to win, and they got a scare when Adrian Guerrero scored in the 69th minute, but the offside flag was raised right away.

Despite Arteta's haste to insert a plethora of first-team regulars, Arsenal's attacking prowess was mostly lacking, and Zurich replacement Bogdan Viunnyk surged through in the 80th minute before unleashing a shot that narrowly missed the top corner.

As apparent infractions by Zurich players went unpunished by referee Erik Lambrechts, who was heartily applauded by the Arsenal crowd after lowering his yellow card before booking Gabriel Magalhaes, frustrations rose across the Emirates.

The Brazilian's infraction gave Zurich a chance to score a last-ditch equaliser from a free kick, and Nikola Katic headed barely wide before the game's end.

PSV defeated Bodo/Glimt, but as the runner-up, they will now have to face a third-place Champions League team in the playoffs. Zurich, meanwhile, finished fourth in Group A and is no longer eligible for European competition, while Bodo/Glimt will play in the Europa Conference League.

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