In charge of Bodø/Glimt, who will face Arsenal in the Europa League on Thursday, Kjetil Knutsen sat down with the local media ahead of the game to discuss the fixture.
It’s one the 54-year-old is excited about, as it will allow him and his team to test themselves against one of the European greats, with the Gunners currently in fine form as they top the Premier League after eight games.
In fact, during the press conference, Knutsen revealed a bit of insight as to how he prepared for the game, revealing that he first took note of Arsenal and how they played when Mikel Arteta’s faced Zürich in the same competition.
Relayed by Dagbladet, he said: “I was going to watch Zurich, but then I turned my concentration and my gaze towards Arsenal.”
That’s when he revealed he thought: “What the hell are they doing?”
However, Knutsen then goes on to reveal he might have worked out how Arsenal do what they do: “When you see it over time, it’s not that complicated. They have a number of rotations at left-back, central midfield and left wing. There they have the freedom to change positions, but they have much less of it on the right side.”
We’ll have to wait and see if this helps Knutsen and his side avoid defeat in what will be the first of two games between the two sides, who will first face each other at the Emirates before Arsenal’s trip to Norway on October 13th.
While Arsenal beat Zürich 2-1 in their first game, Bodø have played one more fixture in the competition, first drawing 1-1 away to PSV Eindhoven before themselves beating the Swiss side 2-1 at home.
