Arsenal had struggled for goals, three blanks in their previous four matches; out of the Carabao Cup, their Premier League title challenge grievously undermined. It was just too hard without all of their injured forwards, wasn’t it? Here, Mikel Arteta’s team gave their riposte.
It was one-way traffic from the outset and when Leandro Trossard got his goal, ensuring that all three of Arteta’s makeshift frontline had scored, it was 5-1 and there were only 48 minutes on the clock. PSV Eindhoven were humiliated.
Mikel Merino, who before the trip to Leicester four games ago, had never played as a centre-forward scored for 3-1 and before that, there was a beauty from Ethan Nwaneri, who became the third youngest player to find the net in a Champions League knockout tie after Bojan Krkic and Jude Bellingham.
Related: PSV Eindhoven 1-7 Arsenal: Champions League last 16, first leg – live
It was tempting to focus on Nwaneri, the 17-year-old with stardust in his boots, to say that this was his night above all the others. But that would be to do Martin Ødegaard, for one, a disservice.
When the Arsenal captain scored his second for 6-1, there was applause for him from some of the PSV fans by the press box. At times, it looked as though the Norwegian was playing with his own ball.
It was a night to make early checks on Arsenal’s previous record wins in Champions League away ties. For the record, there were the 5-1 against Inter in 2003 and the 4-0 against PSV in 2002. They were easily surpassed. The two legs of this last-16 meeting with PSV had been talked up as make-or-break for the prolongation of Arsenal’s season. Suddenly, the feelgood factor is back.
Arsenal were alone in arriving at the big moment at what these days must be called a bad moment. PSV were flying when the Eredivisie broke for winter, six points clear at the top. They now lag eight behind the new leaders, Ajax, having won only one in seven in the competition. They also crashed out of the Dutch Cup here last Wednesday – their first home defeat since November 2022.
Eindhoven was in the grip of the sights and smells of its annual carnival; the Philips Stadion pulsed to a raucous beat at the outset. Arsenal knew they needed to master the occasion and it was so encouraging to see them start as they did – the bit between their teeth, possibilities whenever they passed and moved.
It was no surprise when Arsenal went ahead, Declan Rice spinning and standing up a cross from the left to the back post, Timber getting up to power home the header. The surprise was that Arsenal might have been behind by then. It was a tame push out by David Raya following an Ivan Perisic cross moments earlier, the ball on a plate for Ismael Saibari. He could only rattle the woodwork, Ryan Flamingo off target on the rebound.
Arsenal’s second goal was made at their Hale End Academy. Arteta’s team were getting into spaces in the final third – too easily – and when Myles Lewis-Skelly pulled back from the left, Nwaneri’s technique took the breath away. The first-time left-footed finish exploded high into the net.
Arteta had started Martin Ødegaard in a pure No 10 role and the captain was all easy balance and direct intent. PSV struggled to lay a glove on him and he was ably supported by Rice and Thomas Partey. Ødegaard had gone close in the early running, sashaying through only to kick the ground under pressure rather than get his shot away. Rice also had the ball in the net only to be pulled back for an earlier offside.
There was controversy when Lewis-Skelly, on a booking for a foul on Luuk de Jong, went in hard and late on Richard Ledezma, the PSV full-back writhing on the ground to make his point – it was surely a second yellow card. The referee, Jesús Gil Manzano, who is not known in Spain for keeping his cards in his pocket, did precisely that. Arteta withdrew Lewis-Skelly not long after.
By the time of the substitution, it was 3-0, this goal a horror show for PSV as they failed to clear and then saw Flamingo just fall over, allowing Merino to side foot home. A lengthy VAR check for offside did not spare PSV. At that point, it looked over. The hosts, though, were given a lifeline when Partey stopped De Jong with an arm into his face at a corner and Noa Lang lashed in the penalty. And, after Rice had cut inside and shot past the far post, De Jong headed a gilt-edged chance high.
Still, nobody thought that there could be a route back for PSV. They were simply too open at the back, too easy to play around and through. Arsenal luxuriated in their time on the ball. It is frightening to consider Nwaneri’s age. Seventeen-year-olds should not have such intelligence with their runs, such composure in possession. Then there are the sharpness of his turns, the blistering acceleration.
Nwaneri burned Tyrell Malacia for pace before crossing for Ødegaard to make it 4-1, the ball breaking kindly after a weak Walter Benítez parry. It was five when Riccardo Calafiori – who had come on for Lewis-Skelly – released Leandro Trossard and his dinked finish was a beauty.
Arsenal enjoyed themselves. Odegaard had nobody in red and white close to him when he ran through to fizz past Benitez and there would be one for Calafiori before the end, a cool finish after a surging burst.
