Goal Scorers:
B Saka (8'8th minute)
L Trossard (20'20th minute)
G Jesus (38'38th minute)
M Ødegaard (70'70th minute)
Highlights:
Bukayo Saka starts first-half Arsenal rout with eighth-minute strike, then Leandro Trossard and Gabriel Jesus add second and third goals as hosts dominate PSV. Martin Odegaard fires home fourth from the edge of the box to mark perfect Champions League return.
 |
Arsenal marked their Champions League return in style by hammering PSV Eindhoven 4-0 at the Emirates Stadium.
Mikel Arteta's side delivered a perfect performance after six years away from Europe's premier cup competition to head into the North London Derby against Tottenham this Sunday, live on Sky Sports, in fine form.
Bukayo Saka put the hosts ahead in just the eighth minute with a close-range tap-in and then Leandro Trossard fired home from the edge of the area.
Gabriel Jesus missed several first-half chances but finally added the third before the break and then Martin Odegaard wrapped up a superb display with an unstoppable drive from the edge of the box during the second half.
Player ratings:
Arsenal: Raya (7), White (7), Saliba (7), Gabriel (7), Zinchenko (7), Odegaard (8), Rice (7), Havertz (6), Saka (8), Gabriel Jesus (8), Trossard (7).
Subs: Nelson (6), Tomiyasu (6), Smith Rowe (6), Vieira (6), Jorginho (6).
PSV Eindhoven: Benitez (4), Teze (5), Bella-Kotchap (4), Boscagli (4), Dest (5), Schouten (5), Veerman (5), Bakayoko (6), Saibari (5), Lang (6), De Jong (6).
Subs: Lozano (6), Tillman (6), Ramalho (6), Vertessen (6), Pepi (n/a)
Player of the Match: Martin Odegaard
Match Analysis:
Gary Cotterill reflects on Arsenal’s convincing 4-0 win against PSV as Champions League football returned to the Emirates for the first time in six years.
Saka began the first-half rout when Odegaard's shot from just inside the area was parried into the path of the winger, who made no mistake from close range.
Team news:
David Raya kept his place in goal for Arsenal ahead of Aaron Ramsdale. Kai Havertz replaced Fabio Vieira in midfield while Leandro Trossard came in for the injured Gabriel Martinelli.
Gabriel Jesus was the third change from Arsenal’s 1-0 win over Everton as he started up front instead of Eddie Nketiah.
Former Crystal Palace left-back Patrick van Aanholt was on the bench for PSV while Armel Bella-Kotchap, on loan from Southampton, started.
Jesus should have had his first moments later, failing to connect with a low cross from inside the six-yard box, but he played a key role in the second. The striker burst through the middle of the pitch before passing to Saka, who squared for Trossard to fire into the bottom right corner from the edge of the box.
Arsenal were purring and saw Kai Havertz fire off target, Walter Benitez save twice from two Jesus efforts and Gabriel head wide at a corner all in the space of four minutes.
PSV did pose an attacking threat with winger Johan Bakayoko firing wide from the edge of the box but it was Arsenal and Jesus who found the net again. Trossard crossed for the Brazil international and he ruthlessly blasted the ball into the top left corner.
Emile Smith Rowe made his first appearance of the season as a second-half substitute which lifted the Arsenal crowd once more and within two minutes, he was involved as Odegaard fired hard and low into the bottom left corner from 25 yards.
Arteta: It was a beautiful night!
Mikel Arteta described Arsenal’s 4-0 win against PSV as ‘a beautiful night’ and felt his players were exceptional in both boxes but believes they can improve further on that performance.
Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta: "It was a beautiful night. After such a long time we needed to produce the right performance to try to win the game.
"It was great to see the atmosphere, the Champions League music. It was getting a bit emotional before. We showed in both boxes we were exceptional and that was the difference.
"I was really excited about [the game]. I don't show that too much. It's part of the journey, it started last year. We earned the right to be in this competition which is where we have to be as a club and now we have a responsibility to produce to stay at this level.
"From box to box, there were things we should have done much better. But at the same time to play the way they play in certain moments and to score four goals in the Champions League against a team that hasn't lost a game, credit to them."
Opta Stats -
Arsenal have started a UEFA Champions League campaign with a win on MD1 for the first time since 2013-14 (2-1 v Marseille), while this was their biggest opening match victory in the competition since 2010-11 (6-0 v Sporting Braga).
In Bukayo Saka, Leandro Trossard, Gabriel Jesus and Martin Ødegaard, Arsenal became only the seventh side to have as many as four different players score on their UEFA Champions League debut for the club in the same match, and first since RB Salzburg v Genk in September 2019 (Ulmer, Hee-chan, Haaland, Szoboszlai).
PSV remain winless in their last 15 UEFA Champions League matches (D6 L9) since a 2-1 home win over CSKA Moscow in December 2015, and are also winless in 14 away games in the competition (D4 L10) since a 1-0 win at CSKA Moscow in November 2007.
Arsenal scored three first-half goals in a single UEFA Champions League match for the first time since December 2014 against Galatasaray.
What's next?
Arsenal vs
Tottenham Hotspur
Sunday 24th September 2:00pm Kick off 2:00pm
Arsenal host north London rivals Tottenham on Super Sunday, live on Sky Sports. Kick-off 2pm. Their next Champions League Group B fixture is at Lens on Tuesday October 4 at 8pm.
PSV travel to Almere City in the Eredivisie on Saturday with kick-off at 5.30pm (BST). They will host Sevilla in their next Champions League fixture on October 4 at 8pm.
SEE OTHER RESULTS:
- Readers Comments desired, Share Your Story in comment box below;
0 Comments