EINDHOVEN, Netherlands — Crisis, what crisis? Arsenal arrived in Eindhoven uncertain where their goals would come from, but they depart after thrashing PSV 7-1 to register the biggest away win in Champions League knockout history.
Not bad for a team without a striker to call on. With midfielder Mikel Merino again playing through the middle, the Gunners overcame their recent attacking deficiencies with a devastatingly ruthless performance that can have a transformative effect on their confidence for the bigger challenges ahead.
“It’s obviously given us a lot of joy and confidence and belief,” manager Mikel Arteta said after the match. “In football, it’s not what we did three days ago or today, it’s going to be what we do tomorrow. We go to Old Trafford [on Sunday], then it is how we behave, how we play and are we able to win a game.
“That’s it, enjoy tonight because it was a very impressive performance and an unbelievable score. We deserve that and I’ll take it and keep improving as a team.”
It must be said, PSV were absolutely wretched. Despite this being a Champions League round-of-16, first-leg clash, some fans began trickling out of Philips Stadion three minutes into the second half after Leandro Trossard took advantage of yet more farcical defending to poke in Arsenal’s fifth goal.
This is a team that has conceded 29 goals in 14 since the start of 2025 and whose head coach, Peter Bosz, is under mounting pressure to bring more balance to their play. He will surely continue that conversation in the Eredivisie alone given that no team in Champions League history has ever recovered from such a first-leg hammering.
In fact, PSV had never conceded more than four goals at home in a European fixture in their 112-year history until Tuesday. Next Wednesday’s return game at Emirates Stadium is now a mere formality and an occasion to relax and experiment rather than approach with trepidation and risk.
Jurriën Timber suggested this game was an opportunity for Arsenal to “change the narrative” around the club as the absences of Kai Havertz, Gabriel Jesus, Gabriel Martinelli and Bukayo Saka have combined to reduce their Premier League title chances to the longest of long shots as they sit 13 points adrift of Liverpool.
PSV’s comical attempt at making this a contest tempers enthusiasm slightly but nevertheless this is a statement win which stands as a positive reference point these players can recall when doubts surface about the potency without their first-choice forward line.
Eindhoven’s five-day carnival which encourages locals to wear fancy dress has been taking place in the city, with the final day on Tuesday — and Arsenal made certain the party ended on time. In fact, the vibrant pre-match atmosphere and cautious optimism essentially evaporated after 21 minutes as Timber headed in the opener at the back post and Ethan Nwaneri rattled in a fine second from Miles Lewis-Skelly’s cross.
Arsenal still had to be wary. Lewis-Skelly was fortunate not to be sent off shortly afterwards after following a booking with a late challenge on Richard Ledezma. Moments after, Merino put the visitors 3-0 up — after Ryan Flamingo ended up falling over rather than clearing the ball — and Arteta withdrew Lewis-Skelly for Riccardo Calafiori with the game just 38 minutes old.
Thomas Partey briefly threatened to complicate the evening by needlessly fouling Luuk de Jong in the box for a penalty which Noa Lang converted.
But any attempt from PSV to rally in the second half collapsed inside three minutes as Martin Ødegaard and Trossard netted before Ødegaard added a sixth and Calafiori produced a striker’s finish with Arsenal’s seventh, with a low right-footed shot past Walter BenÃtez to complete the rout.
“It’s very significant but it’s just to put yourself in a really strong position to go through to the next round,” said Arteta. “That’s it; that’s the reality. To put landmarks, we have to really make it to a very different level.
“But obviously, this team has done a lot that hasn’t been done in many, many years or in the history of the club. Which means a lot, but that’s not what we want.”
Ødegaard revelled in both the space he was afforded and the willing runners ahead of him, with Nwaneri — the second-youngest Arsenal player to appear in a Champions League knockout game after Cesc Fabregas — taking to this occasion with remarkable composure for a 17-year-old.
Nwaneri could yet break the record held by Wayne Rooney and Michael Owen for goals scored by a player under the age of 18. Both England legends scored nine times, and Nwaneri now stands on eight with his milestone birthday coming on March 21. He’ll be among those desperate to play PSV again on this evidence.
“I don’t think that he needs any pushing — you see every time he has a goal, what the intention is,” said Arteta. “If it [the record] comes, it comes and it’s great. I’m really impressed with the way he behaved and the way he played tonight. It’s about consistency and now doing it again three days later in another big stadium.”
Arteta also claimed afterwards that there is “still a job to do in London” — which extends only to turning up — but in truth he can now plan for Sunday’s trip to Manchester United, safe in the knowledge nothing and nobody needs holding back for PSV’s visit.
The tie therefore offers both a restorative impact and now a moment of respite in a run-in which will be unrelenting after the international break later this month.
Tougher games than PSV await — their quarterfinal tie will be against either Real Madrid or Atlético Madrid — but Arsenal can now approach them with greater hope.
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