The match between Arsenal and PSV in the opening round of the Champions League group stage marked the Gunners’ return to Europe’s most prestigious playground for the first time in 6 years and coach Mikel Arteta’s team had a brilliant performance. explosion at the Emirates.
Goal
Arsenal: Saka (8′), Trossard (20′), Jesus (38′), Odegaard (70′)
Returning to the Champions League playground after 6 years of absence, Arsenal did not feel strange, especially when this match they met PSV again – the opponent who was in the same group in the Europa League last season. After two matches last season, each side had one victory when playing at their home field, with Arsenal only winning by a minimal margin.
However, a year later things became much easier for Arsenal, despite the fact that they had to face a PSV team that was playing very explosively in the domestic tournament. Coach Mikel Arteta only made 3 changes from the victory against Everton: Gabriel Jesus, Leandro Trossard and Kai Havertz started from the start.
Except for the name Havertz, which is disappointing as usual, the rest of the Gunners’ changes are maximally effective. Trossard scored the second goal for Arsenal in the 20th minute before the Belgian star assisted Jesus to score the third goal in the 38th minute. Before that, captain Martin Odegaard was the one who made the shot to force the PSV goalkeeper. Struggling to block, Bukyo Saka quickly stepped in to open the scoring in the 8th minute, making Arsenal’s game much easier.
With PSV, despite losing 3 goals, the Dutch team in general had a not too bad match against Arsenal, while still showing off their fast play and good small group coordination. What PSV lacks is sharpness in the final finishing situations. It should also be said that Arsenal’s defense as well as goalkeeper David Raya played very focused.
Entering the second half, the match was relatively balanced, as PSV was forced to push their team high in search of an equalizer but could not penetrate Arsenal’s extremely well-organized defense. Meanwhile, although Arsenal did not play as explosively as in the first 45 minutes, they still had a lot of potential dangers on the ball.
In the 70th minute, after a combination situation between two substitute players Reiss Nelson and Emile Smith-Rowe, the ball was returned to the midfield to captain Odegaard. After neatly controlling and pushing the ball at the right level, the Norwegian player had a dangerous shot from outside the penalty area to beat goalkeeper Walter Benitez to set the score.
In the remaining match of Group B, Lens at home shared points with Europa League defending champion, Sevilla with a score of 1-1. With this result, Arsenal is rising to the top of the group, marking a return to the Champions League playing field that could not be more wonderful for the Gunners.
Squad
Arsenal: Raya; White, Saliba, Gabriel, Zinchenko (Tomiyasu 58′); Rice (Jorginho 76′), Odegaard, Havertz; Saka (Fabio Vieira 69′), Trossard (Nelson 58′), JesusPSV: Benitez; Dest, Boscagli, Bella-Kotchap (Silva 76′), Teze; Veerman, Schouten, Saibari (Tillman 66′); Noa Lang (Vertessen 77′), Bakayoko (Lozano 66′), De Jong