PSV vs Arsenal LIVE: Champions League result and reaction as Gunners make history with huge win
PSV 1-7 Arsenal: An extraordinary night saw the Gunners became the first away team in Champions League history to score seven goals in a knockout stage match
Arsenal have more than one foot in the Champions League quarter-finals after scoring seven goals in an extraordinary away win at hapless PSV Eindhoven.
The Gunners have struggled for goals in recent weeks - failing to score in three of their last four games - but Mikel Arteta’s side sparked into life in a devastating 7-1 win.
Goals from Jurrien Timber, 17-year-old Ethan Nwaneri and makeshift striker Mikel Merino put the visitors in a barely believable position before half-time.
Noah Lang pulled one back from the penalty spot, but Arsenal scored just seconds after the restart as Martin Odegaard restored their three-goal cushion.
Leandro Trossard added another two minutes later, with Odegaard notching his second and Riccardo Calafiori rounding off a superb evening for the north Londoners with a seventh.
The Gunners became the first away team in Champions League history to score seven goals in a knockout stage match and next week’s second leg at the Emirates is all but a formality.
Arsenal can start to look forward to the next round, where they will face either Real Madrid or Atletico Madrid in the quarter-finals. Follow all the Champions League reaction with our live blog below:
Match facts
Arsenal are unbeaten in their five home matches in European competitions against PSV (W3 D2) – the most home games they've played against an opponent in European competition without ever losing.
This will be the second time Arsenal have faced PSV in the knockout stages of the UEFA Champions League, after being eliminated by the Dutch side in the Last 16 in 2006-07 (lost 0-1 away, drew 1-1 at home).
Who could Arsenal face in the route to the final?
With the tournament bracket already published in this new variation of the Champions League, fans already have a rough idea of the teams they could face on the route to May’s final.
In Arsenal’s case, if they were to progress from this tie, they would face either Real Madrid or Atletico Madrid.
And it doesn’t necessarily get any easier from there, with the Gunners then facing one of Liverpool, PSG, Villa or Club Brugge in the semi-finals!
Head-to-head
These two sides have faced off 10 times in European competition in the past, with Arsenal winning four, four ending as draws, and the Dutch side winning two.
They met in the group stages of last season’s competition, with Arsenal winning 4-0 at home before a 1-1 draw at the Philips Stadion.
The most recent win for PSV in this fixture came in October 2022, when the Dutch side won 2-0 in the group stages of the Europa League.
At this same stage in 2006/07, PSV beat the Gunners 2-1 on aggregate, with Chelsea loanee Alex securing a 1-1 draw at the Emirates.
Saka and Martinelli to return soon?
Last week, Mikel Arteta said that he was expecting a concrete update on return dates for Gabriel Martinelli and Bukayo Saka – both of whom would of course be vital to any chances the Gunners have of winning this competition.
Speaking last Thursday, Arteta said: “Let’s see how they evolve in the next few weeks to make the right steps and then after that, they’ve been out for a long, long time, so we’re going to have to integrate them as well gradually.
“They are evolving well but they’re still a bit far,” added the Spaniard.
Mikel Merino leads the line for misfiring Arsenal
A big night for two Mikels: Arteta's season increasingly rests on the Champions League, with Arsenal likely to finish second in the Premier League and very unlikely to drop out of the top four, and Merino, who again leads the line in Eindhoven tonight for a side who have not scored in three of their last four games. Merino got the goals in the other match, at Leicester. There is a carrot of a trip to Madrid, whether Real or Atletico, if Arsenal can see off PSV in what is becoming a very familiar rivalry.
Team news
For Arsenal, Arteta has made two changes to the side that drew 0-0 to Forest last time out.
In defence, Miles Lewis-Skelly returns in place of Riccardo Calafiori at left-back, while in midfield, Thomas Partey replaces Jorginho.
Mikel Merino leads the line once again, with Ethan Nwaneri and Leandro Trossard on the wings.
Team news
For Arsenal, Arteta has made two changes to the side that drew 0-0 to Forest last time out.
In defence, Miles Lewis-Skelly returns in place of Riccardo Calafiori at left-back, while in midfield, Thomas Partey replaces Jorginho.
Mikel Merino leads the line once again, with Ethan Nwaneri and Leandro Trossard on the wings.
Team news
There is just one change for PSV tonight, with former Spurs man Ivan Perisic coming in for Johan Bakayoko.
PSV line-up
PSV XI: Benitez, Ledezma, Flamingo, Boscagli, Malacia; Schouten, Til; Perisic, Saibari, Lang; de Jong.
Subs: Drommel, Schiks, Obispo, Karsdorp, Nagalo, Veerman, Babadi, Land, Bakayoko, Driouech.
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