Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal saved their best for the Champions League, as the Gunners matched their February goal output in 90 March minutes at PSV Eindhoven on Tuesday.
Martin Odegaard scored twice and set up another as six players scored at the Philips Stadion in a 7-1 win that puts Arsenal in tremendous position to advance to the quarterfinals following next week’s second leg in North London.
MORE – Champions League fixtures | List of Champions League winners
Arsenal scored five times vs Man City on February 2 but only scored twice in four other contests — both coming in a 2-0 Premier League win at Leicester City.
The Gunners got goals from Jurrien Timber, Ethan Nwaneri, Leandro Trossard, Mikel Merino, and Riccardo Calafiori in addition to Odegaard. They were leading 3-1 at halftime before striking twice very early in the second half.
Just what Arteta ordered for clinical Arsenal
There’s no downgrading a seven-goal day against 11 men at this stage of the UEFA Champions League, but suffice it to say the Gunners were at their very best with the final ball in this game and they will be able to relax a bit despite the congested schedule. A six-goal lead at home to PSV is not something they’ll lose even with a rotated team and a red card. The second leg comes sandwiched between Man United and Chelsea in the Premier League, and Arteta has no reason to force a non-fit player to participate — at least from the start. Arsenal turned a 1.97-1.32 xG performance into a 7-1 win, making the most of Martin Odegaard and Declan Rice’s playmaking. So many times we’ve seen the Gunners produce a ton of chances but slip on the last ball. Not today, and it really sets them up to build real, powerful momentum down the stretch.
PSV Eindhoven vs Arsenal player ratings
(from fotmob.com)
Almost every Arsenal starter was fantastic over the 90 minutes, as Arteta got it right. Lewis-Skelly’s discipline will again be called into question as this writer thinks he should’ve been shown a second yellow card, and Thomas Partey’s silly penalty stopped David Raya from getting a clean sheet. There were strugglers all over the pitch for PSV Eindhoven, as USMNT prospect Richy Ledezma wasn’t great yet one of PSV’s better showings.
PSV Eindhoven vs Arsenal player ratings (from fotmob.com)
PSV Eindhoven vs Arsenal player ratings (from fotmob.com)
What’s next?
The Gunners go to Man United at 12:30pm ET Saturday before Wednesday’s second leg at the Emirates Stadium on Wednesday.
PSV host Heerenveen at 2pm Saturday.
How to watch PSV vs Arsenal live, stream link and start time
Kick off time: 3pm ET Tuesday
Venue: Philips Stadion — Eindhoven
TV/Streaming: Paramount+
PSV vs Arsenal final score: 1-7
Jurrien Timber 18′, Ethan Nwaneri 21′, Mikel Merino 31, Martin Odegaard 47′, Leandro Trossard 48′, Riccardo Calafiori 85′; Noa Lang pen 43′
PSV vs Arsenal live updates — By Nick Mendola
Riccardo Calafiori goal — PSV 1-7 Arsenal (85th minute)
The Italian’s played forward down the right by Odegaard, and doesn’t turn his face toward goal while cutting a no-look shot past Benitez, bopping off the far post and over the line.
Martin Odegaard goal — PSV 1-6 Arsenal (73rd minute)
Merino gets the ball to Odegaard and the captain does the rest.
Benitez gets a hand to the 18-yard shot and would’ve wanted to do better.
Goodnight.
Leandro Trossard goal — PSV 1-5 Arsenal (49th minute)
Calaifiori beats Perisic to slip in Trossard, who has plenty to do from a tough angle and does it.
Blowout and this is the away leg.
Martin Odegaard goal — PSV 1-4 Arsenal (47th minute)
That’ll do it for the first leg, and maybe the tie.
Nwaneri whips in a hard, low cross and Benitez can only palm it onto the path of Odegaard.
Noa Lang penalty goal — PSV 1-3 Arsenal (43rd minute)
Clinical conversion from the 25-year-old fullback, as Noa Lang drills his penalty to the right of a standing Raya.
PSV penalty!
Thomas Partey gets his hands to the head of Luuk de Jong inside the box and PSV have a life line before halftime.
Mikel Merino goal — PSV 0-3 Arsenal (31st minute)
But is it offside?
A calamitous trio of bids to tackle the ball away from Mikel Merino sees young back Flamingo give the ball to the Spaniard close to goal.
Merino rips a fine finish inside the far post, but is there offside in the build-up?
He’s onside!
And now Riccardo Calafiori comes on for Lewis-Skelly.
Lewis-Skelly dodges a red card
The youngster is already on a yellow card when he goes sliding into Richy Ledezma on the flank, studs going into the American’s ankle.
A second yellow is not shown, and just a foul given as Lewis-Skelly is pretty fortunate to not be sent off,.
Wouldn’t be a surprise to see him off by halftime.
Ethan Nwaneri goal — PSV 0-2 Arsenal (21st minute)
Myles Lewis-Skelly’s cross from the left takes a slight turn off the heel of the closest defender but Ethan Nwaneri adjusts his body to rip a left-footed, near-post shot past Argentine keeper Walter Benitez.
Two goals in under four minutes, and they came just moments after PSV smashed the bar.
YOUNG GUNNERS 💥
18-year-old Myles Lewis-Skelly sets up 17-year-old Ethan Nwaneri, who blasts it into the roof of the net! 🔥 pic.twitter.com/RCowY9ADH1
— CBS Sports Golazo ⚽️ (@CBSSportsGolazo) March 4, 2025
Jurrien Timber goal — PSV 0-1 Arsenal (18th minute)
Declan Rice turns and spins a cross over a host of players toward the back post.
Jurrien Timber leaps high over a slow-to-jump Lang and thuds a header inside the goal.
PSV double scare!
Noa Lang sends a ball into the box from the left, and Arsenal keeper David Raya slaps it away but onto the path of Ismael Saibari.
Saibari hammers the cross bar, and Ivan Perisic then drags the rebound across goal and wide of the far post.
Declan Rice goal offside
Declan Rice snaps a low shot through traffic and inside the far post, but Arsenal do not have an early lead.
Rice was about a half of his front foot offside in the build-up.
0-0, 12′.
Early penalty shout for Arsenal
The Gunners wanted a penalty after a coming-together in the PSV box, as Martin Odegaard’s shot bid may have contacted a charging defender.
No call, and VAR doesn’t intervene in the matter.
PSV Eindhoven lineup
Benitez, Ledezma, Flamingo, Bosagli, Malacia, Schouten, Til, Sabari, Perisic, De Jong, Lang
Arsenal lineup
Raya, Timber, Saliba, Magalhaes, Lewis-Skelly, Partey, Rice, Odegaard, Nwaneri, Trossard, Merino
PSV vs Arsenal preview — By Andy Edwards
The Gunners sit 2nd in the Premier League but have fallen miles off the pace of leaders Liverpool in recent weeks (13 points back with 11 games to play, including a game in hand), while also bowing out of the FA Cup (third round, to Manchester United) and the League Cup (semifinals, to Newcastle) since the calendar turned over to 2025. Arsenal have won half of their 14 games in 2025 (all competitions) as Arteta’s options in attack have dwindled down to very few due to injuries. Most notably, Bukayo Saka (hamstring) hasn’t played since Dec. 21 and though the star winger is nearing a return, he isn’t expected back until after next week’s second leg, at least. Defensive midfielder Mikel Merino has moonlighted at center forward in the wake of Kai Havertz and Gabriel Jesus suffering season-ending injuries. Merino scored twice (off the bench) in Arsenal’s first game following Havertz’s injury, but the Gunners haven’t scored a goal in two games since, losing to West Ham and drawing Nottingham Forest 0-0.
Injuries have also left PSV a bit shorthanded, with their considerable corp of Americans taking the brunt of them. USMNT striker Ricardo Pepi is PSV’s joint-top scorer in the Eredivisie (11 goals, plus 2 more in the Champions League), but the 22-year-old injured his knee and hasn’t played since their 3-2 victory over Liverpool on Jan. 29. Midfielder Malik Tillman was also enjoying a fantastic season (7 goals in the league, 3 in the Champions League) before he suffered a serious ankle injury that required surgery a couple weeks prior to Pepi going down. And then there’s right back Segino Dest, who signed on a free transfer in the summer and is still working his way back from a torn ACL while on loan to PSV last spring.
PSV team news, focus
OUT: Ricardo Pepi (knee), Malik Tillman (ankle) | QUESTIONABLE: Sergino Dest (knee), Esmir Bajraktarevic (undisclosed)
Arsenal team news, focus
OUT: Bukayo Saka (hamstring), Kai Havertz (hamstring), Gabriel Martinelli (hamstring), Gabriel Jesus (torn ACL), Takehiro Tomiyasu (knee)
PSV vs Arsenal prediction
PSV will be emboldened by Arsenal’s lack of attacking threat, just as they were against Juventus in the playoff round, and will feel they can cause a major upset. Peter Bosz’s side won four of their final five games to advance from the league phase and have seemingly put all their eggs in the European basket this season, winning just one of their last seven in the league. PSV 1-1 Arsenal.
