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Kolkata: With their eyes set on scoring, Arsenal managed to score seven times on Tuesday and set a record for the worried strugglers. If the bigger challenges waiting ahead are daunting, Arsenal took on the PSV Eindhoven challenge head first like a headless chicken, and left shining bright.
Odegaard made two goals in Arsenal’s shock 7-1 away victory against PSV Eindhoven in their record sixteenth first leg clash on Tuesday. (AFP)
At no point has Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal scored more than this in his Arsenal career, and absolutely no team has achieved such a score against the Champions League away knockout previous champions. Arsenal flew to Eindhoven, where a carnival was taking place, and left with Manchester’s Philips Stadium shocked, winning 7-1 in the first leg of this round of 16 tie.
Three goals came in quick succession, 11 minutes cumulatively, and early in the first half, Jurrien Timber, Ethan Nwaneri, and Mikel Merino scored. Arsenal also started the second half with two goals in 99 seconds scored by Martin Odegaard and Leandro Trossard. Odegaard finished off the match with a breathtaking goal and showcased his ability to assist Riccardo Calafiri scoring which won him that match. With a makeshift attacking line, this is indeed the best Champions league goalfest.
So brace yourselves and wish speedy recovery on getting back to Kai Havertz, Bukayo Saka, Gabriel Martinelli, and Gabriel Jesus. The Gunners came out as winners. With Trossard and Nwaneri flanking Merino . In fact, Merino has shown the ability to adapt and with. Nwaneri, who captured Arsenal's second goal with a phenomenal left foot shot, has proven himself as a world class player regardless if he's only 17 years old. He is now the third youngest player to score in a Champions League knockout match, behind Bojan Krkic and Jude Bellingham.
Real Madrid and Liverpool are the only ones to ever win by 8-0 defeating Roma and Porto. 15 Champions League games have finished with that margin of victory. Arsenal losing 7-0 to Manchester United is as bad as these matches. In Amerika, the knockout rounds are an entirely different type of animal so the The Gunners can now say that they no longer fear the beast which is Arsenal.
As in those matches, one team was much more accommodating than expected. Odegaard and Nwaneri's effortless runs through midfield and the many times they left PSV's Walter Benitez stranded showcased exactly how the evening turned out for the hosts.
The implosion of PSV this season is almost a copy of Manchester City. They were ahead by seven points in the Eredivisie in December and are now eight points behind Ajax with them out of the domestic cup competition. Arsenal too had a season to revive. Failing to score in three of their last four games means their campaign in the FA Cup and Carabao Cup is over while the effort put forth in hopes of winning the Premier League resembles that of a climber who, oxygen-less, is deep in the Himalayas. Timber had said prior to the match that coming out to Eindhoven was meant to change the narrative.
Arsenal effectively altered the story and all but guaranteed they will face a Madrid team in the quarter-finals after scoring six goals in the box. Arsenal usually score on the first corner kick they get in the game and this match was no different, they were already leading 5-1. PSV had scored three goals in each of their last home games with Noa Lang’s penalty being one of the two shots on target, but Liverpool and Juventus were not included in the wins. The same level of desire was absent in the home rest of the team, this sealed with Rice pretty much sprinting the full length of the pitch in the 82nd minute to claim a corner, Odegaard sliding in the attempt to keep the ball alive halfway and Gabriel’s block celebration when the team was already 7-1 up.
“It was a brilliant night I have to say, a very special one,\" said Arteta accompanied with the following words: “The thanks goes to the players for the performance that they out in … The manner that we’ve done it, the way we played, the goals that we scored. Thank you because it was a special night.”
When asked what the desired improvements were, Arteta had mentioned wanting to suffocate rivals and control the game further up the pitch. Arsenal does do that, however, it leads to the opponents sitting deeper in their defensive block, which is hardly penetrable. But not on Tuesday. Arsenal dominated PSV’s penalty area, cutting through their defenders like butter and scoring at will. PSV had four attempts which missed the target and Arsenal had three attempts, all of which were goals.
Of course, the match wasn’t free from doubts, such as what if moments? Maybe Myles Lewis-Skelly would have seen a second yellow and then Arsenal would have been short a player in the 25th. Missing free headers by De Jong and Ismail Saibari hitting the crossbar a minute after Arsenal scored could also swing the match. Then again, perhaps not based on the gap between the two teams.
“The standard was way too high for us tonight”, claimed PSV’s French defender Olivier Boscagli. “They were way better in every situation…every time they entered our box, they scored.”
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