Arsenal defeated PSV Eindhoven in the first leg of their Champions League round of 16 clash taking a massive lead back to England.
The Gunners' return to Champions League action couldn't have gone any better. Mikel Arteta's team scored three goals in 31 minutes through Jurrien Timber, Ethan Nwaneri and Mikel Merino. Two more goals in two minutes straight out of the tunnel put the game out of sight. Though, PSV never shied away from creating more chances through the likes of Noa Lang and Luuk de Jong. Martin Ødegaard added a sixth later in the second half to cap off an inspired performance from the captain. Riccardo Calafiori scored a seventh in the 85th minute as well.
The win signified the first time in Champions League history that a team has scored seven goals away from home in a knockout stage game. A historic performance that will lift spirits in the Arsenal camp.
A week removed from having their scoring deficiencies highlighted in the Premier League, a strong first leg result gives Arsenal a strong chance of qualifying for the quarterfinals. The only downsides from the game were a first half penalty conceded by Thomas Partey and Myles Lewis-Skelly coming off early because of a yellow card.
If Arsenal were to advance, fans hope both Bukayo Saka and Gabriel Martinelli are fit and ready to go for whichever Madrid team advances on their side of the bracket.
Arsenal player ratings from their best-ever away performance in the Champions League.
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Arsenal Player Ratings vs. PSV Eindhoven (4-3-3)
Ratings Provided by FotMob
Player of the Match: Martin Ødegaard
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as PSV 1-7 Arsenal: Player Ratings as Gunners Dominate in Champions League Return.
