Player Ratings: Arsenal dismantle PSV with dominant Champions League display | OneFootball

PSV 1-7 Arsenal: Gunners Run Riot in Champions League First Leg

Arsenal delivered a statement performance in the Champions League last 16, dismantling PSV Eindhoven 7-1 in a commanding first-leg display. Goals from Jurrien Timber, Ethan Nwaneri, Mikel Merino, Martin Odegaard, Leandro Trossard and Riccardo Calafiori secured a dominant win, leaving Mikel Arteta’s side with one foot in the quarter-finals.

Ruthless Arsenal Take Control Early

Arsenal wasted no time asserting their dominance, opening the scoring after just 18 minutes. Jurrien Timber’s precise header punished PSV’s wastefulness after Ismael Saibari had earlier struck the post from close range following a David Raya parry. Moments later, Ethan Nwaneri doubled the advantage, latching onto a loose ball inside the six-yard box to finish emphatically.

Mikel Merino added a third before the half-hour mark, capitalising on some woeful PSV defending to calmly slot past Walter Benitez. PSV did manage to pull one back before the break when Noa Lang converted a well-taken penalty, but the goal did little to shift the momentum away from Arsenal’s relentless grip on the game.

Relentless Second-Half Onslaught

Arsenal picked up where they left off after the interval, ruthlessly punishing PSV’s lack of organisation. Martin Odegaard was first to react inside the box, tapping home from close range just three minutes into the second half. Before the home side could regroup, Leandro Trossard’s delicate chip over Benitez extended Arsenal’s lead to five.

As PSV struggled to contain wave after wave of Arsenal pressure, Odegaard struck again with 20 minutes left on the clock, rounding off a superb individual performance. Oleksandr Zinchenko came close to adding a seventh, but it was Riccardo Calafiori who eventually got his name on the scoresheet, bursting down the right flank to tap in during stoppage time and cap off a resounding victory.

Player Ratings

PSV

Walter Benitez – 1 Richard Ledezma – 3 Ryan Flamingo – 3 Olivier Boscagli – 3 Tyrell Malacia – 3 Ismael Saibari – 4 Jerdy Schouten – 3 Guus Til – 5 Ivan Perisic – 6 Luuk de Jong – 6 Noa Lang – 7 Adamo Nagalo (46′ for Flamingo) – 6 Johan Bakayoko (65′ for De Jong) – 6 Rick Karsdorp (65′ for Ledezma) – 6

Arsenal

David Raya – 7 Jurrien Timber – 8 William Saliba – 8 Gabriel – 8 Myles Lewis-Skelly – 5 Thomas Partey – 6 Martin Odegaard – 8.5 Declan Rice – 7 Ethan Nwaneri – 8 Mikel Merino – 8 Leandro Trossard – 8 Riccardo Calafiori (34′ for Lewis-Skelly) – 8 Oleksandr Zinchenko (71′ for Partey) – 6 Raheem Sterling (71′ for Nwaneri) – 6 Ben White (76′ for Merino) – 6 Kieran Tierney (76′ for Timber) – 7