PSV 1-7 Arsenal: Match report & 4 talking points from emphatic Champions League win | OneFootball

Arsenal have one foot in the quarter-final of the Champions League after securing an emphatic 7-1 victory away at PSV Eindhoven.

Jurrien Timber, Ethan Nwaneri and Mikel Merino were all on target in the first half, before Martin Odegaard netted twice either side of a Leandro Trossard chip and Riccardo Calafiori converted late on chip to seal a dominant, well-deserved victory in the last 16 first leg.

How the game unfolded

Arsenal began bright, seeing an early penalty shout waved away after Odegaard was felled in the box. Declan Rice had the ball in the back of the net 12 minutes in but an early offside flag was validated by an incredibly tight VAR check.

PSV should have opened the scoring soon after as Ismael Saibari struck the post from close range, and they were made to pay for their profligacy when Timber went down the other end and headed home a delightful Rice cross.

It was 2-0 almost straight after. Myles Lewis-Skelly's low cross found fellow Hale End gem Nwaneri, who crashed his effort into the roof of PSV's net to give the Gunners a significant cushion.

On the half-hour mark, Arsenal made it three. PSV made a comedy of errors in defence and gifted possession to Merino, who simply needed to steer the ball into the back of the PSV net. A mammoth wait for a VAR check for offside ultimately approved the goal after nearly four minutes.

PSV were offered a route back into the game five minutes before the interval when Thomas Partey clumsily dragged Luuk de Jong down in the box, and Noa Lang lashed a glorious spot-kick perfectly beyond David Raya. De Jong could have even snatched a second before the break, but the towering striker could not keep his header under the bar.

The second half began with a bang as Arsenal restored their three-goal lead immediately. PSV stopper Walter Benitez could only parry a cross into the path of Odegaard, who could hardly miss from close range. With 48 minutes on the clock, Arsenal made it five as Trossard's dinked finish ended up in the back of the net.

Gabriel was frustrated not to make it six from a typical Arsenal corner on the hour mark, as was Trossard when an offside flag denied him another goal, but Odegaard got the job done after a direct run led to a shot which was simply too powerful for a disappointed Benitez. Cue the mass exodus from the stands.

Those who remained inside the stadium still had time to suffer through a seventh Arsenal goal as Calafiori collected a delightful through-ball from Odegaard and showed exactly why he has been touted as a possible striker option as he steered beyond Benitez.

Check out the player ratings from PSV 1-7 Arsenal here.

Nwaneri's star continues to shine

Nwaneri opened the scoring / Rene Nijhuis/MB Media/GettyImages

The sight of Nwaneri celebrating with Lewis-Skelly after the second goal was an emotional moment for Arsenal fans. They've found two superstars of the future.

Nwaneri became Arsenal's second-youngest player in the Champions League knockout stages, just 39 days older than Cesc Fabregas in 2005, while he was also the third Under-18 Englishman to start a knockout game after Jude Bellingham and Phil Foden.

Bukayo Saka's injury was obviously a huge blow, but it thrust Nwaneri directly into the limelight, and the young forward has not looked back. The challenge for Arteta will be working out a way to play both of his starboys later this season.

Arsenal finally show cutting edge

Too easy for Arsenal / Justin Setterfield/GettyImages

The complaints about Arsenal in 2025 have been simple - they don't score and they hardly create chances. Clearly, that was not the case here.

While their first half wasn't always dominant, Arsenal were unusually prolific and composed in front of goal. They carved through PSV's defence when they really got going as Odegaard, Nwaneri, Trossard and Rice made light work of the journey into the hosts' box.

It was a masterful showing to start the second half as Arsenal showed the ruthless streak in front of goal which has so often deserted them this season. This was exactly what Arteta will have wanted to see and was the sort of performance which will undoubtedly keep their slim Premier League title hopes alive.

Merino keeps Arteta's faith

No mistake from Merino / Justin Setterfield/GettyImages

There's no denying Merino failed to impress in his recent outings at striker. Things weren't exactly perfect here, but that natural eye for a goal was on show again in Eindhoven.

PSV's woeful defending gave it to Merino on a plate, but the makeshift forward still had to be alert to the opportunity and undeniably took his goal with the sort of precision Arsenal fans haven't always seen from Kai Havertz.

There will be questions as to whether Merino is still the right answer for Arsenal during their injury crisis, but if they can surround their striker with players in this sort of confident form, it hardly even matters who leads the line.

Lack of discipline costs Lewis-Skelly again

Lewis-Skelly could have easily been dismissed / IMAGO / Orange Pictures

Myles Lewis-Skelly was nearly shown his third red card of the calendar year here. Having been booked early on, he crunched into another challenge midway through the half which PSV could not believe did not yield another yellow card.

Perhaps sensing a slice of good fortune, Mikel Arteta opted to withdraw Lewis-Skelly shortly after the half-hour mark, with Arsenal 3-0 up and effectively killing the game off at such an early stage.

The makeshift left-back was sent off against Wolves, erroneously but having given the referee an unnecessary decision to make, before being correctly dismissed against West Ham United late last month, and there will soon need to be questions about what is becoming a worrying trend.

It's worth remembering that Lewis-Skelly is not a natural left-back. The youngster's education came as a central midfielder and he was only drafted into defence to help out in an emergency. That lack of experience at full-back is starting to show.