Seventh heaven for Arsenal as Arteta’s men quieten carnival atmosphere in Eindhoven by thrashing PSV | OneFootball

It might have been carnival week in Eindhoven, but Arsenal fans were the ones left partying after seeing their side demolish PSV 7-1 in the Champions League.

The Gunners’ trip to the centre of the Netherlands coincided with the city’s Lampegat celebrations, but what was a buoyant atmosphere before the game both outside and inside the stadium quickly disappeared thanks to a ruthless showing from Mikel Arteta’s men.

Former Ajax star Jurrien Timber kicked things off before Ethan Nwaneri and then Mikel Merino added two more for before the half-time whistle went.

The home supporters at least had something to celebrate when Noa Lang smashed home a penalty before the break, but it proved to have little impact on the game after a flying start to the second half for the visitors which saw Martin Odegaard and Leandro Trossard both find the back of the net, before Odegaard added his second and Calafiori converted a seventh for his side late on.

While it was a comfortable night for the Gunners, it was not quite as relaxed as the scoreline suggests. Ismael Saibari spurned a golden chance at 0-0 when his effort smashed the bar after David Raya had parried Ivan Perisic’s cross right into his path and Ryan Flamingo then fired narrowly wide on the follow up.

But PSV were more than made to pay for that huge miss. Arsenal continued to cause problems for Peter Bosz’s team down the left through the combination of Declan Rice, Myles Lewis-Skelley and Leandro Trossard which led to the first goal, with Rice picking out a superb cross to the back-post for Timber to leap high and head in.

Timber had spoken passionately ahead of the game, labelling Arsenal’s Champions League clash a “beautiful game to change the narrative” of their season following a poor recent run which has seen them lose 1-0 to West Ham and then fail to score again in a draw with Nottingham Forest, and he was certainly doing his part to make sure that appraisal came to fruition.

Arsenal’s second was a goal which would have had their Hale End academy staff beaming with pride, with 18-year-old Lewis-Skelley getting in down the left and cutting the ball back for 17-year-old Nwaneri to smash past Walter Benitez from a few yards out. It was also the first time two English teenagers have combined for a goal in the history of the Champions League.

Lewis-Skelley would later be replaced before the break, however, with Arteta keen to protect the youngster having been booked and then escaped a second yellow card moments later for a sliding challenge on Richard Ledezma.

Much of the questioning aimed at PSV head coach Bosz heading into the game had centred around his team’s recent struggles following back-to-back defeats to Go Ahead Eagles, so much so that a reporter jokingly remarked at the end of his press conference that they had forgot to ask him about Arsenal.

But those recent struggles which have dominated discussions in the Dutch media were evident in the first half, perhaps most clearly for Arsenal’s third when Flamingo somehow gave up possession just a few yards away from his own goal-line which allowed Merino the easiest of finishes.

Despite their defensive woes, PSV did cause Arsenal problems going the other way and after Lang had pulled one back from the spot when Partey was penalised for pulling back Luuk de Jong at a corner-kick, they should probably have found a second when de Jong headed over from close range from another dangerous delivery by former Tottenham man Perisic.

Bosz opted to change the struggling Flamingo at half-time and bring on Adamo Nagalo in an effort to improve things but it in fact made the situation worse with Arsenal scoring two quick-fire goals right after the restart.

Captain Odegaard was presented with the easiest of finishes when Benitez parried Nwaneri’s cross directly into his path in what was a very similar chance to the one Saibari had in the first half, the only difference being the finish.

And Trossard added a fifth on the night when he combined brilliantly with substitute Calafiori to get in down the left before delicately dinking the ball over Benitez.

There was time for a sixth when the struggling Benitez failed to keep out Odegaard’s powerful strike at goal, parrying it up and then into his own net, and Calafiori got in on the act with five minutes remaining with a well-taken finish beyond the goalkeeper to cap off a much-needed goal-fest for the Gunners and their supporters, which has almost certainly seen them into the last eight of the Champions League to play either Real Madrid or Atletico Madrid.