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Arsenal vs PSV Eindhoven preview: Gunners to book last-8 spot

By on March 11, 2025

Jurrien Timber Mikel Arteta Arsenal

Arsenal will look to finish the job and book their place in the quarter-finals of the Champions League when we host PSV Eindhoven at the Emirates Stadium on Wednesday night.

The Gunners stunned the football world by producing a superb display of attacking football at the Philips Stadion last week where we ran out 7-1 winners in the first leg. Jurrien Timber, Ethan Nwaneri and Mikel Merino put us 3-0 up before Noa Lang pulled one back from the spot just before half-time. However, Arsenal scored twice in quick succession after the break through Martin Odegaard and Leandro Trossard to put us in control at 5-1.

Odegaard added a second in the 72nd minute before Riccardo Calafiori completed the route late on to record our biggest away victory in the Champions League. It’s all-but guaranteed our place in the quarter-finals but fans won’t be rushing out to buy their UEFA Champions League final tickets just yet as the winner of Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid lay in wait.

The 7-1 win at PSV came out the blue as Arsenal’s injury-ravaged attack has struggled badly in recent weeks. We went into the first leg off the back of two blanks against West Ham and Nottingham Forest, so nobody expected us to score seven away in the Champions League without our front four and no recognised striker. It was a sensational result and it’s terrific for the club to be in to the quarter-finals of the Champions League and still have something to play for.

However, we were quickly brought back down to earth on Sunday as the deficiencies in attack were exposed once again. We absolutely dominated Man Utd at Old Trafford for 45 minutes but just couldn’t create any clear cut chances. Bruno Fernandes made us pay after scoring a superb free-kick with United’s first shot on goal on the stroke of half-time.

We rallied to salvage a draw in the second half thanks to a lovely goal from Declan Rice but we couldn’t find the winner. The draw has left us sitting 15 points adrift of leaders Liverpool in the Premier League table. Even with a game in hand, realistically, the league is over so we have to focus on Europe and finishing in the top four this season.

Team news

Arsenal’s injury crisis in attack is slowly easing as Gabriel Martinelli made a surprise return to action against Manchester United at the weekend. After spending the last five weeks on the sidelines with a hamstring injury, the Brazilian came off the bench against United on Sunday after making a speedy recovery and will get more minutes under his belt against PSV.

Bukayo Saka is also expected to make his long-awaited return to action at the end of this month. Our Starboy has been out since December with a torn hamstring and has been sorely missed. However, Saka is set to return to full training later this month and should be available after the international break.

For now, he’ll miss the PSV game along with fellow attackers Gabriel Jesus and Kai Havertz. Jesus is unlikely to play again in 2025 after suffering a serious ACL injury in January while Havertz has been ruled out for the rest of the season with a hamstring tear leaving Arsenal without a recognised striker.

Takehiro Tomiyasu is also out for the rest of the season with a troublesome knee injury that required surgery but Ben White is back playing again after recovering from a lengthy lay-off with his own knee problem.

As for PSV, Malik Tilman remains out along with Ricardo Pepi and Esmir Bajraktarevic. Former Arsenal striker Lucas Perez is ineligible to play in the Champions League so he won’t feature in this game.

Possible line-ups

Arteta is expected to make plenty of changes to his starting eleven with Arsenal holding such a commanding lead and virtually guaranteed a place in the quarter-finals. We have a huge game against Chelsea on Sunday so it makes sense to rest our key men.

Neto could be given a rare run out in goal while Jacub Kiwior should also get a recall in defence. Myles Lewis-Skelly could come in at left-back to give Riccardo Calafiori a breather after he started against United while Ben White is expected to make his first start since returning from injury. He’s unlikely to complete the full ninety minutes but it will be great to see White back in the starting eleven.

Jorginho is almost certain to start in the holding role and Oleksandr Zinchenko could be handed a start in midfield. It’s a position he’s comfortable in having played their for his country. Ethan Nwaneri could play in a more central position to give Martin Odegaard a rest while Raheem Sterling and Kieran Tierney are tipped to start on the wings. Leandro Trossard may be played as a central striker – although some suggest that youngster Nathan Butler-Oyedeji could be handed a full debut up top.

The likes of David Raya, Jurrien Timber, Gabriel Magalhaes, Thomas Partey, Declan Rice and Mikel Merino could be rested to keep them fresh for Sunday. Gabriel Martinelli is likely to feature at some point but he may be used off the bench as he’s still being protected after his injury absence and he’s a yellow card away from being suspended for the first leg of the quarter-finals so there’s no point taking chances.

Possible Arsenal XI: Neto, White, Saliba, Kiwior, Lewis-Skelly, Jorginho, Zinchenko, Nwaneri, Sterling, Tierney, Trossard

Possible PSV XI: Benitez; Ledezma, Flamingo, Obispo, Junior; Veerman, Schouten; Bakayoko, Til, Lang; De Jong

Prediction

Arsenal were outstanding in the first leg and I’m sure not many fans with Champions League tickets expected us to put seven past PSV away from home. The Dutch outfit made it easy for us as they were so open and I’d be stunned if they deploy similar tactics at the Emirates Stadium. They’ll be in damage control mode, while Arsenal know the job is virtually done, so this is going to be an interesting game.

It will probably feel like a pre-season friendly at times, and given Arteta is expected to field a severally weakened side, I don’t expect another 7-1 score-line. PSV will want to make amends following their disastrous showing last week so I wouldn’t be surprised if they got a result against our B-team.

However, I still think we have enough quality to win this game. I’m not expecting a classic by any means, but am backing the boys to edge it 2-1 to book our place in the quarter finals. Arsenal 2-1 PSV