Arsenal marked their return to the Champions League in style following their 4-0 hammering of PSV Eindhoven at the Emirates Stadium on Wednesday evening.
Arsenal played in Europe’s top club competition for the first time in six years. They beat the Dutch league leaders, who were struggling to keep up, to show that they can handle the step up in class.
In the first half at the Emirates Stadium, Arteta’s team was all over the place. Saka scored his first goal in the competition, and then he set up Trossard for the second goal.
Trossard went from scorer to helper when he set up Gabriel Jesus for the third goal. Martin Odegaard finished the rout after halftime.
“It was a beautiful night after such a long time. It was great to see the atmosphere, the Champions League music. It was emotional before the game,” Arteta said.
“We have to ride that energy. I was really excited but I wanted to control my emotions. We have to enjoy these nights. It’s one to remember.”
The last time Arsenal played in the competition was in March 2017, when Bayern Munich beat them 10-2 over two games in the round of 16.
Even though they haven’t played in the Champions League before, the Gunners are a much stronger team now and should breeze through Group B, which also has Sevilla and Lens.
Arsenal is undefeated in the Premier League, with four wins out of five games. They want to make up for the fact that they lost the title race last season.
But Arteta’s team is also very motivated by the chance to move on in the Champions League, which they have never won. Based on what we’ve seen so far, they seem up to the task.
“We were excellent in both boxes, that was the difference. When you see this team running and full of pace, it is a joy to watch. The finishing was top-class,” Arteta said.
“To score four goals against a team that had won every game this season is exceptional, but there were still things have could have been much better.”
Arteta got a clean sheet from David Raya in his first Champions League game as manager. Raya kept his spot after the on-loan Brentford keeper took over for Aaron Ramsdale in Sunday’s Premier League win at Everton.
Before the game began, you could feel the excitement in the air around the Emirates Stadium.
Even though it was pouring down rain, Arsenal fans were so excited about the game that they gave an ear-splitting roar when the Champions League anthem played.
When Saka put Arsenal ahead after only eight minutes, the crowd noise reached a fever pitch.
Walter Benitez, the custodian for PSV, didn’t do a good job of blocking Odegaard’s shot from the edge of the area, and Saka was quick to follow up and score from close range.
It was raining goals, and Saka’s sharp pass set up Trossard, who beat Benitez with a fine first-time shot from the edge of the area. This happened in the 20th minute.
Jesus said this week that he often skipped school as a kid to watch Champions League games on TV. As he tore through the PSV defence again and again, it was clear that his love for the tournament hasn’t faded.
Jesus has scored 14 goals in 22 games for Manchester City in the Champions League, and he added one more after 38 minutes.
The cross from Trossard was right on target for Jesus, who punished PSV’s bad marking by smashing his shot from eight yards into the far corner.
Arsenal hadn’t scored three goals in the first half of a Champions League game since 2014, when they did it against Galatasaray.
With Sunday’s match against Tottenham in mind, Arteta made a lot of changes in the second half to protect his most important players.
Odegaard made sure the atmosphere didn’t die down when he fired a great shot from 20 yards past Benitez in the 70th minute. This goal summed up Arsenal’s perfect night.
Photo by EPA/NEIL HALL
