Arsenal travel to PSV Eindhoven's home ground in the first leg of the Champions League round of 16 in the early morning of March 5. With the Gunners' declining domestic form, few people thought they could overwhelm the Dutch representative away from home.
However, Mikel Arteta's players raised their squad from the start of the match. In the 12th minute, Declan Rice put the ball into PSV's net but the referee determined there was an offside error.
Immediately after that, Ismael Saibari responded with a shot that hit the post from close range. Unable to take advantage of that delicious opportunity, the home team paid the price with the first goal in the 18th minute, after Jurrien Timber headed the ball.
Just over 10 minutes later, the score was 3-0 with goals from Ethan Nwaneri and Mikel Merino. At the end of the first half, PSV narrowed the gap when Noa Lang successfully converted the penalty.
However, they could not relieve the pressure from Arsenal in the second half. Martin Odegaard restored the 3-goal lead in the 47th minute before Leandro Trossard put his name on the scoreboard in the 48th minute.
Odegaard and Riccardo Calafiori scored two more goals to help Arsenal end their resounding victory in the Netherlands. The 7-1 victory helped the English representative set one foot in the quarter-finals. Arteta and his team will enter the return match at the Emirates on March 13 with a relaxed spirit.
