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If there was a moment that epitomised how Arsenal were going to approach what had appeared to be an extremely tricky away assignment against PSV Eindhoven then it came in the 20th minute of this surprisingly one-sided first leg. Already leading through Jurriën Timber’s header, a cross from Leandro Trossard eluded everyone in the box but Martin Ødegaard had already set off in pursuit of the ball. His attempts to keep it in play eventually came to no avail despite a desperate slide, yet the Arsenal captain had set the tone.
Two minutes later, Ethan Nwaneri had etched his name into the history books again as the third-youngest goalscorer in the Champions League knockout stages, and Arsenal were well on their way to a statement win that will live long in the memory of the 1,800 Gunners fans who witnessed it live.
After the disappointment of failing to score against West Ham and Nottingham Forest in successive Premier League games, this was an evening for them to savour on their third trip to this stadium in three seasons.
Not since 2002 had Arsenal recorded a victory here but an embarrassed hush had descended around those home supporters who still remained by the time Ødegaard fired home the sixth goal with 17 minutes still to play.
This has been a strange season for the 26-year-old, who was out for two months after injuring his ankle in a bad tackle by Austria’s Christoph Baumgartner during a Nations League game in September. Arsenal dropped points in four of their seven league games during his absence before sparking a 13-game unbeaten run when he returned against Chelsea in November.
But while the Norwegian has remained a driving force, there have been question marks about the decline in goals and assists having registered just nine in 28 appearances in all competitions before this game. That is significantly fewer than the two previous campaigns when he managed more than 20, although the absence of Bukayo Saka since December has definitely not helped his cause.
But with Mikel Merino providing Arsenal with a mobile focal point up front and Ødegaard employed higher up the pitch in support, PSV’s defenders could not handle his movement and energy. “You could tell today that he was enjoying it,” Mikel Arteta said.
There is a gracefulness about Ødegaard with the ball at his feet, with many at Arsenal comparing the rising star Max Dowman – a supremely talented 15-year-old who stole the show against players who were three years older than him in the FA Youth Cup quarter-final defeat by Manchester United last week – to the captain.
He seemed certain to score after gliding into the penalty area in the 10th minute, only to collapse to the turf under pressure from Ismael Saibari. The referee, Jesús Gil Manzano, theatrically waved away Arsenal’s appeals for a penalty but PSV’s respite was to prove short-lived. Timber spoke beforehand about this being a “beautiful game to change the narrative” of Arsenal’s season and up against his old Ajax teammate Noa Lang, it was the Netherlands defender who powered home the first goal from a Declan Rice cross.
Footage of Guus Hiddink’s side beating Benfica on penalties to win the European Cup in 1988 was shown on the big screens just before kick-off amid a frenzied atmosphere on the last night of the five-day carnival festivities. There are traces of history everywhere at a stadium that still somehow looks state of the art despite no major refurbishment since the Netherlands hosted Euro 2000.
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Sir Bobby Robson, Romário and Ronaldo are some of the big names who have graced this arena over the years and the former Tottenham player Ivan Perisic had raised the temperature by describing Arsenal as a team that “are always missing something to step up to win something”. He probably regretted those words when Riccardo Calafiori, on as a substitute, rounded off the scoring late on to match PSV’s worst defeat in European competition – a 6-0 trashing by a Michel Platini-inspired Saint- Étienne in 1979.
On the day it was revealed that Arsenal will put up season-ticket prices next season, they became the first team to score seven goals away from home in a Champions League knockout game.
“We’ve been playing like this all season,” Rice insisted. “We feel we’ve been playing well as a team – sometimes we score five, sometimes two. Sometimes we don’t score but tonight we did well.”
With the second leg next week now surely a formality, their chances of reaching the last four for the first time since 2009 will rest on overcoming Real or Atlético Madrid in the next round. That may be a challenge too far for Arteta’s patched-up squad, although after this performance they may believe that anything is possible.
