Result: PSV 2-0 Arsenal
Competition: Europa League
Date: 27 October 2022
Venue: Philips Stadion
Arsenal: Ramsdale, Tomiyasu, Saliba, Holding, Tierney, Lokonga, Xhaka, Ødegaard, Vieira, Martinelli, Nketiah
Subs: Hein, Cedric, White, Gabriel, Ibrahim, Partey, Smith, Cirjan, Saka, Nelson, Jesus
It was a rare loss for Arsenal in Eindhoven, which will come as bitterly disappointing to manager, players and fans alike – as they had a chance to wrap up top spot in their Europa League group, but will now have to wait till the final game at home to Zurich. And crucially Arteta will have to play a stronger team than he might’ve, risking further fatigue and injury.
Poorly defended goals from De Jong and Veerman sealed the win for PSV in a fiery atmosphere at the Philips Stadion. The home side also had no less than three goals disallowed for offside.
PRE-MATCH
Avoiding defeat in the penultimate group stage game would mean securing top spot for Arsenal. In doing so, they would progress directly to the round-of-16 – essentially skipping the first knockout round.
As such, Mikel Arteta opted for a relatively strong line-up to try and ensure the job gets done. Saliba started in central defence, Xhaka and Ødegaard remained in midfield, Martinelli celebrated his 100th game for the club with a starting place, and Ramsdale makes his European debut, coming in for his injured deputy Turner.
FIRST HALF
PSV tried to impose themselves early on, with the home crowd cheering them on. But it was Arsenal who dominated the early possession, asserting a familiar air of control. However, Xavi Simons had the first shot of the game for the hosts, forcing Ramsdale into a fine save.
Cody Gakpo had the ball in the net for PSV on 18 minutes, via a delightful chipped finish, but the offside flag duly went up straight after and the goal was ruled out. The first real warning sign for Arsenal’s backline.
A few minutes later, Nketiah had a great effort, that seemed destined for the top corner, saved by Walter Benitez. The PSV keeper stretched well to tip the ball behind for an Arsenal corner.
Simons and Gakpo continued to threaten with their youthful drive and dynamism. Not long before half-time, Simons latched onto an El Ghazi chest control and somehow weaved his way through the heart of the Arsenal defence, getting a little lucky with a ricochet, before finishing low past Ramsdale. Luckily, VAR saved the Arsenal defenders’ blushes as another offside was given against the home side.
It has to be noted that Rob Holding, who was made to look rather silly by Simons for the disallowed goal, had the cheek and/or sportsmanship to do the youngster a favour on the half-time whistle by putting a consoling arm round him and (probably) saying something along the lines of ‘better luck next time, son’. He wont get that kind of character development in the Eredivise.
SECOND HALF
Arsenal came out for the second half with a positive approach, looking like a team who had been given the proverbial boot up the arse. Nketiah came close after an instinctive effort when the ball fell to him from a corner, firing just wide. Then Tierney found himself in space after shaking his man and unleashed a right-footed curling effort which flew just over the bar.
However, the Gunners’ spark failed to ignite any real fire and Ramsdale was forced to make a couple of impressive saves from two efforts in quick succession. One of which was from Gakpo, who minutes later fired wide after trying to squeeze in an effort from a tight angle.
Much to Arsenal’s shame, third time was indeed a charm for PSV on 54 minutes as De Jong teed up Joey Veerman, in all kinds of space, who finished superbly into the top corner. 1-0 PSV.
Arteta responded by bringing on Saka and Partey for Ødegaard and Lokonga. But Arsenal continued to look leggy and laboured.
Not 10 minutes after the first goal, PSV doubled their lead. Creator turned scorer as De Jong climbed well to meet a corner, heading past Ramsdale to make it 2-0 PSV. Too easy.
PSV continued to carve through Arsenal at will. Simons flashed a brilliant ball across the six yard box to Gakpo, who turned the ball into the net – but for the third time in the match, it was disallowed for offisde.
Nketiah had a big chance to pull one back for Arsenal on 78 minutes, but he squandered the opportunity, firing straight at Benitez from close range. Not Eddie’s best night at the office, it has to be said.
Arsenal put on a bit more pressure in the final 10 minutes, but failed to break through the home side’s resilient defence. As the final whistle sounded, it almost came as relief to a disjointed, out-of-rhythm Gunners side who will now have to regroup for Forest on the weekend and wait until match day six to try and secure top spot in the group.
Reports that Pablo Mari has been stabbed, God I hope he’s OK 😟
Awful news Kind of puts things into perspective 😞
What sort of fuckwit downvotes these comments?
Maybe someone who thought it was a bad joke.
Same tool that down voted yours too seemingly 🤬
There’s always a few spuds lurking. They have no hope of winning a trophy or seeing their team playing attacking football so it’s what they’re left with.
Who the fuck has downvoted this…?
Whoever you are, FUCK YOU.
Lol… it would be so Arsenal of us to lose or draw against Zurich
Pretty much so..
A draw takes us through anyways.
It’s pretty glaring to see that our players are tired. Much like in January, we are paying the price for not adding the necessary bodies (in the summer). We barely have anyone to rotate with Saka and Martinelli. We are light in midfield without Smith Rowe and El-Neny. The schedule has been brutal.
*See us finish top anyways
Surely a point wouldn’t be enough if PSV win? We’ll be on the same points and they have a better goal difference and better against us head to head (+1 goal)?
It doesn’t
I was only able to have the game on in background but woof. Not sure if it’s fatigue but there was no urgency, no crispness to anything we did. I suppose coming down to earth is better now than later in the season.
Why would it be so Arsenal? Our record in the Europa League qualifiers is excellent. It will be a great surprise and not typical at all.
Don’t be so fucking defeatist.
I’m worried about how easy it was for PSV to score and how difficult it was for us to penetrate their defense. It could be more than 2 nil at the end of the match.
Have you not got any homework to be doing spud.
Look at the team news thread, he’s posting as akasuna. Teenage spud. Downvote all you want, it will just encourage him.
Never mind, move on. Forget this ever happened. Don’t like not scoring goals. I like goals.
Teams that play for a draw often ends up on the losing side.Today’s approach was so wrong.Now,same first eleven he was trying to rest will have to line up against Zurich.We shouldn’t have underated them.
They showed enough in the first match to know they would be a handful at home. Eddie’s a really poor back up striker
Spot on it like a 14yr old boy leading the line. He runs and that’s about it – can’t strike a ball properly (a worry if you are a centre forward) weak technique and touch and not a particularly clever footballer). He has reverted to his normal standard championship level. Dreadful that he is our 2nd so-called striker. A club our size should have somebody who can challenge jesus for that no 9 spot not somebody who is clearly 5 levels below.
The moment Eddie accepted in his mind that he is a second striker, instead of trying hard to challenge Jesus, he stopped performing. The guy is so average now.
We saw them coming TWICE in the first half before they scored a legitimate goal.I expected those changes at half time.We should have responded early enough.Eddie had no presence upfront.We need to add more firepower in January.
That could have been a damaging mauling tonight we looked dead on out feet, short of ideas, both Martinelli and Saka look empty, Sambi was sleeping for the first goal, Kt looks rusty, Ramsdale has had a couple of twitchy games, hard to know how we pick it up without resting players 🤔
Could really do with upgrade on nketia. I know some are very excited so are somewhat blinkered me thinks. He is not good enough. 3rd choice for sure but as 2nd choice, the level is too great a drop.
Ba.Lo.Gun 💪
Maybe, but it’s worth mentioning that our first-choice striker also hasn’t scored in something like five games now? The whole team is flat.
Yeah no sense in picking out individuals when almost everyone has been below par since the Liverpool game. Could be a number of things from fatigue, waning belief, opposition developing plans to counter our tactics etc
But the group dynamics make it very difficult for a squad player to come in and play at their best
We do need to change something to get our form back I feel. But even title winning teams tend to have these flat spots over the course of the season
All were bad tbf.
We looked like we had no plan B. Suddenly 2 games without a win, we need a statement response in our next game. Martinelli should roam more central when Tierney is playing, otherwise our play becomes laboured and predictable. Nketiah looks short of ideas and confidence. Still top of the league and Europa league group so no need for panic just yet.
Nketia short of ideas but not confidence. He is not level required I’m afraid. Shame as he seems a nice lad.
I also feel we need to see some serious improvement against Forest. I never liked all the praise for “winning ugly” against Bodo and Leeds. Of course good teams have to pull out pragmatic wins from time to time. But not like this. We’re seeing the sterile play from last year creep back in. Where is our directness, bravery, risk taking, urgency, self belief?
It’s unfortunate they were wearing white shorts when they shat themselves.
A pathetic performance that got exactly what it deserved.
No midfield or attack in the first half, then a defensive shambles in the second. We only woke up when we were 2-0 down and the dubs came on. Had we lost 4- or 5-0 we could not have complained.
I’m really worried now: we started the season looking like potential champions but our last 5 performances have been awful. I really hope we don’t completely collapse now.
We are a shambles right now.
We always burn any advantages we have for sure. There is a reason we almost never win games in hands.
Absolutely right on all points made.
Football fans are so fickle its actually a joke. First time we lost all season (bar Man U) and suddenly everyone is loosing their shit. Get a grip.
It’s not just about losing, bro. Something’s not right about the way the team is set and playing right now. This goes beyond fatigue.
Mate, take a chill pill and check out both the Premiership table and our Europa Group.
We’re top of both of them.
Chillout. 😉👍🍺
Last season we recovered many times after those kind of slumps and sometimes in even unexpected ways. We’ll do it again.
yeah, but we look exhausted and our back-up forwards would barely get into the first 11 of the bottom sides (Nketiah is average at best, sorry to say).
We need firepower in January. we need way too many chances to score, while opponents need one or two
We’re back!
We’re back back
Only four goals in our last five games now. Need a result and a strong performance against forest to build confidence. Lose points in that game and I’m starting to get worried.
U shouldn’t wait for Forest game to be worried. Our performances are in constant decline since the liverpool game. Rather lucky wins against Leeds and PSV (first game) contributed to the points taken but our form is in constant decline and November is coming.
We never actually seem to have plan B when the oposition successfully defend against plan A or at least substitutions are not able to change anything in the way we play.
We have been found out…Xhaka entering those pockets are our only chance of scoring since the beginning of the season.
We have Ozil 2.0 in Odegaard and Fabio. Complete ghosts
Finally, Holding should be sold.
Only 2nd defeat in 16 matches and we’ve been found out. Odegaard has been brilliant this season and I’m sure he would be delighted to be called Ozil 2.0. after one of the most creative players in the world. Vieira has shown enough to show what a good signing he is. Holding never lets us down and is is a very reliable central defender. A typical toxic knee jerk reaction after our worst display this season. To write players off after one match is pathetic
Holding never lets us down…😂 look at the score board and his defending for both goals. Clowns 🤡
I’ll focus on the positive which is – we’re still have a home game to win the group and avoid a 2-match play off in a congested post WC fixtures. But let’s be clear, this is our worst performance all season. What’s is even more concerning is that our team B remains unconvincing. Holding? Clueless and chaotic. Sambi? Too many touches and lost without the ball. Vieira? Sloppy and weak in the challenge. Nketiah? Passively wasteful. What a joke to have given that guy the legendary no.14 shirt. Hope we bring in one or 2 reasonable reinforcement in January +… Read more »
You are right on all points. Sambi is so slow of mind and body so one paced just passes it on or backwards tidy enough but no intensity or drive I think el neny goes forward more. I blame arteta for this performance tonight although agree all the players were shite. He sent out a side to try and manage and control a game against a reasonably quality side by playing a guy who is clearly not that good as a deep sitting midfielder (or any other midfield position in my view) receiving the ball from our goalkeeper or centre… Read more »
We knew last January & in summer that we needed decent players to backup/replace Partey, Xhaka, Jesus, Saka, Martinelli etc. So Arteta spent 35mill on a Portuguese lightweight who cannot backup any of our problem areas.
Trying not to be alarmist but our second string was quite shite today and have been the last 3 Europa outings. The drop in quality is too steep. A midfielder in January is a must if we must finish in the top 4. Sambi is not ready and needs to go out. Danilo in january will be quite something.
Mate, that wasn’t our second string.
But you’re right; no need to be alarmist.
October is taking its toll. Visibly getting slower and less energy but it’s to be expected.
Reminded me a bit of the United game after the goal, Arteta panicked a bit when he should have settled it down for 10 minutes. It’s all good learning for the players and coach.
Arteta is out of his depth when comes up against better teams and coaches in europe as has been proven in the past when we were in it last with him. As far as a learning curve goes as you suggest, this is the europa fucking league for christ sake and we are arsenal not leicester or fucking west ham! Thank god were not up against the psg(s) or bayerns or real(s) in the champs league!
I think you need to remember one thing. Just because Arsenal are in the Europa league doesn’t mean we are guaranteed to simply win it. Try not to be an arrogant fan thinking that every game is a guaranteed win and underestimating the opposition. A loss in unacceptable yes but we’re not winning every single game. This is not the arsenal that make opposition teams fear and quake in their boots. Our B team is not good enough start week in week out in the prem and our strongest XI are essentially running on fumes. I’m also frustrated with Arteta… Read more »
Arsenal need to sort themselves out. The last several performances have been concerning.
-No creative player that can split midfielders……..Jesus has to go all the way to our defence to get the ball ….no supply whatsoever.
-Marinelli is getting worst since contract issues
-Without Gabriel our defence is garbage
-Nketiah can’t be Jesus back up
cereal killer: Tony the Tiger?
🤣
I miss Tony the Tiger.
He could do the latest Frosties ad at the Spurs training ground.
“Tottenham? They’rrrrrrre shit.!!!”
The greatest worry for me is the seeming lack of desire by the fringe players to make a case for themselves. They play like people who think they won’t break into the first team no matter what they do, so why bother.
Nketiah has lost the fire of last season. Lokonga has regressed. Holding is still Holding. Tierney is playing like a back-up.
Vieira tried but he is not commanding enough – yet.
We need to do something big in January if we want top 4: our bench won’t contribute much on this evidence.
This was a performance of the past and a bit worrying how slow and sloppy we were. The squad is too thin on quality , when our best players don’t shine our second choiches fail to impose themselves. The likes of Sambi, Eddie, Vieira are too lightweight to be on the pitch at the same time. Miss Elneny is those matches, robust and safe passer, Sambi not there. I think we’ve to field a strong team against Zürich, they bead Bodø and will go all at Emirates.
We need to crush Forest Sunday!
Oh well. No need to panic. A PSV win was always on the cards, which is why I advocated heavy rotation. But then we may have taken an absolute pasting, so upon reflection, Arteta was indeed right to play a strong squad. We regroup, we focus now on Forest at the weekend; we don’t panic. It just means we shall have to play a stronger XI in our final game, but as long as we play our normal game, get the points and top the group, then it’ll be job done. Chelsea away was always going to be difficult, but,… Read more »
And bollocks to the downvoters.
Awful to watch but am not too concerned yet. We will still top this group and regroup before the Nottingham Forest game. If someone was to offer us this situation before the season started, am sure we all would have taken it. The main worry for me is that none of our B players are taking their opportunities to impress and stake a claim for more minutes.
Looked like the players deprioritised this. Not much effort around. Hopefully a good wake up call that you can’t half arse it and get away with it
Fuck! Our bench is not so good. We are very light Elneny and Smith can’t come back soon enough. and we still need 2 more players still. a winger and CM or CDM, Lokonga may well end up being good but he’s very light for that position. and struggles under pressure.
Lokonga is not good enough . Poor awareness offers nothing in attack or defence and is slow and sloppy . Has he even registered any goals or assists yet ? Arsenal fans used to give Denilson hell, this guy is even worse.
No way is Lokonga anywhere near as bad as Denilson.
Lokonga is a promising player, who tries his best and puts in a shift.
Denilson was a lazy sod who couldn’t be bothered and never broke a sweat.
Big difference.
Well, that didn’t go to script. It was always going to be a tough game – more difficult than the game at The Emirates, but I thought we could get the point needed with the players available. It’s a little premature to say things are going “pear shaped” generally but it’s clear that we’re not playing as were a while ago. I think this started with the Leeds game really which we were very fortunate to get the three points from and, basically, it’s been pretty lacklustre since, through the disappointing Southampton result to this one. Although Arteta would presumably… Read more »
The most disappointing thing is that we haven’t played well for a while now. What was the last match where we played well overall? Liverpool? It’s 5 matches in a row where we just haven’t played very well. We need to fix this against Nottingham Forest and get back on track.
Naive by Arteta in my opinion. He can talk all he wants about 70 games a year while standing on the sidelines, but the fatigue is showing as our performances have started to decline, the goals have dried up, and we’re now dropping points to ‘inferior’ opposition (we damn well should have lost to Leeds). What do we have, 4 goals in the last 5 games? Against these teams? The full b-squad should be able to shit-house a draw to PSV with the right formation and game plan. An entirely rotated 11 should have played today. Forest will have had… Read more »
2 games in a week with some rotation is not the end of the world in October.
Travelled all the way to watch that horrible performance, and someone who didn’t leave his chair have to guys to say I’m toxic 😂…we have been found out…4 goals in 5 games, can’t seem to break the defence. fans can’t seem to handle to truth just like I said last season we won’t make top 4, we will make top 4 this season by a small margin with these performances. Every game it keeps getting worse, if Odegaard is so good why was he sold by Madrid?. They agreeing to keep a 36 year old Modric over him is telling… Read more »
Blimey, you’re back.
Been a long wait, hasn’t it, for us to suffer defeat and for you to come on here, spouting your rubbish.
If I’m being generous, it was a really slippery, bouncy, shitty pitch. Not too worried about the loss.
We bounced back quickly from the United defeat and I hope we can do it again.
The real issue is the lack of chances created, the general apathy and fatigue due to no rotation due to no squad depth. We knew this day would come and today it is.
The transfer window can’t come soon enough, and this time I expect some additions instead of just kicking everyone out.
I’d take Amaury Bischoff over Lokonga.
A match to forget. We move.