Ødegaard caps Arsenal’s triumphant Champions League return against PSV
When the Champions League anthem aired inside Arsenal’s home for the first time in six and a half years, its opening strains were drowned out by cheers. If that felt a touch saccharine, it summed up the crackling anticipation that had surrounded their return to the top table. Mikel Arteta’s side promptly pulled up a chair and, long before the end, could recline in comfort. They overwhelmed a PSV Eindhoven side that, laudably but naively, came to trade blows and the hosts set themselves fair for a swift qualification from Group B.
It ended up being the kind of cakewalk more familiar to those who had sat through five Europa League campaigns since Arsenal’s last appearance on this stage. They will certainly not always find things this easy but, in common with the rest of the resource-rich English representatives, should be expected to travel deep into the knockout stages. Any concerns that the occasion would overwhelm them were quickly dispelled by a characteristically sharp, insistent display that gave PSV little oxygen and ensured the manager could shuffle his pack long before the end.
They offered more than enough here. It felt apt that Bukayo Saka, a consistent seam of star quality during much of their time in the wilderness, got things moving. He could thank a loose piece of goalkeeping from Walter Benítez, whose parry of Martin Ødegaard’s shot was barely worthy of the term, but Saka still had to be sharper than PSV’s defenders in reacting and converting from a tight angle.
Champions League Player of The Week
😮 Jude's late winner
— UEFA Champions League (@ChampionsLeague) September 20, 2023
🎯 João Félix with a brace
🐉 Galeno double
✨ Ødegaard running the show
Who impressed you most this week?#UCLPOTW || @PlayStationEU
That was in the eighth minute and nobody with the faintest grasp of reality could have expected a different outcome from there. Helped by their opponents’ willingness to commit men forwards, Arsenal coursed into the spaces left behind and could have scored again before Leandro Trossard doubled their lead. His second goal in as many games was a fine finish, swept first time from the edge of the area, after Gabriel Jesus had led a counter down the middle and allowed Saka to lay on the chance.
Jesus gave Benítez two opportunities to redeem himself, both taken, but made no mistake with his next opening. It came after Gabriel Magalhães’ ball down the line to Trossard left the right-back Jordan Teze hopelessly exposed, meaning Trossard could scamper away and dig out a delivery to his colleague beyond the far post. Jesus’s collected foot on the ball and a lashed drive across Benítez later, and the tie was stone dead.
The second half was now a formality and, perhaps most importantly to Arteta, a chance to stand key players down early with Sunday’s north London derby in mind. Proceedings were meandering until Emile Smith Rowe, a peripheral figure nowadays but far from forgotten in the stands, was given his first action of the season with 21 minutes left. He was greeted by perhaps the night’s loudest, most fully-meant, roar: it recharged the pitch with energy and Smith Rowe quickly helped his fellow replacement Reiss Nelson tee up the magnificent Ødegaard for a cracked 20-yard finish that deservedly garnished the Norwegian’s performance.
The feelings rose up in Arteta once again. “I was really emotional when I saw the reception of Emile as well,” he said. “It’s a player that hasn’t played much yet and to get the reception that he got was much deserved.”
