Arsenal moved a step closer to reaching the quarter-final of the Champions League with a win over PSV Eindhoven.
The Gunners ran out 7-1 winners in the first leg of their last-16 tie the the Philips Stadion on Tuesday night. Goals from Jurrien Timber, Ethan Nwaneri, Mikel Merino, Leandro Trossard and Riccardo Calafiori, supported by a brace from Martin Odegaard secured the win for Arsenal in Eindhoven.
Mikel Arteta's side will now take a six-goal lead into the second leg at the Emirates Stadium next week. Before then, Arsenal will face Manchester United at Old Trafford in the Premier League this weekend as they continue their quest to catch Liverpool in the title race.
Here, football.london takes a look at how the national media reported on Arsenal's win over PSV in the Champions League.
The Times, Tom Allnutt
"At last, the goals flowed for Arsenal and that felt just as important as a thumping win that surely confirms their place in the quarter-finals of the Champions League.
"After scoring only twice in four games, and none in their past two, Arsenal’s bluntness in attack had been threatening to wreck their season, so seven goals, even against a side as generous and dysfunctional as this PSV Eindhoven one, came as a huge relief. They also set a record as this was the first time a team have scored seven goals in a knockout game away from home in the Champions League.
"Arsenal were ruthless as they took full advantage of the enormous gaps PSV afforded them, but there were also some excellent individual displays that Mikel Arteta will hope to see repeated against more testing opponents during the Premier League run-in, starting with Manchester United on Sunday."
READ THE FULL REPORT HERE.
The Telegraph, Sam Dean
"All of Arsenal’s tension and frustration was unleashed upon PSV Eindhoven, a proud football team who started the night with ambitions of a Champions League upset but ended it as a battered punchbag for Mikel Arteta’s side. Arsenal arrived in the Netherlands as the team who could not score, then left as a team who could not miss.
"If only Arsenal’s opponents in the Premier League could defend quite so recklessly as PSV did here, we might still have a title race on our hands. Domestic football has been a source of misery for Arsenal in recent weeks but at the Philips Stadion, in the Champions League round of 16, their players were able to enjoy the fun stuff – the goals, the flicks, the adventurous attacking –once again."
READ THE FULL REPORT HERE.
The Daily Mail, Ian Ladyman
"The last time Arsenal won a game by a noticeably big margin, hope was in the air and a season was alive with possibility. Ever since that 5-1 dismantling of Manchester City, however, Arsenal have been trending south. So this embarrassment of the Dutch champions was, at the very least, a large step back in the right direction.
"Arsenal were lovely to watch here in Eindhoven against a team that played right in to their hands and finished up humiliated. Come at Arsenal on the front foot and this is what can happen to you.
"Arsenal love space whether it’s handed to them by City sky blue or PSV red and white. Here there were acres of it and Arsenal gobbled it up. They were clinical, ruthless and, perhaps as importantly, looked as though they were actually enjoying themselves once more."
READ THE FULL STORY HERE.
Arsenal face PSG in the first leg of their Champions League semi-final on April 29 and fans can watch it free with an Amazon Prime subscription or by signing up for a 30-day free trial.
More Champions League fixtures are available on TNT Sports via Discovery+ Premium.
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