Arsenal vs PSV: Gunners looking to make winning return to Champions League

Arsenal will be looking to make a winning return to the Champions League when they take on PSV Eindhoven in their Group B opener at the Emirates Stadium this evening.

The Gunners last played in Europe’s elite competition over six years ago. Arsene Wenger was still in the dugout as Arsene were thrashed 5-1 by Bayern Munich in their last-16 knockout clash back in 2016/17. The first leg also ended 5-1 so Arsenal were humiliated 10-2 on aggregate the last time they played in the Champions League.

They’ll hope to be far more competitive this time around under the guidance of Mikel Arteta, but it’s been a tough road back to the top for the Gunners. They’ve had to slug it out in the Europa League in recent years, while they even went a year without any European football after finishing 8th in 2021. However, Arteta has got the club back on track and built an exciting young squad in North London.

Arsenal pushed Manchester City all the way in the Premier League title race last season. They spent almost 250 days at the top of the table before succumbing to a relentless Man City team. Arteta had to settle for second place, and while the pain of missing out on their first title since 2004 hasn’t gone away, the club are still excited to be back in the Champions League this season.

The Gunners have been drawn in Group B alongside Europa League winners Sevilla, Dutch champions PSV Eindhoven and Ligue 1 outfit Lens. It was a favourable draw for Arsenal as they avoided all the big guns from Pot 1, but they won’t want to take the task too lightly as all three opposition teams are more than capable of causing problems.

PSV are up first as they travel to the Emirates tonight, and Arsenal know the Dutch side very well as they’ve played each other numerous times over the last 15-20 years. PSV won 2-0 at the Phillips Stadion the last time the two teams met in the group stages of the Europa League last season. Arsenal still finished top of the group and won the home fixture 1-0 but they certainly won’t be taking anything for granted against a dangerous PSV side tonight.

The Gunners come into the game off the back of a hard fought 1-0 win over Everton at Goodison Park on Sunday in the Premier League. Leandro Trossard’s goal was enough to claim all three points and it meant Arsenal maintain their unbeaten start to the new season. They sit joint second having taken 13 points from a possible 15 with a frustrating 2-2 home draw with Fulham the only blot on the copy book so far. It’s a very good return but Arteta will be demanding more as his side have been wasteful at times and they’ll want to be more ruthless against PSV tonight.

The Eredivisie champions head to London on a superb 26-game unbeaten run following their 4-0 win over NEC at the weekend. PSV are also delighted to be back in the big time after booking their place in the Champions League for the first time in four year. They secured their place in the group stages with a resounding 7-3 aggregate win over Rangers in the play off round.

How to watch

The match will be shown live on TNT Sports, kicking off at 8pm tonight. Subscribers to BT/TNT will be able to watch all the action via their sky box or on Discovery+.

For those who want to watch the game in person, you can buy Champions League tickets at Seatsnet.com but this game is likely to be sold out so you’ll need to act fast if you want to secure a ticket.

Team news

Arsenal have been dealt a big injury blow after Gabriel Martinelli limped off against Everton at the weekend. The Brazilian international picked up a hamstring injury after appearing to open the scoring with a fine finish mid-way through the first half. The goal was eventually ruled out for an offside in the build up but Martinelli went down clutching his hamstring and had to be replaced by Trossard.

The 22-year-old is being assessed to determine the full extent of the injury but Martinelli has been ruled out of tonight’s match while tests are carried out. It remains to be seen how long he’ll be out for but Arsenal will pray the injury isn’t serious and Martinelli return’s for Sunday’s huge clash with Tottenham.

The Gunners will also be without Thomas Partey for the next few weeks as he’s still recovering from a groin injury that he picked up before the international break. Mohamed Elneny is back in training as he continues to build up his fitness following a serious knee injury but he’s unlikely to be involved tonight.

Summer signing Jurrien Timber is the other major absentee for Arsenal. The defender sustained a serious ACL injury on his Premier League debut and is facing a fight to play again this season after undergoing surgery last month.

As for PSV, forward Nao Lang is a doubt after suffering an injury at the weekend so Hirving Lozano could be recalled to the starting eleven after being on the bench last time out. Armando Obispo, Fredrik Oppegard, and Mauro Junior are all out of the game tonight due to injury problems.

Likely Line-ups

Arteta is tipped to make a few changes as he looks to use the full extent of his squad. Aaron Ramsdale was surprisingly dropped for the win over Everton at the weekend with David Raya handed a debut. Ramsdale could be recalled tonight with Arteta suggesting he wants to play both goalkeepers regularly throughout the season.

If Arteta makes more changes in defence, then we could see Takehiro Tomiyasu and Jacub Kiwior given a run out. However, the Spanish coach will want to make a winning start to the group and may not take any chances, so he could stick with the back four that started at Everton.

In midfield, we could see Kai Havertz given a recall after he was dropped at Goodison Park. Fabio Vieira may be benched despite a solid outing against Everton as Declan Rice and Martin Odegaard are certain to keep their places.

Trossard is expected to come in for Martinelli on the left wing while Bukayo Saka should keep his place on the opposite flank. Gabriel Jesus is expected to be recalled to start up front with Eddie Nketiah dropping out after a poor display last time out.

Arsenal XI: Ramsdale; White, Saliba, Kiwior, Tomiyasu; Odegaard, Rice, Vieira; Saka, Jesus, Trossard

PSV XI: Benitez; Teze, Ramalho, Bella-Kotchap, Dest; Schouten, Veerman; Bakayoko, Saibari, Lozano; De Jong

Prediction

Arsenal are obviously favourites to kick-start their Champions League campaign with a win on home soil. However, PSV shouldn’t be underestimated and Arsenal have also struggled to keep clean sheets at the Emirates Stadium.

If Arteta names his strongest line-up, then Arsenal should still have too much quality for the Dutch outfit so we’re predicted a relatively comfortable win for the Gunners. Arsenal 3-1 PSV Eindhoven.