Key events
71 mins: Two Arsenal changes, with Oleksandr Zinchenko and Raheem Sterling on for Partey and the excellent Nwaneri. Zinchenko spent a season here on loan while he was on Manchester City’s books.
NO GOAL! A PSV clearance rebounds off Calafiori and into the path of Trossard, who is miles offside, but goes round Benitez and strokes the ball in before the flag is inevitably raised.
68 mins: Timber is booked, somewhat harshly, for time wasting. We’re going to see some Arsenal changes shortly, I would wager.
67 mins: Arsenal seem quite content to let PSV try and break them down, and Saliba takes the ball from Perisic on the touchline with almost contemptous ease.
65 mins: Two more PSV changes – sprightly winger Johan Bakayoko and full-back Rick Karsdorp replace Richard Ledezma and Luuk De Jong.
64 mins: PSV keep pressing and probing, but Lang’s attempted through ball is cut out by Calafiori, to audible groans from the home fans. Carnival very much over at this point.
62 mins: After half-hearted appeals from PSV for handball, Malacia sends in a cross that has Raya worried, but flies wide of the far post.
60 mins: Rice whips the corner to the far post, where Gabriel comes crashing in – but his downward header ends up bouncing wide.
59 mins: Nwaneri continues to menace the PSV defence, collecting Odegaard’s pass and firing a shot which Boscagli heads over the bar …
In a game featuring a pitiful three goals so far, Real Madrid have retaken the lead against Atlético. Brahim Diaz has made it 2-1 on a big night for former Manchester City players.
55 mins: Trossard sees a shot charged down from the edge of the area, then gets back to strip the ball from Lang at the other end. “Subbed at half-time? Flamingo won’t be tickled pink about that,” honks Andrew Clarke. After Arsenal’s third goal, he didn’t have a leg to stand on.
54 mins: PSV continue to be a shambles at the back, and Nwaneri has time and space to cut inside and leather a shot at Benitez, who palms it away to relative safety.
53 mins: From the corner, the ball is worked to Perisic, whose swirling far-post cross is headed on to the post by De Jong!
51 mins: PSV aren’t giving up – not going forward, anyway – and Perisic forces Raya to turn the ball over for a corner …
“The sunshine has faded, the clouds have regathered and technicolour has turned to black-and-white. Martin Odegaard is revealed to be having a pretty dismal game. Thomas Partey is odds on for a second yellow. The fourth Horseman of the Apocalypse is just coming through gate three in the east stand. I look forward to a further bulletin once Arsenal are 5-1 up.”
Charles Antaki, are you from the future?
Peter Bosz has his head in his hands, and those PSV fans not heading for the exits are whistling furiously. They’ve been absolutely torn apart, and it feels like a case of how many Arsenal want to score.
GOAL! PSV 1-5 Arsenal (Trossard 48′)
Good gracious. Arsenal have another, and it’s a beauty – Trossard backheeling to Calafiori, who then slips the ball in behind for the Belgian to scoop a lovely finish over Benitez!
GOAL! PSV 1-4 Arsenal (Odegaard 46′)
It’s the perfect start to the second half for Arsenal! Ethan Nwaneri is the creator, getting beyond Malacia and sweeping in a dangerous cross that Benitez can only palm out to Martin Odegaard, who does the rest.
Here we go again
PSV make a half-time change, with Adamo Nagalo replacing Ryan Flamingo at centre-back in a big blow for pun-loving MBMers.
With his goal, Ethan Nwaneri (17yr 348d) becomes the third-youngest goal scorer in the Champions League knockout stage – behind only Bojan (17y 217d) and Jude Bellingham (17y 289d).
Something I kept meaning to point out amid the flurry of chances – Declan Rice mentioned before the game that Mikel Arteta wants his players to be more flexible in terms of their playing position.
We’ve certainly seen that from Rice in the first half – he’s been very attacking – and defenders are getting forward in open play, as seen when right-back Timber nodded home Rice’s cross for the opener.
That is presumably to ease the burden on “false nine” Mikel Merino, although he got Arsenal’s third with the poaching instincts of big Micky Quinn in his pomp.
“Suddenly, everything in Arsenal–world looks fine, fine, fine. Clouds part. Sunshine streams down. The power of love, or more specifically, three terrific goals,” wrote Charles Antaki, seconds before PSV won that corner.
Half time in Madrid, where the red-hot Julian Alvarez has got Atlético level at the Bernabéu. It’s 1-1 there, and Dortmund lead Lille 1-0 at home thanks to Karim Adeyemi.
Half time: PSV 1-3 Arsenal
It’s Carnival time in Eindhoven and this game has brought the requisite vibes. There have been chances at both ends, great goals, controversy and defensive clownery galore. More please!
47 mins: Perisic crumples into Gabriel underneath a long ball from Flamingo, and is ordered to his feet by the referee.
45 mins: Another chance for PSV! Malacia, who’s here on loan from Manchester United, whips in a terrific cross on to the head of Luuk De Jong, who nods it over the bar. Four added minutes, and no sign of this game slowing down.
43 mins: Arsenal are immediately back on the front foot with Declan Rice – who has spent much of the game playing almost as a left winger – firing a low shot towards the far corner which Benitez gets his fingertips to. Nobody notices, though, and PSV get a goal kick.
GOAL! PSV 1-3 Arsenal (Lang pen 41′)
Crank up the Kernkraft, PSV are back in this. Noa Lang, taking over spot-kick duties from De Jong, smacks the ball into the corner with David Raya not making a move either way.
Penalty to PSV!
And as the ball floats towards goal, Thomas Partey is penalised for hauling down Luuk De Jong! He also gets a (first) yellow card.
40 mins: PSV, trying to regain a foothold in this tie, have a corner …
“Did I just hear Clattenberg say that had Lewis-Skelly not been booked then that tackle would have been a booking – but as he had been booked already that tackle wasn’t worthy of a second yellow card?” asks Ian Sergeant. “When did that become a thing?”
Yes, he definitely seemed to be saying that. I guess it’s inevitable that referees will weigh up second yellow cards differently, but it’s not in the laws of the game. Maybe stick to Gladiators, Clatts.
35 mins: We resume after that long VAR check, but Lewis-Skelly’s night is over – he’s replaced by Ricardo Calafiori. He set up a lovely second goal, but is basically being taken off to avoid a red card – a mixed night, you might say.
GOAL! PSV 0-3 Arsenal (Merino 30′)
The goal stands, and Arsenal – who could have gone a goal and/or a man down – are threatening to run away with the tie completely.
Onderzoek Doelpunt. That’s the Dutch for ‘Goal Check’, plastered on every screen as we await a verdict.
30 mins: GOAL? Arsenal strike again, this time profiting from a defensive disaster class as PSV repeatedly fail to clear the ball, Flamingo topples over as if perched on a single leg, and Mikel Merino pounces to roll the ball into the net. But wait – there’s a VAR check for offside.
