Arsenal have continued from where they stopped last season. The Gunners were in the title race for most parts of the Premier League campaign before stumbling and eventually losing out to Manchester City.
Mikel Arteta’s men played some exciting and compelling football last campaign, and many were curious to know what they would be up to this season. After the Community Shield win in Wembley, people believed they would not be slowing down this season.
The 2023/24 Premier League season opening game was against Nottingham Forest, which they won 2-1. New recruit Declan Rice impressed in the game, while Kai Havertz was neither here nor there.
Fast forward to the trip to Crystal Palace – a game they won 1-0; it was a dogged display as they played for nearly half an hour with 10 men.
Another London derby followed against Fulham at the Emirates, and they were tested greatly. The visitors took the lead, and the Gunners rallied back, but they were denied late on by the impressive visitors. The game ended in a stalemate.
In probably the biggest test of the season yet, Arsenal got a 3-1 win over Manchester United, which got them back to winning ways before the international break.
In their most recent game at the weekend over Everton, Arsenal claimed a narrow 1-0 win over Everton at Goodison Park, a venue they have failed to win at since 2017. Mikel Arteta’s comments after the game showed just what the victory meant to the Gunners’ boss.
He said: “Really happy, extremely happy with the performance and how we played. It was six years that we were unable to do that. That was the challenge in front of us and the opportunity, and we looked at everything we needed to do and did that on the pitch.”
“I think we dominated the game from start to finish – we created a lot of chances, a lot of dominance in the game, we gave nothing away. And to do that here, it’s a big compliment to the players because it’s not easy at all to do that.”
It was a difficult game to win as the Toffees played deep for most of it and were happy to sit back and remain resolute in defense.
It took a one-time finish from Leandro Trossard after a brilliant sequence from the Gunners to break the deadlock and get past Jordan Pickford. That win would be a massive morale booster for Mikel Arteta’s men ahead of their Champions League campaign.
PSV have not been bad themselves this season. They won the Dutch Super Cup, just like Arsenal beating Feyenoord. Their season got underway in the Champions League qualifiers against Sturm Graz.
They defeated the Austrian side 7-2 on aggregate, while a league win over Utrecht was sandwiched between that.
Another win followed against Vitesse away from home before they defeated Rangers (Scotland) 7-3 on aggregate in the final Champions League playoff to reach the group stages. Back-to-back 4-0 wins over Waalwijk and Nijmegen, either side of the international break, followed.
It is quite clear that PSV are in great form, just like Arsenal. This makes the game at the Emirates on Wednesday a highly anticipated one.
Arsenal are back in the Champions League for the first time since 2016/17, but funnily enough, they start it with a game that was a Europa League fixture last season.
Arsenal reached the quarter-finals in three consecutive seasons between 2007/08 and 2009/10, but they have been knocked out of the last 16 in seven straight campaigns. So, Mikel Arteta knows the magnitude of the work on his hands.
PSV has not played in the Champions League group stage since the 2018/19 season, when they were placed in a horrible group alongside Tottenham, Barcelona, and Inter Milan. They may have played through the qualifiers to get here but are here to compete.
Match Tickets
The match at the Emirates Stadium in London kicks off on Wednesday, 20th September, at 8 PM UK time, and it will be shown live on TNT Sports, with coverage starting from around 7 PM.
It is the first appearance in Europe’s elite competition for Arsenal since 2017, and this promises to be a full house at the 60,704-capacity stadium on Wednesday night. Champions League nights are usually special and PSV fans should be present to drum their support for their side in this game.
Getting tickets for Arsenal vs PSV tickets should not be difficult, given the game’s standard. Hence, you are advised to search ticket reselling sites should they be expectedly sold out on each club’s channels.
Team News
Line-ups
Aaron Ramsdale sat on the bench for the game against Everton, but he should be back between the sticks on Wednesday night. Declan Rice should continue at the heart of the midfield in Thomas Partey’s absence. Gabriel Martinelli is a doubt, while Jurrien Timber and Mohamed Elneny remain on the sidelines.
- Arsenal: Ramsdale; White, Saliba, Gabriel, Zinchenko; Rice, Odegaard, Havertz, Saka, Trossard; Gabriel Jesus.
Bakayoko, Lang, and de Jong will be primed to start at the Emirates, while Benitez should continue in goal. PSV hopes Jordan Teze is available for selection after picking up a knock before the international break. Armando Obispo, Mauro Junior, and Frederik Oppegard have been ruled out.
- PSV: Benitez; Dest, Ramalho, Bella-Kotchap, van Aanholt; Schouten, Veerman, Bakayoko, Saibari, Lang; de Jong.
Prediction
These two sides won their respective home games in the Europa League last season, but Arsenal have won only one of the past five meetings against PSV — having won two of the first three.
This match should produce goals based on the team’s attacking talents. PSV have scored in all eight of their games across all competitions, while Arsenal have kept two clean sheets in six games this season.
- Arsenal 3-1 PSV
