“Although Odegaard scored the most beautiful brace in football history yesterday but that guy made it possible for him and he deserved more praises”: Arsenal Midfielder Declan Rice names ONE Arsenal’s teammate who shocked him with a terrific performance yesterday
Arsenal enjoyed a hugely-memorable night in the UEFA Champions League as they hammered PSV Eindhoven 7-1 in the first leg of their round of 16 tie in the Netherlands.
Mikel Arteta’s side had an early scare when the hosts struck the crossbar but roared into a 3-0 lead as Jurrein Timber, Ethan Nwaneri and Mikel Merino netted within 13 first-half minutes. Noa Lang scored from the penalty spot for PSV before the interval but a dominant Arsenal continued to find the back of the net in the second half.
Two goals in two minutes shortly after the restart from Martin Odegaard and Leandro Trossard put the result to bed with Odegaard adding a second goal before Riccardo Calafiori sealed the win with five minutes of normal time remaining.
Rice hails Nwaneri impact
Nwaneri tormented the PSV defence and while he ended the night with just one goal to his name, the young forward had a major role to play in several of Arsenal’s goals. After the game, Declan Rice praised the youngster’s impact and insisted he’d still be getting his chance in the team if Bukayo Saka was fit.
He Nwaneri he said: “Top. He’s 17-years-old and he’s on the biggest stage. We’ve taken them [youngsters] under our wing and they deserve to be playing. You should see them train they way they have no fear and want to perform.
“Even if [Bukayo] Saka was here Ethan would be still getting minutes because he’s that good and works so hard in training. Same with Myles despite having to come off for the yellow card tonight, we have so many top young players.”
On the result, he added: “We were fluid, enthusiasm, the drive and hunger in the knock out phase of the Champions League. But we’ve been playing like this all season. We feel we’ve been playing well as a team sometimes we score five sometimes two sometimes we don’t score but tonight we did well. We had the opportunity to score more second half especially.”
What next for Arsenal?
Mikel Arteta’s side shift their focus back to Premier League action as they face Manchester United at Old Trafford on Sunday. The Gunners are up against it in the race for the title after a loss to West Ham and draw with Nottingham Forest but they will certainly take confidence from their hammering of PSV.
The size of the away win will give Arteta the chance to rest players for next week’s fixture, as the Gunners host Chelsea after the second leg in their final game before the international break.
Former Celtic and Blackburn Rovers player Chris Sutton believes Arsenal will take “some stopping” in the Champions League this season. He said on BBC Radio 5 Live: “To be as comfortable as Arsenal were is an important step in the right direction. Ethan Nwaneri, as well, his performance again. Young players at times can come into the team and hit the ground running and then take a dip, but he looks phenomenal. Arsenal will take some stopping in this competition.
