PSV vs. Arsenal Europa League match ended 2-0 and Gunners lost their first game of the competition and the top spot at high risk
PSV defeated Arsenal 2-0 in Holland to take a 1-0 lead in the Europa League with one match remaining.
It was a fairly even start, with Arsenal’s opponents not dominating possession but looking dangerous in attack, and the gunners were threatened early on, but thankfully VAR ruled in their favor.
I’m not sure if I’m biased, but I thought Arsenal were the better team in the first 45 minutes, despite having to be saved by VAR a second time when Xavi Simons twisted our defense before lobbing Aaron Ramdsale, with the finishing and final ball preventing the gunners from taking the lead.
Arsenal started brightly in the second half as well, but around 10 minutes after the break, we saw the ball cross into our goal for the third time, but there was no further assistance from the officials. Joey Veerman completed a fine team move that began on the right before the overlapping runners came through the middle to open us up a little too easily, and things only got worse from there.
Arteta replaced Odegaard and Lokonga immediately after the goal, but they conceded again soon after, with the initial goal’s originator Luuk De Jong becoming goalscorer, heading into the open goal after Ramsdale ran out to miss his attempted punch-out.
I’d want to say that Arsenal players responded positively to being behind, but Gabriel Martinelli appeared to lose his mind, earning up an unwarranted yellow card for his actions and failing to truly challenge goalkeeper Walter Benitez despite their best attempts.
The aggravating issue now is that Arsenal go into their encounter against Zurich next week requiring a win to seal top position in the group, knowing that they have to face Chelsea in the Premier League days later and must determine where their priorities lie…
