PSV Eindhoven 2-0 Arsenal
by Layth Yousif
at PSV Stadion

ARSENAL must beat Zurich next week to guarantee top spot in Europa League Group A after a disappointing 2-0 defeat at the hands of a vibrant PSV Eindhoven side.

On Thursday evening in the Netherlands, Ruud Van Nistlrooy’s side proved just too good for the visitors from North London, as second half goals from Joey Veerman and substitute Luuk De Jong eclipsed the Gunners, who looked weary and overrun at times.

It was De Jong’s introduction at half time that influenced proceedings to the extent that Mikel Arteta’s team were fortunate not to lose by more as chances went begging, not to mention PSV having three goals disallowed.

After winning eight games on the bounce in all competitions, Arteta’s side have now failed to win their past two.

“I’m very disappointed,” added Arteta.

“We were nowhere near our level, and we know that in Europe it’s very difficult to win. I saw a number of the boys running out of energy because we had to chase the ball so much.

“It’s the end of a long run where we won a lot of games, and we have to reset.”

Prior to kick-off, Arteta’s usual Europa League keeper Matt Turner missed the match due to a tight groin. On eight minutes, his continental stand-in Aaron Ramsdale saved well from PSV’s talented 19-year-old Xavi Simons.

Premier League target Cody Gaxpo had a goal correctly ruled out for offside despite a neat finish as the stadium momentarily erupted.

The question did arise in pondering just how many home fans filmed themselves celebrating. Given the alarming preponderance for self-obsessed individuals to pull out their mobile phones at any opportunity to capture orgiastic moments late on during Spurs’ ill-fated draw with Lisbon in N17 on Wednesday evening.

No matter. Gabi Martinelli fired over when well-placed following an emphatic header into the box seven minutes before the interval as Arsenal attempted to stage attacks of their own.

PSV keeper Walter Benitez blocked from Gunners captain Martin Odegaard — which was sandwiched between another PSV goal being chalked off.

Talented teenager Xavi Simons showed great persistence — to go with his quick feet and sharp instinct — finding space in a crowded box, as he worked a fraction of time and space to fire past Ramsdale, as the home fans erupted once more.

And once more, their joy was thwarted by Italian referee Marco Di Bella via a VAR review, who disallowed the strike as No21 Anwar El Ghazi was offside.

Van Nistelrooy hooked EL Ghazi at the break, with De Jong coming on to sway the game in PSV’s favour.

Moments after half time, Arsenal striker Eddie Nketiah fired narrowly wide. The chance came after Tomiyasu’s low ball into the box, prior to Kieran Tierney angling a right-footed shot over the bar.

Yet, any notions of the tide turning in favour of Arsenal were soon dispelled when Ramsdale was forced to save from former Paris St-Germain midfielder Simons.

Arsenal failed to heed the warning. Veerman was played in by half-time substitute Luuk De Jong, before emphatically firing past Ramsdale to make it 1-0 on 55 minutes.

In fairness, the goal had been coming, following a scare moments earlier that saw outstanding interplay between PSV’s Simons and Gaxpo, before the latter narrowly missed.

Worse was to come for Arteta eight minutes later, when the ball came off De Jong after Ramsdale missed his punch from a corner in a crowded box, as Van Nistlerooy’s side doubled their lead to make it 2-0.

With the home side completely dominating, De Jong headed inches wide shortly afterwards.

As the clock ticked down there was still time for PSV keeper Benitez to save well from Arsenal striker Nketiah’s close range shot, before Jarrad Branthwaite, on loan from Everton, won the race to clear the ball.

Tempers flared with a little set-to when Granit Xhaka tried to get Simons to leave the pitch after being substituted. It was much ado about nothing, prompted more by frustration than malice, which saw referee Di Bello award PSV's No7 a yellow card.

As the final stages played out to a cacophonous atmosphere, Arsenal finished with substitutes Gabriel Jesus, Bukayo Saka and Thomas Partey on the pitch, but could not prevent a defeat, which, while painful, should not prove disadvantageous to their Europa League hopes — if, and it is an if based on this performance in the Netherlands, they beat Zurich next week.

Otherwise, Arteta’s Arsenal will face two extra games in the knockout round playoffs, which will also include teams who finished third in their Champions League groups, including Barcelona.

Away from football, serious news that puts mere sport into context, a shocked Arteta had to contend with the fact that Arsenal’s Monza loanee Pablo Mari suffered stab wounds in a supermarket in Milan.

Terrorism was ruled out, following a 46-year-old man being detained after violence that left five people injured and one dead, according to local reports.

“He is in hospital. He seems to be OK,” a visibly concerned Arteta said after the game.