Arsenal made their first appearance in the Champions League since the 2016-17 season on Wednesday night as they hosted PSV Eindhoven at the Emirates, wasting little time to make Mikel Arteta’s pre-match words ring true
Arsenal didn’t take long to make their presence felt back in the Champions League
After six years in the relative wilderness that is being away from European football’s premier club competition, Arsenal returned to the Champions League on Wednesday night… and they came back with a bang.
The Gunners’ delight at returning to the competition was there for all to see inside the Emirates - or the ‘Arsenal Stadium’ as UEFA regulations dictate - before a ball had even been kicked in their opening group game against PSV Eindhoven.
And front and centre in the seconds before kickoff was Oleksandr Zinchenko screaming “come on, f** come on” to further enliven an already boisterous crowd, with the excitement of both they and this Arsenal crop crystal clear.
Zinchenko and his ex-Manchester City teammate Gabriel Jesus have no shortage of experience in the competition from their time at the Etihad. Martin Odegaard and William Saliba have been here before, while Kai Havertz, of course, scored the only goal of Chelsea’s 2021 triumph.
For the rest, this was a new experience, including boss Mikel Arteta, managing in the competition for the first time. He had insisted before the game: “We’ve been chasing and fighting for it and now we’ve got it we have to make the most out of it.”
They didn’t waste any time.
Within eight minutes, Saka had opened the scoring with his first Champions League goal, the England star reacting quickest to Odegaard’s low shot which goalkeeper Walter Benitez could only parry, firing low into the net.
With less than a quarter of the game gone, a fast, frantic opening had seen Arteta’s men double their advantage, Saka this time turning provider for Leandro Trossard - match winner against Everton at the weekend - to coolly slide home into the bottom corner from 18 yards with a cultured finish.
Bukayo Saka celebrates opening the scoring (
Image:
NEIL HALL/EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock)
Gabriel Jesus celebrates making it 3-0 (
Image:
NEIL HALL/EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock)
In the 38th minute, it was effectively game over. Gabriel clipped a wonderful pass down the left side for Trossard to chase down, the Belgian waited patiently, picked out Jesus at the far post, and the Brazilian took a touch before ruthlessly fired into the far corner. The most experienced of all his teammates in this competition, it was his 21st goal in 39 games at Europe’s top table.
If Arteta had drawn a pre-match plan of what he wanted the game to go like, this was it. His side, unsurprisingly, were given a standing ovation as they exited the field at the break.
“Europe is different,” Arteta had said in his pre-match press conference on Wednesday. It may well be, but in the opening 45 minutes on matchday one, his side found it very much to their liking.
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