As far as Champions League knockout matches go, this was dreamland for Arsenal. In the middle of a challenging run and forced to deal with the disappointment of an abruptly ended title race – not that Mikel Arteta is conceding it – winning 7-1 away from home is about as good as it gets.
Had Thomas Partey not given away a first-half penalty then it would have been even better. PSV Eindhoven’s resistance was limited to very few moments of brief hope on a chastening night. Arsenal didn’t want it to end.
This was not the performance of a team lacking confidence or a striker. Mikel Merino grabbed another goal, as did both of the wingers. Ethan Nwaneri further cemented his place as a genuine world star and Martin Odegaard found open pockets of space and used them effectively throughout.
PSV will argue they could easily have had another goal but Arsenal tore them apart in the second half after a strangely clinical display. It put them as far into the quarter-finals without being there as can be possible.
Odegaard fumes
Perhaps playing with the tension of knowing how just on a knife edge Arsenal have been in recent weeks, Odegaard’s response to not being given an early penalty was telling. After streaking through into the PSV box, he went down when trying to take a shot.