At Emirates Stadium, the team captained by Mikel Arteta prevailed 1-0 to advance to the round of 16. On Thursday night, Arsenal defeated PSV Eindhoven 1-0 to advance to the Europa League round of 16. Even though the Gunners performed far better than the Dutch team, it took them until the 70th minute to eventually penetrate their defense.
Granit Xhaka scored the goal after Takehiro Tomiyasu‘s pass perfectly placed him in the box, where he finished with a superb right-footed half-volley. With two games remaining, the win puts Arsenal five points ahead of their opponents in Group A and guarantees their passage into the knockout stages. They now realize that winning the group with one game left and receiving a bye into the round of 16 is guaranteed with a draw against PSV the following week.
The Performing Side:
Granit Xhaka: The story of redemption keeps going on forever. Twenty minutes from time, Xhaka scored an outstanding goal to rescue Arsenal from what seemed to be a terrible evening in front of goal. The fairytale season of the midfielder is progressing thanks to his current tally of three goals and three assists. It makes sense why Mikel Arteta virtually never leaves him out of his starting XI.
Rob Holding: Holding continued his impressive group stage performance by putting out yet another excellent performance. Given his little playing time in the Premier League, the center-back may be excused for being a little rusty, but he hasn’t missed a beat when needed. The PSV forward line may not have put much pressure on him, but the 27-year-old was exceptional in possession and powerful when he needed to be. Although Holding has had a challenging season thus far, he has not let anyone down when Mikel Arteta has given him the chance.
Takehiro Tomiyasu: It was Tomiyasu’s responsibility to silence the dangerous Cody Gakpo, and he was successful in doing so. After playing left-back against Liverpool and Leeds, the Japan international was moved to his natural right-back position to deal with the threat of Gakpo. Given Gakpo’s performance this season, it seemed like a challenging challenge, but Tomiyasu did it without issue. He also played a crucial role on the other end, helping Granit Xhaka score 20 minutes from time.
The Losing Side:
Cody Gakpo: The PSV winger had a momentous night. He is expected to make a high-profile transfer to the Premier League in the summer. Gakpo received a lot of buzz before the game from Ruud van Nistelrooy, but on a disappointing night for the Dutch international, Gakpo couldn’t live up to the expectation. Takehiro Tomiyasu hardly kicked him when he drifted into the core sections, thus he was unable to have the kind of real impact he had hoped for.
Ruud van Nistelrooy: Van Nistelrooy would have been anxious for his squad to do well upon his return to north London given his history with Arsenal. However, he was disappointed to see his team make no meaningful threats at all. As a result, they now know they must win in Holland the following week if they hope to finish first in their group and advance. PSV has been prolific in terms of scoring during the entire campaign, both domestically and in Europe, but there was little evidence of this in the Emirates. They appear to merely stand back and play for the draw, which was a strategy that ultimately resulted in punishment for them.
The Defensive Side:
Matt Turner: He just needed to make one save, which he accomplished expertly by blocking Xavi Simons’ low shot.
Takehiro Tomiyasu: Very good work. Gakpo was removed from the contest.
Rob Holding: Holding put on another strong Europa League effort.
Gabriel Magalhaes: Easily won the match.
Kieran Tierney: All night long, Kieran Tierney continued to bomb forward.
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