Arsenal’s promising teenage duo, Myles Lewis-Skelly and Ethan Nwaneri, were instrumental in a dominant 7-1 victory over PSV Eindhoven in the first leg of their Champions League last-16 tie on Tuesday, condemning the Dutch side to their heaviest-ever European defeat.
From the outset, Arsenal were on a different level, completely overpowering a hapless PSV, who were left reeling after the crushing loss.
The Gunners nearly took the lead in the 11th minute when Declan Rice fired a powerful shot into the PSV net, but it was ruled out for a narrow offside. This moment proved to be a preview of the onslaught to come.
PSV had an early chance to go ahead after 15 minutes when Ismael Saibari, with the goalkeeper already beaten, somehow struck the bar from close range.
Just two minutes later, Arsenal made the Dutch side pay for their wastefulness. Rice found himself with plenty of time and space inside the box, delivering a perfectly weighted cross to the far post where Jurrien Timber, Arsenal’s Dutch defender, was on hand to head the ball home.
The visitors doubled their lead shortly after, thanks to more poor defending from PSV. Lewis-Skelly, the 18-year-old English defender, was left unmarked in a dangerous position and squared the ball to fellow teenager Nwaneri, who smashed it into the top corner with precision.
The home side’s defensive shambles continued to worsen, and just past the half-hour mark, Arsenal made it 3-0. PSV’s defenders had four opportunities to clear the ball but failed miserably. The ball eventually fell to Mikel Merino, who calmly rolled it past goalkeeper Walter Benitez.
However, PSV were handed a lifeline just before the break when Thomas Partey needlessly wrapped his arms around Luuk de Jong’s head, conceding a penalty. Noa Lang, the Netherlands international, stepped up and confidently smashed the ball into the top corner, giving David Raya no chance.
The Dutch champions went into the half-time break 3-1 down, but their hopes of a comeback were quickly dashed in the second half. Within the first three minutes after the restart, Arsenal scored twice.
Nwaneri surged down the right flank and delivered a cross that Benitez could only palm into the path of Martin Ødegaard, who made no mistake in converting. Just a minute later, Riccardo Calafiori breezed past the PSV defense and found Leandro Trossard, whose composed finish made it 5-1.
Ødegaard grabbed a second shortly after, capitalizing on poor defending to run at the PSV backline before unleashing a shot that Benitez could only parry into his own net.
The misery for PSV was compounded in the 86th minute when Calafiori added a seventh, surpassing the previous record for goals conceded by PSV in European competition—a 6-0 loss to Saint-Étienne in the 1980 UEFA Cup.
It was a demoralizing evening for PSV, the 1987 European Cup winners, as their fans began leaving the stadium long before the final whistle.
In contrast, Arsenal are in an enviable position with a commanding lead, looking ahead to their next challenge—either Real Madrid or Atlético Madrid—awaiting them in the quarter-finals.
