With last week's 7-1 defeat, PSV faces a tough task in London. The recent past also provides little guidance, as the last two away games against Arsenal were lost.
**Arsenal in Europe**
Arsenal performed inconsistently in the knockout stages of European tournaments in recent years. In the 2023-2024 UEFA Champions League, the team scored only three goals in four games and remained scoreless against FC Porto and Bayern Munich.
One year earlier, Arsenal stranded in the UEFA Europa League in the last sixteen after penalty kicks against Sporting CP, again scoring three goals in two games. In 2020-2021, Arsenal reached the semifinals of that same tournament with 13 goals in eight games, but a scoreless draw against Villarreal CF cost them the final. Mikel Arteta's team is considerably stronger at home, with wins over SL Benfica (3-2), Stade Rennais (3-0) and Valencia CF (3-1).
**The group stage shooters**
Both teams featured a wide range of goal scorers in the group stage this season, with nine different shooters on each side. At Arsenal, Bukayo Saka was the most treacherous with five goals, while Kai Havertz found the net four times. At PSV, Ismael Saibari and Malik Tillman were the biggest boosters with three goals. Ryan Flamingo and Luuk de Jong both scored twice, including both against Red Star Belgrade.
In the group stage of 2018-2019, PSV faced another London club, Tottenham Hotspur. The first game at Philips Stadium ended 2-2, with goals by Luuk de Jong and Hirving Lozano. In England, PSV lost narrowly, despite an early goal by De Jong (2').
**PSV in European returns**
PSV had mixed results in return matches. In 2016, PSV was eliminated by Atlético Madrid after penalty kicks. A convincing 4-0 win over FC Copenhagen followed in 2022, while Leicester City (2-1) and Borussia Dortmund (2-0) proved too strong.