Mikel Arteta opted to make a number of changes to his Arsenal squad for the second-leg of the Champions League round of 16 tie against PSV following their record victory in Eindhoven last week
21:53, 12 Mar 2025Updated 22:02, 12 Mar 2025
Mikel Arteta
Mikel Arteta saw his changed Arsenal team book their quarter-final spot(Image: Offside via Getty Images)
Mikel Arteta could put his feet up as Arsenal capitalised on their first-leg lead as a rotated side drew 2-2 against PSV Eindhoven to win 9-3 on aggregate.
Arsenal had already done the qualification job after demolishing PSV 7-1 in Eindhoven last week. But Arteta still opted to field a strong side, albeit with a couple of changes, and his players showed their professionalism on a night where it would have been easy to become complacent.
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The Gunners showed no sign of going through the motions as Oleksandr Zinchenko opened the scoring after just six minutes with a curling left footed effort from the edge of the box. However, the lead was short lived, as the visiting fans were given something to cheer when Ivan Perisic made it 1-1 with a well-taken finish.
Arsenal retook the lead in the 37th minute when Declan Rice met Raheem Sterling’s cross six yards out. But the visitors rallied after the break and levelled the game up again as Couhaib Driouech chipped David Raya outrageously from 25 yards after Jorginho lost the ball at the halfway line.
Here, the Daily Star Sport looks at what Arteta learned as Arsenal secured quarter-final qualification.
Energy and application
Leading a home second-leg by six goals, it’s easy to forgive any team for taking their eye off the ball, but that didn’t happen.
Zinchenko’s early goal gave the hosts a purpose to continue to find goals in the tie, and Gabriel’s reaction to conceding showed just invested Arsenal’s players were in the game.
While PSV sat off, Arsenal moved the ball quickly and with intent. And when they did lose possession, they hastily pressed the opposition. The mindset from Arteta and his players couldn’t have been further applauded.
Declan Rice
Declan Rice found himself on the scoresheet again(Image: UEFA via Getty Images)
Team selection
As expected, Arteta made a number of changes to the line-up, seeing fringe players Sterling, Kieran Tierney and Zinchenko deployed from the off. With Gabriel, Declan Rice and David Raya among those not taken out of the side.
The Spaniard still opted to name a strong bench, with no potential debutants waiting in the wings. Nathan Butler-Oyedeji, Ismeal Kabia and goalkeeper Tommy Setford were the least experienced players named as substitutes, with all having played once for the club before, and none of them being called off the bench.
One positive was the return of Ben White to the starting line-up. The 27-year-old started his first game since the Premier League draw against Chelsea at the beginning of November. White played 80 minutes before he was replaced.
Zinchenko role
The Ukrainian appears to have been ousted from his previous left-back role by Riccardo Calafiori and Myles Lewis-Skelly, and was given a rare start by Arteta, which he has taken.
Zinchenko started in Arteta’s midfield three, a position in which the versatile star has played before, but he has been far from a regular in the engine room during his career.
Oleksandr Zinchenko
Oleksandr Zinchenko impressed in midfield(Image: CameraSport via Getty Images)
But the 28-year-old was impressive, scoring Arsenal’s first and catching the eye of fans too. One user on X wrote: “Zinchenko was the man we needed in midfield but Mikel Arteta never saw it.”
A second questioned: “Everyone always knew Zinchenko could do a solid job in midfield, I never understood why Arteta never played him consistently in the left 8 role.” While a third added: “Can Odegaard keep sitting on the bench while Zinchenko plays his position??”
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Quarter-final opponents
Arsenal already knew they would be playing in the quarter-finals after their demolition job in Eindhoven last week but the one thing they didn't immediately learn was who they would be playing in the quarter-final. The action in Madrid saw Atletico Madrid and Real Madrid go to extra-time.
The other quarter-final ties see Bayern Munich face Inter Milan, Barcelona play Borussia Dortmund, and PSG play Aston Villa – with the winner of that tie playing either Arsenal or one of the Madrid clubs in the semi-final.