Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta
Mikel Arteta rang the changes against PSV Eindhoven
Arsenal have successfully reached the Champions League quarter-finals after wrapping up a 9-3 win on aggreate over PSV Eindhoven.
Having won the first leg 7-1, Gunners boss Mikel Arteta made seven changes to the side that drew 1-1 with Manchester United last Sunday. Arteta handed opportunities to a number of fringe players and saw his side draw 2-2 at the Emirates.
Oleksandr Zinchenko and Declan Rice were on target for Arsenal, while former Tottenham star Ivan Perisic and Couhaib Driouech scored consolation goals for PSV. Here, Mirror Football takes a look at three players who sent a message to Arteta...
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Oleksandr Zinchenko
The Ukraine international had only made four starts ahead of this game and has almost solely featured as a left-back since joining Arsenal from Manchester City in 2022.
However, he was handed a rare start in midfield against PSV and made an almost immediate impact as he scored a brilliant long-range effort in the sixth minute. It was Zinchenko's first ever Champions League goal and it would not be a surprise to see him featuring more in midfield this season.
"It was a nice little ball inside to Oleksandr Zinchenko from Raheem Sterling and you just heard the crowd shout 'shoot' and he did," former Leeds striker Lucy Ward said on commentary for TNT Sports. "Perfect start for Arsenal."
Oleksandr Zinchenko
Oleksandr Zinchenko scored an excellent goal ( Image: Rob Newell - CameraSport via Getty Images)
Raheem Sterling
Having largely struggled so far this season, Sterling put in an impressive performance as he assisted both Zinchenko and Rice's goals.
Sterling had only mustered two assists in his previous 22 appearances for Arsenal and has appeared devoid of confidence at times. Despite a one-on-one miss late in the first-half, Sterling's display against PSV was perhaps his best in an Arsenal shirt and Arteta will be hoping he can kick on.
"Raheem Sterling is trying to be positive every time he picks the ball up," Ward said after Rice's goal. "He does really well to work that extra bit of space on the right and that allowed him to cross the ball for Declan Rice. It's a terrific cross - puts it on a plate for Rice who was always going to be the first to reach it."
Raheem sterling assisted two goals against PSV ( Image: Geert van Erven/Soccrates/Getty Images)
Kieran Tierney
The third left-back Arteta opted to start against PSV, Tierney struggled to make much of an impact while playing out of position as part of a makeshift attack.
Arsenal's injury problems have meant Arteta has been forced to play Tierney further forward at times this season, but he proved largely ineffective as the vast majority of the Gunners' success came through Sterling on the right.
It was just Tierney's second start of the season and the 27-year-old will be hoping to get his career back on track when he leaves Arsenal in the summer, with reports claiming he has already signed a pre-contract agreement to return to Celtic when his current deal expires.
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