Arsenal are through to the quarter-finals of the Champions League after running out 9-3 winners on aggregate over PSV Eindhoven.
The Gunners’ last-16 second-leg encounter at the Emirates Stadium was little more than a formality as they had won 7-1 in the first leg.
Oleksandr Zinchenko, playing in midfield, opened the scoring after just six minutes, though Ivan Perisic equalised against Arsenal in the 18th minute.
Declan Rice then made it 2-1 on 37 minutes before PSV found another equaliser on 70 minutes, this time through Couhaib Driouech.
Martin Keown, speaking after the game, shared what he saw from Arsenal that had been a “long time coming”.
Photo by Geert van Erven/Soccrates/Getty Images
Photo by Geert van Erven/Soccrates/Getty Images
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Martin Keown hails Raheem Sterling display for Arsenal against PSV
With Arsenal effectively through before the second leg even got under way, Mikel Arteta was able to experiment somewhat with his side.
Along with giving Zinchenko and Myles Lewis-Skelly opportunities in midfield, he also started Raheem Sterling on the right side of attack.
Sterling, who has found opportunities few and far between this season, provided both assists for Arsenal on the night.
Keown said Sterling delivered arguably “the best football we have seen from him” in the campaign and called it “a long time coming”.
He told TNT Sports: “Raheem Sterling was one of the ones we were anxious to see. In spells he was excellent.
“His involvement in two of the goals was probably the best football we have seen from him all season.
“And we are nearing the end of the season, so it has been a long time coming.”
Raheem Sterling stats for Arsenal against PSV
Sterling has cut a forlorn figure for much of the season, but on Wednesday night, it looked as though he had some of his old swagger back.
As well as providing two assists, he also had two shots on target, saw one shot blocked, and won five ground duels.
Raheem Sterling stats v PSV
Assists 2
Expected Assists (xA) 0.23
Shots on target 2
Shots blocked 1
Dribble attempts (succ.) 2 (1)
Touches 47
Accurate passes 20/23 (87%)
Key passes 3
Crosses (acc.) 4 (1)
Big chances created 1
Ground duels (won) 9 (5)
Interceptions 1
Sterling has certainly shown he can still contribute a lot for Arsenal between now and the end of the season, with the Champions League very much up for grabs.
Ian Wright previously worried that Arteta doesn’t rate Sterling any more after the Man United game, but now things may have changed.
Arsenal are next in action on Sunday when they host Chelsea in a Premier League encounter at the Emirates Stadium.
The international break then gets under way after this weekend.