Eindhoven has been full of carnival attendees in recent days, but Tuesday was Arsenal enjoying his own party in the city, overcoming his goal crisis and establishing a record of the Champions League in the process.
Mikel Arteta’s team became the first team in the history of the Champions League to score seven goals away from home in the qualifying stages of the competition while questioning a 7-1 victory over the PSV Eindhoven.
It was the greatest amount of goals that Gunners have scored in a single game since he beat Newcastle 7-3 in the Premier League 13 years ago.
Arsenal’s manager said that victory had given his players “joy, trust and belief”, but he was not being asked when asked questions about the records that his team had broken.
“Sure, it’s something that has not been done, so good to be part of that,” said Arteta. “But as a team we want to achieve many other things that are much more important than that.
“The happiest thing is that we are in a very strong position to go to the next round, which is where we want to be.
“But there is still a job to do in London in a week.”
After not obtaining annotations in his last two games, a 0-0 draw in Nottingham Forest and 1-0 defeat by West Ham, Arteta may not have seen a victory like this coming coming.
“This will give them great confidence for the rest of the season. From the beginning, Arsenal had control of the game,” said Chris Sutton in BBC Radio 5 Live.
“Arsenal was ruthless with its finish, part of the combination game in the final third was sensational.
“Martin Odegaard looked at his best moment. A man were really strong and that central matching [Gabriel Magalhaes and William Saliba] It is phenomenal.
“Arsenal will stop in this competition.”
The midfielder of England and Arsenal, Declan Rice, was one of the players pointed out for his performance during the game and said that the gunners have the reward for their arduous work in recent weeks.
Rice, who had ruled out a goal for offside, said Arsenal was “fluid” and possessed “enthusiasm, impulse and hunger” that the eliminated stages demand.
“But we have been playing like this throughout the season,” he added. “We feel that we have been playing well as a team. Sometimes we write down five, sometimes two, sometimes we don’t write down but [on Tuesday] We did it well. Everything clicks. “
The lack of arsenal of a recognized striker has been well documented, with Gabriel Jesús and Kai Hvertz injured. But six different players contributed to the defeat on Tuesday: Odegaard scored twice, along with goals for Jurrien Timber, Mikel Merino, Ethan Nwaneri, Leandro Trosssard and Riccardo Calafiori.
Eractic victory means that Arsenal can begin planning a trip to Madrid, since they are ready to face the winner of the tie between Real and Athletic, which ended 2-1 next to Carlo Ancelotti. The second section next week takes place in Atlético.
