More on that Pablo Mari story: Sky Sports reporter Rob Harris has reported that the 29-year-old Arsenal centre-half, who is currently on loan at Monza, is among six people who have been stabbed in a Milan shopping centre. While the seriousness of his situation is unknown, he is reported to be conscious and receiving treatment in hospital. Monza manager Raffaele Palladino is due to visit him this evening.
In Eindhoven we do things together 🔴⚪️
— PSV (@PSV) October 27, 2022
𝐄𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐡𝐭 𝐌𝐚𝐚𝐤𝐭 𝐌𝐚𝐜𝐡𝐭.#PSVARS #UEL pic.twitter.com/cxpt6Tf2Hj
Match report: PSV Eindhoven 2-0 Arsenal
Europa League: “In his haste to avoid two extra Europa League assignments, Mikel Arteta may now have to bring out the big guns for one more,” writes Nick Ames from the Philips Stadion.
Worrying news: There are – as yet unconfirmed – reports circulating that Pablo Mari, who is on loan at Seria A side Monza from Arsenal, is one of several victims of a series of stabbings in a Milan shopping centre. Fabrizio Romano, occasionally of this parish, says the Spanish centre-back is being treated for his injuries in hospital. We wish him and any other victims of what seems to have been a totally random attack well.
Elsewhere in Group A: FC Zurich have beaten Bodo/Glimt 2-1 with a late winner and stay third in the group on five points but unable to qualify for the knockout stages.
Full time: PSV Eindhoven 2-0 Arsenal
Peep! Peep! Peeeeeeeeep! It’s all over at the Philips Stadion, where PSV have beaten Arsenal in rather convincing fashion courtesy of goals from Joey Veerman and Luke De Jong. Arsenal are through to the knockout stages regardless but need to beat FC Zurich next week to be certain of finishing top of Group A.
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90+1 min: PSV concede a corner as Jordan Teze heads a Saka effort from inside the penalty area clear. The subsequent delivery fails to clear the first defender on the near post.
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89 min: PSV’s fans are in fine voice as their team plays down the clock to secure the three points that will take them to within two points of their visitors in Group A.
86 min: As so often happens when the benches are emptied and wholesale substitutions are made, the game has lost its rhythm. That’s good and bad news for Arsenal, who still need two goals to get the point that guarantees them top spot in the group but were in grave danger of conceding several more if the game had kept going as it was.
83 min: PSV make another substitution, replacing Cody Gakpo with Mauro Junior. Gakpo has been hugely impressive this evening but it’s the teenager Xavi Simons who has made the biggest impression on me. I’d never heard of him two hours ago but will be monitoring his future progress with interest.
80 min: PSV double-substitution: Brantwaithe and the excellent Xavi Simons off. Jordan Teze and Noni Madueke on.
78 min: On loan at PSV from Everton, Jarrad Brantwaithe slides in with a goal-saving challenge to prevent Arsenal from scoring on the follow-up after PSV goalkeeper Walter Bentiez had saved superbly from Eddie Nketiah, who should have scored. He’s had a good game, has young Master Brantwaithe but his evening is over.
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76 min: Arsenal double-substitution: Kieran Tierney and Takehiro Tomiyasu off, Ben White and Gabriel on.
74 min: And in other housekeeping news, it was Rob Holding who made way for Gabriel Jesus, not Kieran Tierney. Apologies for the fake news.
73 min: Ah! That most recent De Jong effort, saved by Ramsdale, wouldn’t have counted as it seems he was flagged for offside.
71 min: Bookings I didn’t get a chance to chronicle a few minutes ago: Martinelli and Mwene for a spot of argy-bargy following a foul by the former on Ibrahim Sangare.
70 min: PSV turn the screw. Simons stands the ball up for still unmarked De Jong at the far post but the veteran striker’s firm downward header is saved superbly by Ramsdale, who atones for his earlier error.
68 min: De Jong is left completely unmarked at the far post for a PSV free-kick wide on the left. The ball finds its way to him but he heads across the face of goal and wide. Arsenal are incredibly lucky to be just two goals down. They’re a mess at the moment.
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66 min: Cody Gakpo has his second “goal” of the night ruled out for offside after more outstanding link-up play between himself and the hugely impressive Xavi Simons. It was another tidy finish to round off an excellent PSV but the flag went up once again.
64 min: Another goal for PSV, another change for Arsenal. Gabriel Jesus comes on for Kieran Tierney and Arsenal switch to three at the back.
GOAL! PSV Eindhoven 2-0 Arsenal (De Jong 63)
PSV double their lead! Luuk De Jong scores, heading home when Aaron Ramsdale came off his line to punch a Cody Gakpo cross clear only to miss the ball completely. Oh Aaron.
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62 min: PSV left-back Philipp Max canters down the inside left and tries to sqaure the ball for Cody Gakpo in the centre. Thomas Partey intercepts.
60 min: That goal: Arsenal lost posession at their own throw-in, with Andre Ramalho Silva heading the ball inside to De Jong. Under pressure from Holding, he held up the ball before rolling it into the path of Veerman, who made no mistake. De Jong has been hugely influential since coming on at half-time.
57 min: Arsenal react with a double-substitution: Albert Sambi Lokonga and Martin Odegaard make way for Thomas Partey and Bukayo Saka.
GOAL! PSV Eindhoven 1-0 Arsenal (Veerman 55)
PSV take the lead. And it’s no more than they deserve. Joey Veerman fires them in front from 15 yards or so after being teed up by Luuk De Jong. Arsenal’s defence was all over the place.
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53 min: Cody Gakpo is played in behind down the inside left courtesy of a beautifully weighted ball from his link-up man Simons. He shoots wide from a tight angle.
49 min: Aaron Ramsdale gets down, back up and down again to save twice in quick succession from Xavi Simons and Joey Veerman after good work from De Jong.
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48 min: Kieran TIerney advancves up the left flank, cuts inside Philipp Mwene and tries to curl a shot into the top right-hand corner. High and wide but it was a decent effort.
47 min: Arsenal win a corner which PSV fail to clear properly. Tomiyasu tees up Eddie Nketiah, who sends a snap-shot flashing inches wide of the upright.
Second half: PSV Eindhoven 0-0 Arsenal
46 min: Play resumes with Arsenal on the ball and a change in personnel in the PSV ranks. Luuk De Jong is on to play centre-forward and Anwar El Ghazi makes way.
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Half-time: PSV Eindhoven 0-0 Arsenal
Peep! It remains scoreless at half-time but PSV have been in the ascendency. Cody Gakpo and Xavi Simons have been outstanding for the home side and both have had terrific “goals” ruled out for fractional offsides.
Simons’s strike in particular was outstanding – the 19-year-old with the short blond dreadlocks received the ball in the congested Arsenal penalty area and took it past three defenders before slotting into the corner, only to see his effort ruled out for an infringement that had nothing to do with him. At the half-tiome whistle, even Rob Holding threw an arm of commiseration around the PSV forward’s shouldders.
45 min: Martin Odegaard has a rasping shot saved by PSV goalkeeper Walter Benitez and that’s the end of your first half.
VAR! Goal disallowed!
That is so harsh! Simons’s quite outstanding goal is ruled out for an Anwar El Ghazi offside in the build-up. The youngster looks devastated and well he might. He is absolutely gutted.
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GOAL! PSV Eindhoven 1-0 Arsenal (Simons 43)
I spoke too soon! Wonderful feet from Xavi Simons, who scuttles through the Arsenal penalty area with the ball at his feet, taking out three or four Arsenal players before side-footing the ball into the corner. How on earth did he manage that?!?!?!
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41 min: PSV’s substitutes are summoned en masse from the bench to warm up. It’s not a particularly interesting observation but it’s all I’ve got at the moment. This match is not exactly riveting.
38 min: Simons is penalised for a foul on William Saliba while trying to take the ball from him. It looked six of one and half a dozen of the other but the Arsenal defender gets away with dawdling in possession.
35 min: Takehiro Tomiyasu shepherds a ball from deep back to Aaron Ramsdale under the most intense pressure from Cody Gakpo. Good defending from the Arsenal right-back.
33 min: PSV lose the ball as they try to play it out from the back but Arsenal captain Martin Odegaard’s shot on goal from distance is blocked.
32 min: Gakpo and Simons link up down the left flank for PSV but a moment of indecision from the latter after cutting inside allows Arsenal to clear their lines.
30 min: The deadlock remains resolutely unbroken as we hit the 30-minute mark but Arsenal have had a couple of scares on the back of balls played in behind their high defensive line. Xavi Simons, who looks about 14 years old, brought a smart enough save out of Aaron Ramsey while Cody Gakpo, who is wanted by a number of elite European clubs, had a wonderful finish correctly ruled out for offside.
27 min: Gabriel Martinelli slings a cross into the PSV box from an inside-left position, trying to pick out Eddie Nketiah. His delivery is a mite too high.
25 min: There’s a warm round of applause from the PSV supporters in memory of one of their number who died in a road accident yesterday, aged just 25. Outside the stadium, fireworks are set off in his memory.
21 min: Arsenal corner. Granit Xhaka gets a talking-to from the referee before the ball comes in and it’s subsequently put behind his own goal by PSV defender Andre Silva. The home side are awarded a goal-kick, much to the displeasue of Takehiro Tomiyasu, who had contested the ball with the PSV defender.
DISALLOWED PSV GOAL!
18 min: Cody Gakpo is played in behind the Arsenal defence with a wonderfully weighted pass through the middle. In a one-on-one with Ramsdale, he lifts the ball over the goalkeeper and sends it bouncing into the Arsenal goal. It’s a terrific finish but the flag goes up because he mistimed his run. Offside.
17 min: Nothing comes of it.
16 min: Arsenal enjoy a period of sustainedf possession that ends with Gabriel Martinelli having a shot from the edge of the PSV penalty area deflected over the bar. The ball loops up in the air and lands of the roof of the PSV goal: corner.
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15 min: Still no real chances of note for either side with quarter of an hour gone. Move along! Nothing to see here!
12 min: Sangara wins the ball again, looping it forward to the lively Simons. He tries to play Gakpo in behind the Arsenal defence with a nudge on the ball from his head but the winger is unable to control the ball on the edge of the penalty area and fails to get a shot off.
8 min: Simons tries his luck with a low shot from distance after Martin Odegaard had lost position in midfield to Ibrahim Sangare, who immediately played it forward. Ramsdale gets down to palm the ball out for a corner. Nothing comes from the set-piece.
7 min: A low ball through the middle for Simons to chase is over-hit and the 19-year-old gives up his pursuit. Ramsdale gathers. No chances for either side so far.
5 min: Arsenal advance and Favbio Vieira cuts in from the left wing to carry the ball along the edge of the PSV penalty area. PSV defend more than adequately and the threat from the visitors fizzles out.
4 min: PSV have started brightly, playing further up the pitch than they did last week at the Emirates. A cross comes in from the right but is overhit.
2 min: Aaron Ramsdale gets his first touch of the ball on the European stage, comfortably catching a delivery into his penalty area from Gakpo.
PSV Eindhoven v Arsenal is go ...
1 min: Xavi Simons gets the ball rolling for PSV, their players wearing red and white striped shirts, black shorts and white socks. The players of Arsenal are in black shirts, white shorts and black socks.
Not long now: The teams are out on the pitch, the Europa League anthem is blaring and all concerned are going through the last of the of the pre-match formalities. Kick-off is just a couple of minutes away. Skippers Cody Gakpo and Martin Odegaard exchange pennants and handshakes …
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A top stat from BT Sport’s Matt Smith: He reveals that it is three years to the day since Granit Xhaka cupped his ear and “conducted” Arsenal fans before removing his shirt and throwing it on the ground as they booed him off when he was substituted during a 2-2 draw with Crystal Palace. His has been quite the redemption story.
Mikel Arteta speaks: “Matt felt something in his groin last night so we decided to play Aaron,” says the Arsenal manager of his unexpected goalkeeper switcheroo in an interview with BT Sport. “You will see when the game starts, obviously,” he says with a grin upon being asked what role Eddie Nketiah will play. “We’re going to play the same way we always play, come here to win the game, to be dominant and don’t change the way we’ve been playing.”
Those teams: Mikel Arteta makes four changes to the side that defeated PSV in London last week, with goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale coming in for his European debut in place of his usual, injured understudy Matt Turner, who has been lining up for his side in this season’s Europa League. Captain Martin Odegaard, winger Gabriel Martinelli and defender William Saliba are also in, with Gabriel, Bukayo Saka and Gabriel Jesus also making way.
PSV manager Ruud van Nistelrooy makes two changes from last week’s match. Anwar El Ghazi and Jarrad Branthwaite, who is on loan from Everton, both start.
PSV Eindhoven v Arsenal line-ups
PSV Eindhoven: Benitez, Mwene, Ramalho, Branthwaite, Max, Veerman, Sangare, Gutierrez, Simons, El Ghazi, Gakpo.
Subs: Drommel, Waterman, Hoever, Teze, Obispo, Van Ginkel, De Jong, Madueke, Mauro Junior, Til, Bakayoko, Ledezma.
Arsenal: Ramsdale, Tomiyasu, Holding, Saliba, Tierney, Lokonga, Xhaka, Odegaard, Vieira, Nketiah, Martinelli.
Subs: Hein, White, Partey, Gabriel, Saka, Jesus, Cedric, Nelson, Cirjan, Smith, Ibrahim.
Group A: PSV Eindhoven v Arsenal
The Philips Stadion is the venue for this evening’s Europa League clash between PSV and Arsenal, with the visitors already through to the knockout stages and needing just a point to seal their progress as group winners with a home game against FC Zurich to spare.
In the corresponding fixture at the EMirates last week, Arsenal won courtesy of the only goal of the game, scored by goal crazy midfielder Granit Xhaka, who followed up with another strike against Southampton at the weekend and is now looking for his third goal in three games.
While PSV can still win this group, albeit in a rather unlikely set of circumstances, they could guarantee themselves second place with a point this evening if the scoreline in Bodo/Glimt’s clash with Zurich goes their way. Kick off in Eindhoven is at 5.45pm (BST) but stay tuned in the meantime for team news and build-up.
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