PSV fans caused chaos following their defeat to Arsenal as a group of supporters ripped out seats and threw flares toward the home end.
The commotion came at the end of a routine victory for the Gunners, with Granit Xhaka’s strike the only goal of the game in the Europa League clash. The win, Arsenal ’s eighth on the spin in all competitions means they have already secured a top-two finish in the group and can now confirm top spot with another three points in Eindhoven next week.
In truth, the contest was somewhat of a non-event, with the free-scoring Dutch side failing to ever threaten Matt Turner in the hosts’ goal. But following the full-time whistle, the packed out away end was the sight for several disturbances.
Footage captured by those inside the stadium showed one supporter throwing a flare towards the home sections, fortunately missing the departing Arsenal fans. Several were also seen ripping out seats, with riot police forced to intervene and UEFA have now lauched an investigation. The charges in particular relate to throwing of objects, lighting of fireworks, acts of damage and crowd disturbances.
The scenes somewhat marred what was another positive night for Mikel Arteta’s side, who are matching their Premier League exploits with positive results in Europe. “We are qualified, so that’s the first step. Really pleased to do that,” Arteta said.
“Now we want to achieve the second one, which is to finish first in the group. Because we know the difference that’s going to make in terms of the games you’re going to play and against who. That’s still something we had to do in general.
“We are really pleased with the performance and with what the boys showed. We had some really dominant and good moments, but we lacked in the final third and the final action to put more shots on target and to score more goals, I think.”
During the second half there was a collective gasp when Bukayo Saka went down holding his calf at the end of a lengthy run. The England international ran off the knock and put in another all-action display to add to his collection.
Arteta named a strong side, including Saka, despite the winger being a near ever-present in their surprising early title tilt. Asked if he was concerned about burnout for the Gunner star, Arteta added: “Look at the top players in the world. They play 70 matches every three days and make the difference and win the game.
“You want to be at the top, you have to be able to do that. And if we start to put something different in the mind of a young player, I think we are making a huge mistake because then [he would] be like, ‘no, I don’t play now, on astro-turf I don’t play’. I don’t want that. I want them to be ruthless every three days.”
