•Arsenal defender Jurrien Timber (C) celebrates goal with teammates
Arsenal’s talented teenage duo Myles Lewis-Skelly and Ethan Nwaneri combined yesterday to help the Gunners to an imperious 7-1 Champions League last-16 first leg advantage over a shambolic PSV Eindhoven.
The Premiership side were on a different level to the struggling Dutch champions, who were condemned to their worst-ever defeat in European football, reports AFP.
Arsenal dominated from the outset. Declan Rice’s powerful shot into the PSV net on 11 minutes was chalked off for a narrow offside, but it was a taste of what was to come.
Against the run of play, PSV should have taken the lead after a quarter of an hour but Ismael Saibari somehow contrived to hit the bar from close range with the goalkeeper already beaten.
Arsenal made the hosts pay for their profligacy two minutes later. Rice was afforded far too much space in the PSV box, allowing him to chip a cross to the far post, gratefully headed home by Arsenal’s own flying Dutchman, Jurrien Timber.
The Premiership side doubled their lead shortly afterwards following more generous Dutch defending.
Lewis-Skelly, the 18-year-old English defender, found himself in acres of space in a dangerous area, squaring to fellow teenager Nwaneri, who smashed the cross into the top corner.
PSV’s shambolic defending turned to embarrassment as Arsenal made it three after just over half an hour played.
The defence squandered four chances to make an easy clearance, the ball eventually falling to makeshift striker Mikel Merino, who rolled past Walter Benitez.
The shellshocked fans in the Philips Stadion received a glimmer of hope however just before half time, PSV winning a penalty after Thomas Partey needlessly wrapped his arms around striker Luuk de Jong’s head.
Netherlands international winger Noa Lang made no mistake from the spot, smashing the ball into the top corner, giving David Raya no chance.
A lifeline for the Dutch champions, who went into half-time 3-1 down after a breathless first 45 minutes.
Lewis-Skelly meanwhile had been substituted, arguably fortunate to escape a second yellow card after a clumsy challenge on Richard Ledezma.
– Record defeat –
But any hope for the home fans was quickly snuffed out, as Arsenal scored twice in the first three minutes of the second half.
Nwaneri broke impressively down the right, squaring a cross that Benitez could only palm into the path of Martin Odegaard.
By now, it was all too easy for Arsenal. With 49 minutes gone, Riccardo Calafiori eased past the left side of the PSV defence, finding Belgium international striker Leandro Trossard, who lifted his shot effortlessly home.
Odegaard grabbed a second as PSV capitulated, the Norwegian running unchallenged at the defence before firing a shot that Benitez parried lamely into his own net.
Calafiori compounded the misery with a seventh on 86 minutes, beating the previous record for PSV goals conceded in Europe — they lost 6-0 to Saint-Etienne in the 1980 UEFA Cup.
It was a sad evening for the 1987 European Cup champions, whose fans streamed out of the stadium well before the final whistle.
Arsenal in contrast have the luxury of a comfortable lead, with the winner of the tie between Real or Atletico Madrid the next challenge.
