3 PSV players to watch in Europa League clash at the Emirates

While the trip to Bodø/Glimt was challenging for several reasons, there’s no doubt that Arsenal’s greatest qualitative test in their Europa League group is Ruud van Nistelrooy’s PSV Eindhoven.

The passing of Queen Elizabeth II in September forced the postponement of this clash on Matchday 2, but the two sides will finally pit their wits against one another on Thursday evening.

While Arsenal are flying both domestically and in Europe, PSV have enjoyed a pretty decent start to the 2022/23 campaign themselves. They’re right on Ajax’s tail in the Eredivisie and have claimed seven points from their opening three games in this competition.

This PSV side is laden with young and exciting talent, but today we’re not going to be discussing Cody Gakpo, whom Arsenal fans familiarised themselves with over the summer amid links to the Dutch international. Instead, we’ll be taking a deeper dive into three other PSV stars that you might not be too familiar with.

3 PSV players to watch in Europa League clash at the Emirates

Here are three PSV players not called Cody Gakpo to keep a close eye on as they take on the Gunners in north London on Thursday.

1. Philipp Max

Philipp Max was one of the Bundesliga’s most dynamic full-backs during his time at Augsburg before he made the step up to PSV in a bid to play Champions League football.

Max is yet to play in Europe’s premier club competition, but he’s certainly got the quality to do so.

The German left-back put up some impressive attacking numbers with Augsburg, but his output in the final third has declined since arriving in Eindhoven. Nevertheless, he still possesses plenty of endeavour and his surges forward will need to be tracked by the Gunners. The German is an excellent ball striker and fierce crosser of the ball.

Going the other way, Max is a stout defender who’s certainly improved in many aspects since leaving the Bundesliga.

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