Pain in the Arsenal
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3 things that went wrong in Arsenal’s defeat to PSV Eindhoven

By Toby Hill

EINDHOVEN, NETHERLANDS - OCTOBER 27: Arsenal Captain Granit Xhaka (centre) leads his players off the pitch after defeat in the UEFA Europa League group A match between PSV Eindhoven and Arsenal FC at Phillips Stadium on October 27, 2022 in Eindhoven, Netherlands. (Photo by Visionhaus/Getty Images)
EINDHOVEN, NETHERLANDS - OCTOBER 27: Arsenal Captain Granit Xhaka (centre) leads his players off the pitch after defeat in the UEFA Europa League group A match between PSV Eindhoven and Arsenal FC at Phillips Stadium on October 27, 2022 in Eindhoven, Netherlands. (Photo by Visionhaus/Getty Images) /
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Arsenal fell to just their second defeat of the season on Thursday as Ruud van Nistelrooy’s PSV Eindhoven struck twice in the second half to dismantle the Gunners’ 100% start to their Europa League campaign.

Goals from Joey Veerman and Luuk de Jong sealed the win for the Dutch side, who will need to beat Bodo/Glimt next week to have a chance of topping the group.

The match showcased Arsenal’s vulnerabilities and, even while they top the group and the Premier League table, the Europa League has shown that there is a clear difference in class between their starting XI and their usual Europa League side.

3 things that went wrong in Arsenal’s defeat to PSV Eindhoven

But Mikel Arteta started this match with a strong line-up; there were only five changes to the side that drew against Southampton on the weekend. So why did it go so wrong for Arsenal? Here are three things that went wrong against PSV.

1. Failure to deal with Luuk De Jong’s physical threat

Half-time substitute Luuk de Jong changed the game. (Photo by Photo Prestige/Soccrates/Getty Images)
Half-time substitute Luuk de Jong changed the game. (Photo by Photo Prestige/Soccrates/Getty Images) /

Van Nistelrooy’s half-time substitution to bring De Jong on for former Aston Villa forward Anwar El Ghazi proved a masterstroke.

The 32-year-old provided the assist for the opening goal, after using his physicality to hold off the oncoming Rob Holding and thread through Veerman, who blasted the ball past Aaron Ramsdale in the Arsenal goal.

Just eight minutes later, De Jong doubled the hosts’ lead. A combination of Ramsdale missing the ball from the corner and Kieran Tierney’s lack of aerial presence left an open goal for the striker to head home into.

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