3 positives & negatives from Champions League opening day PSV win

Positive #2: Resting players

A huge positive from the match was that Mikel Arteta, as a result of our first-half demolition of the Dutch side, could make substitutions early on and provide key players with some much-needed rest ahead of the North London Derby.

Bukayo Saka, in particular, is a player who we have all seen play week in and week out, and I for one was thrilled to see him exit the pitch early.

Building a strong squad is clearly a core fundamental of the Arteta ethos and, while some may worry about the implications it may have – limited playing time for certain players for example, it’s benefit is obvious and will only be an asset as the club’s schedule thickens.

Negative #2: Took our foot off the gas

Another negative, albeit a harsh one, was the fact that having been 3-0 up at the interval, I would have liked to see us go on to score five or six before the full-time whistle.

Obviously, that is easier said than done, and when you are three goals to the good, the sensible thing to do is to control the game and make sure your opponents do not score. However, PSV were there for the taking and I believe that we could’ve quite easily added a few more goals to the final result.

4-0 is not a result to bemoan, but it certainly could’ve been an even sweeter scoreline.

Continued on the next slide…