PSV Eindhoven v Arsenal: Champions League last 16, first leg – live | Champions League

With his goal, Ethan Nwaneri (17yr 348d) becomes the third-youngest goal scorer in the Champions League knockout stage – behind only Bojan (17y 217d) and Jude Bellingham (17y 289d).

Something I kept meaning to point out amid the flurry of chances – Declan Rice mentioned before the game that Mikel Arteta wants his players to be more flexible in terms of their playing position.

We’ve certainly seen that from Rice in the first half – he’s been very attacking – and defenders are getting forward in open play, as seen when right-back Timber nodded home Rice’s cross for the opener.

That is presumably to ease the burden on “false nine” Mikel Merino, although he got Arsenal’s third with the poaching instincts of big Micky Quinn in his pomp.

“Suddenly, everything in Arsenal–world looks fine, fine, fine. Clouds part. Sunshine streams down. The power of love, or more specifically, three terrific goals,” wrote Charles Antaki, seconds before PSV won that corner.

Half time in Madrid, where the red-hot Julian Alvarez has got Atlético level at the Bernabéu. It’s 1-1 there, and Dortmund lead Lille 1-0 at home thanks to Karim Adeyemi.

It’s Carnival time in Eindhoven and this game has brought the requisite vibes. There have been chances at both ends, great goals, controversy and defensive clownery galore. More please!

47 mins: Perisic crumples into Gabriel underneath a long ball from Flamingo, and is ordered to his feet by the referee.

45 mins: Another chance for PSV! Malacia, who’s here on loan from Manchester United, whips in a terrific cross on to the head of Luuk De Jong, who nods it over the bar. Four added minutes, and no sign of this game slowing down.

43 mins: Arsenal are immediately back on the front foot with Declan Rice – who has spent much of the game playing almost as a left winger – firing a low shot towards the far corner which Benitez gets his fingertips to. Nobody notices, though, and PSV get a goal kick.

Crank up the Kernkraft, PSV are back in this. Noa Lang, taking over spot-kick duties from De Jong, smacks the ball into the corner with David Raya not making a move either way.

And as the ball floats towards goal, Thomas Partey is penalised for hauling down Luuk De Jong! He also gets a (first) yellow card.

40 mins: PSV, trying to regain a foothold in this tie, have a corner …

“Did I just hear Clattenberg say that had Lewis-Skelly not been booked then that tackle would have been a booking – but as he had been booked already that tackle wasn’t worthy of a second yellow card?” asks Ian Sergeant. “When did that become a thing?”

Yes, he definitely seemed to be saying that. I guess it’s inevitable that referees will weigh up second yellow cards differently, but it’s not in the laws of the game. Maybe stick to Gladiators, Clatts.

35 mins: We resume after that long VAR check, but Lewis-Skelly’s night is over – he’s replaced by Ricardo Calafiori. He set up a lovely second goal, but is basically being taken off to avoid a red card – a mixed night, you might say.

The goal stands, and Arsenal – who could have gone a goal and/or a man down – are threatening to run away with the tie completely.

Onderzoek Doelpunt. That’s the Dutch for ‘Goal Check’, plastered on every screen as we await a verdict.

30 mins: GOAL? Arsenal strike again, this time profiting from a defensive disaster class as PSV repeatedly fail to clear the ball, Flamingo topples over as if perched on a single leg, and Mikel Merino pounces to roll the ball into the net. But wait – there’s a VAR check for offside.

27 mins: It’s been a very open game, for the opening half-hour of a two-legged tie. On the touchline, Arteta has sent the subs out for a jog, perhaps concerned by Lewis-Skelly’s close shave.

25 mins: Ooooof, Lewis-Skelly chops down Ledezma close to the corner flag and immediately looks to the referee – who decides to show clemency and not a second yellow card. On Amazon, Mark Clattenburg offers a convoluted explanation, but the truth is he’s been lucky there.

24 mins: Noa Lang – a childhood friend of Jurrien Timber – whips it round the wall, but also a long way wide of goal.

23 mins: Perisic nutmegs Odegaard and looks for De Jong up ahead of him, and Lewis-Skelly pulls the PSV forward back, earning a yellow card. A chance for the hosts to hit back with this free kick …

Arsenal’s two wonderboys combine to brilliant effect, with Lewis-Skelly getting forward and drilling in a low cross. Nwaneri, having cut inside from the right at the perfect time, is there to fire into the roof of the net, and put the visitors in total command.

Well, Arsenal deserve their lead, but will feel relieved after PSV had just passed up a golden chance at the other end. And it’s about to get even better …

Arsenal respond immediately, and with devastating intent. A neat passing move finds Rice out wide on the left, and he whips in an excellent cross to the far post, where Jurrien Timber is on hand to power home a header!

15 mins: Huge chance for PSV! With their first real foray forward, PSV really should have gone in front. Lang’s low cross is half saved, half spilled by Raya and rolls to Saibari, who looks certain to score but instead crashes his shot off the angle – perhaps distracted by a fine last-ditch tackle from Gabriel. Flamingo, very much using both legs, fires the rebound just wide with Raya still scrambling.

“I think the hosts’ No 6 would agree that the home-and-away format doesn’t suit PSV. We all know that a Flamingo prefers to stand on one leg,” writes Peter Oh, showing admirable restraint to wait until the 10th minute before hitting send.

12 mins: It’s been a very promising start from Arsenal, carving out a couple of chances and not letting their hosts apply any pressure.

11 mins: Declan Rice picks up the ball on the corner of the area, swivels and fires a shot into the bottom corner. Unfortunately for him, the flag had long since gone up. It was a tight one, but Rice’s left leg was stretched beyond the last man.

Rodrygo has fired Real Madrid in front against Atlético early on. They’re going to win it again, aren’t they?

8 mins: Big appeal for an Arsenal penalty as Odegaard gets free in the area, sidesteps his marker and then goes over. The referee is well placed and waves the appeals away – and replays show that Odegaard kicked the turf without any contact from Saibari behind him.

6 mins: Nwaneri floats in a lovely ball to the far post, which Gabriel sends back across goal – but it flashes across Mikel Merino’s forehead, and away to safety.

5 mins: The commentary team refer to the Guardian’s “cheeky reference to the round of Arsenal” earlier today. Wahey! If you’re playing the Football Daily drinking game, have a sip of peppermint tea.

4 mins: Saibari steps through the Arsenal midfield and has options either side – but he misplaces his pass and the chance goes begging.

2 mins: Lewis-Skelly tries to slip a pass through to Odegaard, but just overhits it. PSV, by the way, are coming off consecutive league and Cup defeats to Go Ahead Eagles – one of the great European team names.

Off we go. Ivan Perisic, formerly of Tottenham Hotspur or Spurs, concedes an early free kick deep in Arsenal’s half.

The teams are out to a rocking atmosphere, with red and white flags fluttering and Kernkraft 400 blasting out over the PA. Arsenal are in their black away kit with red and green trim. Let’s do this!

And here’s Declan Rice: “The schedule* has allowed us to not have a game on the weekend. It has been nice as we’ve had time to prepare. Big game tonight, big test for us, you can never overlook any opponent in the Champions league. We come here last season and drew the game so we know it’s going to be really tough.”

*[not being in the FA Cup]

In the UK at least, this game is being shown on Amazon Prime Video. They’ve taken a very access-all-areas approach, with Bosz being quizzed by Gabriel Clarke on the sideline. We’ve also seen Gabby Logan and punditry trio Wayne Rooney, Theo Walcott and Daniel Sturridge (in a statement scarf) strolling through the centre circle.

Pre-game thoughts from the PSV coach, Peter Bosz. “It’s fantastic to be in the last 16, and we want to win this duel and go even further. We showed what we can do against Juventus.”

Will he send his players out to attack? “Always. It’s who we are,” he adds, channelling his inner Ange. “We have to work hard, play with courage and do our best.”

All over in Bruges, where it’s finished Club Brugge 1-3 Aston Villa. A quarter-final against either Liverpool or PSG surely awaits.

An own goal and late Marco Asensio penalty have put Aston Villa 3-1 up in Bruges. One foot in the quarter-finals?

Pre-match reading:

You can also join Yara El-Shaboury for live updates from Real Madrid v Atlético Madrid, which is probably going to be decent.

PSV (4-2-3-1): Benítez; Ledezma, Flamingo, Boscagli, Malacia; Saibari, Schouten; Perisic, Til, Lang; Luuk de Jong (c).
Substitutes: Drommel, Schiks, Karsdorp, Obispo, Bakayoko, Driouech, Veerman, Babadi, Land, Nagalo.

Arsenal (4-3-3): Raya; Timber, Saliba, Gabriel, Lewis-Skelly; Partey, Rice, Ødegaard (c); Nwaneri, Merino, Trossard.
Substitutes: Neto, Setford, Tierney, White, Kiwior, Zinchenko, Jorginho, Sterling, Calafiori, Butler-Oyedeji, Kabia.

The story so far: Arsenal made serene progress from the Champions League’s opening 36-team Royal Rumble, beating PSG, Shakhtar, Sporting Lisbon, Monaco, Dinamo Zagreb and Girona on their way to a third-place finish. The only blots on their record came on away days in Italy – drawing 0-0 with Atalanta and losing 1-0 to Inter at San Siro.

As for PSV, they started slowly, losing to Juventus and drawing with PSG and Sporting before getting their first win at home to Girona. A remarkable late fightback saw them beat Shakhtar 3-2 from 2-0 down in the 86th minute, and although they then lost to Brest, wins at Red Star Belgrade and at home to a rotated Liverpool saw them through in 14th place.

Drawn against Juve again, PSV lost 2-1 in Turin but won the return leg 3-1 in extra time to advance. Feyenoord’s victory over Milan means that two Dutch teams are in the last 16 of the Champions League for the first time since 2005-06 (PSV and Ajax).

In the early kick-off, Aston Villa got off to a flying start through Leon Bailey, but have been pegged back by Club Brugge. It’s 1-1 at half-time, and you can join Will Unwin for that game:

Out of both domestic cups and 13 points behind Liverpool in the title race, the Champions League now represents Arsenal’s best chance at a trophy this season. After finishing third in the 36-team league phase, they should be considered among the favourites, but their potential path through the draw is a tough one.

Should Arsenal get past PSV over two legs, a showdown with either Real or Atlético Madrid awaits Mikel Arteta’s depleted squad. But let’s not get ahead of ourselves. Tonight’s opponents may have wobbled in the league, slipping behind leaders Ajax in Arsenalesque fashion, but they dispatched Juventus in the playoffs to get here.

There is also some previous to consider between the two clubs; Arteta has taken on PSV four times in Europe with decidedly mixed results – 1-0, 0-2, 4-0 and 1-1. Back in 2007, the Dutch side dumped Arsène Wenger’s mob out of the Champions League at this stage, adding another few stitches to the rich tapestry of Arsenal’s continental woes.

Can Arteta and his players begin rewriting that story tonight, in the Round of Arsenal? Eindhoven is 450 miles from Munich, and the final feels even further away – but every journey starts with a small step. Kick-off is at 8pm GMT, 9pm local time.