PSV and Arsenal have made decent starts to the respective league campaigns on the home front, and the two teams could be challenging for the league titles again this term.

In the Dutch league, PSV were piped to the title by Feyenoord last season but have been flawless since the 2023/24 season got underway. Former Manchester United striker Ruud Van Nistelrroy left his role shortly before the end of last season, but Pete Bosz has done well since his appointment in the summer. The former Ajax manager has found some magic in  Eindhoven, which has helped the Rood-witten stay competitive in the Dutch Eredivisie. 

The fine start to the 2023/24 campaign was preceded by a Dutch Super Cup win over Feyenoord. After that success, they moved into the Champions League qualifiers, facing off against Sturm Graz in their first hurdle. The Dutch side defeated the Austrian side 7-2 on aggregate, while a league win over Utrecht was sandwiched between that. Another routine win followed against Vitesse away from home before they thumped Rangers (Scotland) 7-3 on aggregate in the final Champions League playoff to reach the group stages. Back-to-back 4-0 wins over Waalwijk and Nijmegen, either side of the international break, followed.

Those big wins prepared them for the UEFA Champions League group opener at the Emirates Stadium in London against Arsenal. It was not a pleasant night for the Dutch side as they were soundly beaten 4-0 in the one-way contest. Back on the home front, they racked up three consecutive league wins – 4-0 v Almere City, 3-0 Go Ahead Eagles, and 3-1 Volendam – to continue their excellent start to the campaign. Back in Europe, their struggles continued as they needed a late equaliser from Jordan Teze to avoid a second successive defeat when they played host to Sevilla at home.

PSV continued their blistering start to the campaign as they made it nine wins out of nine with wins over Sparta and Sittard. Peter Bosz’s side returned to the UCL and secured a point on the road at Lens. However, they remained bottom of the group and will be keen to make an impression with three games left to play as of the time of writing. 

PSV is in great form, just like Arsenal. This makes the game at the Emirates on Wednesday a highly anticipated one. Arsenal are back in the Champions League for the first time since 2016/17, but funnily enough, they start it with a game that was a Europa League fixture last season. 

On the other hand, the Gunners remain one of the Premier League sides yet to taste defeat in this competition as of the time of writing. The Gunners opened the 2023/24 season with a 2-1 win against Nottingham Forest before battling to a 1-0 win over Crystal Palace in the second match. In their first London derby game of the season, Arsenal shared the spoils with Fulham at the Emirates. Meanwhile, the Gunners came from a goal down to defeat Manchester United 3-1 just before the September international break. That near-perfect performance was followed by another gritty 1-0 win over Everton at Goodison Park, which kept the Gunners on track before they went ahead to thump PSV 4-0 in their first Champions League game since 2017. Mikel Arteta’s men then played a 2-2 draw with North London rivals Tottenham at the Emirates before racking up three consecutive wins in all competitions – Brentford (Carabao Cup), Bournemouth and Manchester City in the Premier League. By the way, the first defeat of the season (in all competitions) came in the 2-1 loss to French side Lens. 

In their biggest match, the Gunners matched Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City in all areas before beating them 1-0 at the Emirates. Gabriel Martinelli’s deflected effort was the difference in the game. Following that home win, Arsenal needed to come from two goals down to pick a point at Stamford Bridge against Chelsea before edging Sevilla 2-1 on the road in the UCL to stay in the driving seat of the group. 

Arsenal dominated the reverse fixture, but the same is not expected here. PSV have grown in the competition since then, and playing at home could help them. The Dutch side won the home tie against the Gunners in the Europa League last season, and they will be targeting another positive result here.

Arsenal reached the quarter-finals in three consecutive seasons between 2007/08 and 2009/10, but they have been knocked out of the last 16 in seven straight campaigns. So, Mikel Arteta knows he can only afford to lose guard there after the final match day.

Match tickets

The match at the Philips Stadion in Eindhoven kicks off on Tuesday 12th December, at 6:45 PM UK time, and it will be shown live on TNT Sports, with coverage starting from around 6 PM.

The 36,500-capacity stadium in Eindhoven is expected to be complete on Tuesday night for this massive Champions League tie. UCL nights are usually unique, and Arsenal fans should be present to support their side in this game. 

Getting tickets for PSV vs Arsenal tickets could take time to get, given the game’s standard. Hence, you are advised to search ticket reselling sites should they be expectedly sold out on each club’s channels. 

Team news

Line-ups

Bakayoko, who scored against Lens alongside Lang and de Jong, will be primed to start at this one, while Benitez should continue in goal. PSV will be hoping Jordan Teze is available for selection. Armando Obispo and Mauro Junior have returned from their injuries and could play a part in this fixture. No major casualty at the moment as all other players missing would have recovered before this second leg at the Philips Stadion.

PSV: Benitez; Dest, Ramalho, Bella-Kotchap, van Aanholt; Schouten, Veerman, Bakayoko, Saibari, Lang; de Jong.

Aaron Ramsdale has lost his spot to David Raya in recent weeks, and it seems Mikel Arteta has settled for the Spanish goalkeeper for now. Declan Rice has become a mainstay in the Arsenal set-up, and he should be starting this match. Only Jurrien Timber is a significant absentee for the Gunners.

Arsenal: Raya; White, Saliba, Gabriel, Zinchenko; Rice, Odegaard, Havertz, Saka, Martinelli; Gabriel Jesus.

Prediction

These two sides won their respective home games in the Europa League last season, and Arsenal have won only two of the past six meetings against PSV. 

This match should produce goals based on the team’s attacking talents. PSV have scored in all but one (4-0 loss at Arsenal) of their games across all competitions, while Arsenal have rarely kept clean sheets this term. 

PSV 1-2 Arsenal