March 13, (THEWILL) – Arsenal have advanced to the UEFA Champions League quarter-finals following a 2-2 draw against PSV at Emirates Stadium, completing a convincing 9-3 aggregate victory over the Dutch champions. The North London side had established a commanding position after winning the first leg 7-1 in Eindhoven.
Oleksandr Zinchenko opened the scoring for Arsenal in the sixth minute with a curling strike into the bottom-left corner after intercepting a poor pass from Armando Obispo. PSV responded through former Tottenham player Ivan Perisic, who found the top corner with a left-footed effort to level the match.
The visitors showed significant improvement compared to the first leg, with Couhaib Driouech nearly giving them the lead moments after their equaliser, only to be denied by Arsenal goalkeeper David Raya. Arsenal’s Myles Lewis-Skelly was unfortunate not to restore the home advantage when his attempt struck the post following a touch from Walter Benitez.
Declan Rice put Arsenal ahead again eight minutes before half-time, heading home from inside the penalty area after excellent build-up play from Raheem Sterling. However, PSV fought back in the 70th minute when Driouech capitalised on Jorginho losing possession, collecting a pass from Isaac Babadi before cleverly lifting the ball over the advancing Raya.
The result ensured Mikel Arteta’s men progressed comfortably to the final eight of Europe’s elite club competition. Despite not needing to exert themselves fully given their substantial first-leg advantage, Arsenal maintained their unbeaten status in the competition.
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
