Arsenal's perfect run in the UEFA Europa League came to an end after a 2-0 loss to PSV Eindhoven in their penultimate Group A game on Thursday evening.
UEFA Europa League
Result: PSV Eindhoven 2-0 Arsenal
Date: 27 October 2022
Venue: Philips Stadion
The Gunners rested Gabriel Jesus and Bukayo Saka from the side that won the reverse a week ago and recalled Martin Odegaard and Gabriel Martinelli, while goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale also made a rare start in the tournament as fellow shot-stopper Matt Turner was ruled out with a tight groin.
PSV had a bright start as Cody Gakpo found the back of the net on 19 minutes with a lovely chip over Ramsdale after a through ball by Joey Veerman but the offside flag cut short the celebrations.
Mikel Arteta's charges got their foothold in the game after the half-hour mark but their efforts at goal were well off the mark.
Ruud van Nistelrooy's troops continued to be a threat going forward and Simons thought he had eventually broke the deadlock just before the interval with a powerful strike in the box after getting past a couple of challenges but the goal was disallowed by the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) for offside in the build-up.
Van Nistelrooy introduced former Barcelona striker Luuk de Jong at half-time, as Anwar El-Ghazi made way in a straight swap upfront.
De Jong made a desired impact for the hosts as a focal point upfront and Joey Veerman eventually broke the deadlock 11 minutes into the second stanza with a thumping strike from the edge of the box after he was setup by the former Sevilla forward.
PSV, with the home crowd cheering them on, had their tails up as De Jong doubled their lead shortly after the hour-mark with a header from a corner after Ramsdale missed the flight of the delivery by Gakpo.
Arteta needed a response after that as he also threw in Jesus in place of Rob Holding in a tactical switch to add firepower upfront.
Arsenal were fired up to get back into the game after that as Eddie Nketiah came close to reducing the deficit in the last ten minutes with a strike from close range but goalkeeper Walter Benitez put his body on the line to preserve a two-goal cushion for PSV.
The Gunners could not have a sustained momentum going forward in the dying minutes, as the Dutch side slowed down the game with clever passage of plays and stoppages for substitutions, as they held on to a 2-0 win.
PSV reduced the gap behind leaders Arsenal to just two points in Group A ahead of the final round of matches.
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