After a tight goalless first-half, the introduction of veteran striker De Jong changed the course of the game as he registered an assist and sealed the victory with a goal in the eighth minute of the second period at Philips Stadion.

In the upcoming week, in our own residence, we must defeat FC Zurich in order to secure the leading position in the group and bypass the play-off round in February. The current outcome signifies this.

Offside calls keep us level

In the early stages of the game, Aaron Ramsdale was forced to make a low save after the youngster found space in midfield and drove forward to push Xavi away. The hosts took the game to us, knowing that they had to win in order to have any chance of topping the group after next week’s final round of games.

The initial cautionary sign arrived as Cody Gakpo successfully placed the ball into the goal in the 19th minute. The speedy forward eluded our defensive line and calmly lifted the ball over Ramsdale, who was charging forward, but he was accurately deemed offside due to Veerman’s precise pass.

Gabriel Martinelli had a golden opportunity to make his 100th goal appearance for the Gunners when a volley blazed over, but he could have easily put the ball in the net if it hadn’t been for Eddie Nketiah’s improvised flick that caused him to palm the ball over the crossbar, forcing him to backpeddle. This was the first time Benitez Walter dirtied his gloves, and it happened two minutes later.

Anwar El Ghazi was in an offside position during the build-up, and the goal was rightfully disallowed after a thorough VAR review. However, Simon skillfully maneuvered past three defenders and scored, causing another round of celebrations. This seemed to be a potentially expensive mistake just a couple of minutes before half-time.

Two in quick succession

Benitez’s hands were hurt by Martin Odegaard towards the conclusion of the initial period after we capitalized on some indecision as PSV played out from their defensive line, and the match persisted as a back-and-forth contest after the resumption with Nketiah and Kieran Tierney missing the target with their shots, before Ramsdale blocked Simon and Veerman’s attempts in rapid succession, making two saves.

But in the 55th minute, De Jong would have another opportunity to get sight of goal. Veerman confidently drilled the ball into the top corner, slipping it past the defenders and creating space for himself. He sucked the defenders in and held the ball well on the edge of the area. After arriving from the bench, he would dispatch it this time.

PSV started to slip away as the ball was whipped into the corner, allowing De Jong to head the ball into the net. Ramsdale missed his punch, giving firm control to the opposing side. Then, Gakpo grabbed a second goal in the later eight minutes of the tie.

Jong De narrowly marked the wide header of Mark, but once again he was offside. However, he managed to tuck the low cross into the net at home, keeping the danger at bay as Gakpo had the ball coming towards him.

They maintained a clean sheet, with Jarrod Branthwaite showcasing courageous defending and Benitez making a fantastic save. However, Nketiah believed he had secured it with a powerful strike, bringing us back into the mix and applying pressure for a potential game-changing goal. This goal kept us in pursuit of victory throughout the match.

What it means

What’s next

We aim to get back to winning ways in the Premier League by hosting Nottingham Forest on Sunday, before our visit to Zurich FC in the final of the European group stage of the Europa League in 2022.