Arsenal should be comfortable winners against PSV Eindhoven in the Champions League this week, with the Dutch side unlikely to pull off a shock win.
That’s at least according to journalist Rik Elfrink, via Soccer News, who has no faith that the Eredivisie side will be able to shock Mikel Arteta’s side.
PSV host Arsenal in the first leg of their Champions League last six double-header tonight before heading to the Emirates for the second leg on March 12th.
It’s a clash of the runners-up for from the Premier League and Eredivisie at this moment in time, with PSV currently eight points behind Ajax in the Netherlands and Arsenal trailing Liverpool by 13 points.
Nonetheless the Gunners head into the game as clear favourites, having only been beaten once in their last four meetings in Europe, with PSV winning 2-0 in the Europa League in 2022.
Elfrink does not see that changing in this evening’s clash, believing that the side he watches regularly won’t be up to matching Arsenal, even if the Gunners will be without key players such as Kai Havertz and Bukayo Saka for the game.
“The chance that PSV will lose here is considerable, I have no confidence in it,” he said on the AD Voetbalpodcast.
“They (Arsenal) remain number two in the Premier League and of course they miss players like Saka and Havertz. They (PSV) are not completely without a chance, but if you have to score three or four goals every match to win, that will be difficult against these people.
“That aura of invincibility is gone now too, that has done Go Ahead Eagles good. PSV has been unbeaten internationally for a long time. It’s a different match with a different mindset.”
