Arsenal vs PSV Eindhoven: Mikel Arteta’s Youthful Gunners Face Tricky Dutch Opponents In Likely Goal Fest
Thursday 15th September - 20:00
Arsenal’s excellent start to the season took a bit of a bruising at Old Trafford when the North London side lost 3-1 to a much improved Manchester United side. However, Mikel Arteta’s side performed reasonably well for a great deal of that contest, and only a couple of errors and poor refereeing decisions separated the two teams.
The Emirates Stadium side still sit top of the Premier League, having won five of their opening six games, and Arteta has built up a very good side that is crammed full of youthful talent that should hold the club in good stead for some time to come.
As for mounting a European trophy campaign, Arsenal rightly are among the favourites in the Europa League betting, and they started their group stage fixtures with a handy away win in Zurich.
That win in Zurich included a well-observed minutes silence to mark the passing of Queen Elizabeth II, and there are some doubts about whether Arsenal’s encounter with PSV might be postponed due to policing concerns.
Gunners Firing On All Cylinders
Mikel Arteta did well to bring in intelligent additions over the summer, and the return of French defender William Saliba, following a very impressive loan spell at Marseille (which earned the centre-back a young player of the year award), has helped to stabilise the club’s back-line.
Up front, Arsenal have a host of riches, and former Man City striker Gabriel Jesus leads the way manfully. Arteta will likely continue to use Eddie Nketiah for European action, and the English forward scored and assisted in their 2-1 win in Switzerland.
Some injury issues meant that a few first-teamers were involved in that trip to Switzerland, but it may be more of a second-string that lines up for the arrival of tricky Dutch opponents PSV Eindhoven.
Pundits have made a point of overstating the fact that Arsenal’s early run of fixtures have been a tad on the easy side, hence their apparent ‘false’ position at the top of the table, and while there may be some truth to this assertion, Arteta’s side can only play the sides that are in front of them.
PSV Eindhoven will represent a stern test, and their arrival in England to face Arsenal will see a much-hated figure once again darken their door.
The Old Enemy Returns
If you stopped an Arsenal fan on their way into the Emirates Stadium for this match and asked them to name a Premier League player they detest, one from the overall history of the rebranded domestic championship, it’s likely that a large number of them would name a certain Manchester United forward Ruud van Nistelrooy, who just happens to be the manager of the Eredivisie side that the club face.
The prolific forward is a very divisive figure, and the famous occasion when he missed a key spot-kick and was then manhandled by Martin Keown and co is a very famous image from the history of the Premier League.
The former Dutch international took over in charge at the Philips Stadion in July, having previously been in charge of their youth team, and he’s done a solid job thus far. PSV have won five of their opening six league games and sit in third place in the table.
Impressively they’ve scored 24 goals in those six games, which is quite a feat, and much sought-after forward Cody Gakpo already has nine goals to his name this season and may prove something of a handful.
Similarly, former PSG teenager Xavi Simons, who has often been compared to his namesake Xavi, has also impressed since moving back to his native Holland, scoring seven goals in all competitions thus far.
Best Bets
Arsenal to Win, Total Goals Over 3.5, Both Teams to Score and Total Corners Over 9.5 – 13/2
This rather complicated accumulator from BoyleSports is predicated on a lot of goal action to occur, which is a fair assumption given the form of both teams. Arsenal don’t keep many clean sheets, and PSV have a lot to offer in attack.
We feel Arsenal can outscore their opponents on their home turf, and it’s a game that will flow from end to end due to the fluid attacking nature of both teams.
