Arteta was pleased when Arsenal ended the match early
"I'm very pleased that Arsenal ended the match early, and that's what we had to do," Arteta said after the win at Emirates Stadium. "The players handled themselves very well in the penalty area today. We were decisive, taking advantage of opportunities with very high quality shots. But we can also do more and as coaches, Sometimes I pay attention to that more than other parts."
At Emirates Stadium on the evening of September 20, Arsenal marked their return to the Champions League after 6 years with their biggest victory since the beginning of the season. The "Gunners" controlled the ball 59%, finished 18 times with eight shots on target, compared to PSV's 12 and 4, and decided the match from the first half. Bukayo Saka, Leandro Trossard and Gabriel Jesus scored in turn to help the host enter the break with a 3-0 advantage. Arsenal slowed down in the second half, but still scored more thanks to a left-footed shot from outside the penalty area by captain Martin Odegaard.
Arsenal won their opening Champions League match for the first time since the 2-1 win over Marseille in the 2013-2014 season. This is also the biggest victory of the "Gunners" at Europe's most prestigious playground at the club level since the 6-0 win over Sporting Braga in the 2010-2011 season.
Arteta said the whole team was very emotional before the match, but controlled and turned emotions into energy to create a good performance on the return to the Champions League. In Arsenal's starting lineup yesterday, only Gabriel Magalhaes, Oleksandr Zinchenko, Martin Odegaard, Gabriel Jesus and 2021 champion Kai Havertz had experience in the Champions League before playing PSV.
"This is a beautiful night," Arteta added. "This is part of a journey that started last year, and we have earned the right to return to the Champions League. After a long absence, we wanted to produce a performance fit to win, and it was great to witnessed the atmosphere, heard the Champions League soundtrack. Now, we have the responsibility to create suitable performances to maintain at this level."
After leading 3-0, Arteta replaced most of the pillars by sending Reiss Nelson, Takehiro Tomiyasu, Emile Smith-Rowe, Fabio Vieira and Jorginho onto the field in the second half. The Spanish coach sees this as a certain advantage to help Arsenal prepare better for the London derby with Tottenham in round six of the Premier League on September 24.
Odegaard - voted best player in the match - said the whole team was very excited, motivated and had a great performance to mark their return to the Champions League. The Norwegian midfielder also said that Arsenal left their opponents a lot of space in the first half, but improved in the second half. "These are the days you dream about as a child, playing in the Champions League with your friends. It's really unbelievable and I'm enjoying it," Odegaard added.
