December 13, (THEWILL) – Arsenal fielded a heavily rotated side in their final 2023 UEFA Champions League group stage match away at PSV Eindhoven, on Thursday, coming away with a 1-1 draw against the Dutch club. Despite manager Mikel, claiming Arsenal had a “duty to win”, his unfamiliar starting XI struggled for large periods and had goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale, to thank for keeping the game scoreless in the first half.
Arsenal had secured passage to the UCL knockout phase thanks to winning their first five games in Group B. As group winners already confirmed before Thursday’s match, Arteta took the chance to rest key players. The second-string side eventually went 1-0 up through Eddie Nketiah’s strike just before half-time.
PSV deservedly equalised early in the second half courtesy of Belgian forward Yorbe Vertessen, who curled home after Arsenal defender William Saliba had been caught out of position. Arteta responded by making a triple substitution on the hour mark, bringing on the likes of captain Martin Odegaard and England international Declan Rice.
The alterations almost led to a late winner, but defender Jakub Kiwior saw a goal ruled out for offside after attacking a free kick. Arsenal ultimately held on for the 1-1 draw against a dangerous PSV side, who advance alongside the Gunners. Mikel Arteta will still be pleased to progress as group winners in their first UCL campaign since 2016.
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
