English Premier League side Arsenal FC made the short trip across the English Channel to take on PSV in the last Champions League game in Group B. To be fair, the game was a dead rubber as both teams had already booked their spots for the knock-out round of the competition.
With nothing to play for, both teams made a handful of changes from their usual starting lineups with head coach Peter Bosz giving Ricardo Pepi the start, having scored four times off the bench in league action. The Texan played the entire game in the middle of a three-man front line and contributed with an assist on Yorbe Vertessen’s goal. Malik Tillman started on the right side in the midfield for the Farmers, putting in an 82-minute shift. Sergino Dest came off the bench to play the last 16 minutes.
The hosts dominated the early stages of the game, refusing to let Arsenal touch the ball and in the sixth minute, they could have taken the lead when Pepi’s forward pass to his American teammate. He picked out Bakayoko on the right who crossed it into the box for Patrick Van Aanholt. The Galatasaray loanee got off a close-range shot that Aaron Ramsdale could hold onto and Pepi followed up with his shot that it blocked by Gabriel. Amazing that it stayed out.
Ten minutes later Arsenal were threatening, coming down the middle of the park with Reiss Nelson playing a one-two with Eddie Nkeitiah on the edge of the box, but a return pass was not precise enough and PSV cleared the area. From a free-kick a minute later Kai Havertz’s should have done better with his header but sent it wide.
But a minute later it was the host’s turn to threaten. After Gabriel missed out on a block Pepi’s cross was not a good one but he immediately got the ball back and picked out Vertessen who got his head to it but Ramsdale’s long arm pushed it out of harm’s way.
Bakayoko really should have done better when he was allowed to shoot from 22 yards out but the effort ended up on the wrong side of the far post.
Arsenal then got back into the game with a few minutes of possession. Their best move on the half-hour mark came when Mohammed Elneny was allowed to run forward down the middle of the field unmolested. He decided to pull the trigger 25 yards out and although a half-decent shot, it skimmed off of the near post, saving the PSV keeper blushes.
The threats continued and minutes before the intermission, the Gunners were celebrating their lead after Arsenal worked the ball down the right side with Cedric Soares sliding the ball to Reiss Nelson, who squared it for Nketiah down the middle. The striker makes a sweet first touch to fool Brazilian Ramalho and then drills it between the defender’s legs and into the back of the net. Although the hosts created the better chances, they headed to the locker room a goal down after the first 45 minutes of play.
It however didn’t take long for them to get one back because in the 50th minute. Starting from their half, Tillman picked out his compatriot on the left side and Pepi inched it to his left for the oncoming Vertesen to tuck it past Ramsdale. Pepi then tried to add a goal to his assist but his shot from outside the box was blocked.
A PSV corner kick from is not very well cleared by Elneny and when it lands with Vertessen, the Belgian puts his foot through it on the edge of the area but with a crowded box, the ball pinballed its way out of danger.
Arsenal then made a trio of personnel changes, thus changing the shape of the game. Dest was then introduced in the 74th minute and Tillman left the field in the 82nd. A hush then came over the Philips Stadium when Martin Odegaard’s free-kick from the left top of the box delivered the ball into the box. Walter Benitez came a very long way off his line and completely missed the ball. Arsenal defender, Gabriel however did not and forcefully headed it into the back of the empty net. A rapturous cheer was then heard when the offside flag went up.
The six minutes of stoppage time ran out and both teams seemed content with sharing the points after a very entertaining game in the Dutch rain.
Yanks Abroad caught up with Sergino Dest after the game and he shared his thoughts on the game.
“I think the game could have gone either way,” the Barcelona loanee said. “I think we deserved a little bit more in some parts of the game but they did as well. Over the 90 minutes, it was a fair result.”
He had nothing but praise for his American teammate, who overall had a very decent game where he was involved in a lot of the positive play.
“Ricardo is a good player and whenever he gets his minutes he plays good games. He even scores a lot when he comes in, even though he doesn’t get a lot of minutes.”
His performance will give the striker confidence going into the next round of the Champions League but in the meantime, the Farmers will look to keep their undefeated streak alive in Eredivisie action when they travel to Alkmaar on Sunday evening to take on third-place AZ.
Follow Yanks Abroad on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn for news and views on Americans playing the beautiful game worldwide and the U.S. national team.
