21 September 2023 , 07:00
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Arsenal ended their six-year Champions League exile with a ruthless, brutal demolition of PSV Eindhoven on Wednesday night.
On a spirited, wet evening at what UEFA would like you to call ‘Arsenal Stadium’ - they’re not a fan of stadium sponsorship you see - the Dutch side were put to the sword by Mikel Arteta’s men.
Bukayo Saka opened the scoring within eight minutes, turning home on the rebound after Martin Odegaard’s low effort had been spilled, before Leandro Trossard doubled the advantage 12 minutes later. Gabriel Jesus, picked out at the far post by Trossard’s cross, smashed home a third after 38 minutes to make it 3-0 before the break, before captain Odegaard put his stamp on things with 20 minutes remaining, expertly finding the bottom corner with a left-foot strike from 22 yards.
Certainly, the Arsenal supporters in attendance enjoyed what they saw on their side’s return to Europe’s premier club competition. They revelled in what they were seeing, serenading Arteta and numerous players throughout. If any inside the stadium had written the script for opening night, they probably couldn’t have written it to go any better.
But, on a noisy night, goals aside, there was one moment where they made their feelings especially clear on one particular subject: Emile Smith Rowe.
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The 23-year-old homegrown midfielder has endured an injury-plagued 18 months. He made just 14 appearances in the first-team during the 2022-23 campaign, with none of them starts, and has again been on the outside looking in so far this term, sitting on the bench in every Premier League game without getting a kick.
In his preferred attacking midfield position, Odegaard, Kai Havertz and Fabio Vieira are all ahead of him in the pecking order. It’s not much easier if he wants a game out wide, with Saka a lock on the right, Gabriel Martinelli the preference down the left when fit, with Leandro Trossard, Reiss Nelson and, again, Vieira, all preferred too. Fourth choice in one spot. Sixth in the other.