A beautiful first-time finish from Granit Xhaka has seen Arsenal qualify for the Europa League knockout stages on Thursday with a 1-0 victory over PSV at the Emirates.
It seemed like Arsenal’s domination wouldn’t lead to a reward as they had to wait until the 72nd minute to get the job done, but the PSV defense lost Xhaka in the box and Takehiro Tomiyasu played a great cross into the box to find him. The result sees Arsenal maintain their perfect record in Europa League with 12 points in four matches while PSV will stay on seven points.
Xhaka is on one this season 🔥 pic.twitter.com/6pQkeMwJtY
— BuffaloStormBookies (@BuffaloBookies) October 20, 2022
Perfect through four matches
It took longer than expected for the breakthrough goal but Xhaka was there when Arsenal needed him to secure the victory. The Gunners took 25 shots during the match but the finishing wasn’t there. It’s important for Arsenal to win these games too as they show that the team doesn’t need to be perfect to pick up points.
Momentum is maintained by Arsenal. Eight wins in a row now and they show no signs of slowing down.
That’s a top-two place secured in their Europa League group.
Granit Xhaka the man who got the goal, so well taken. What a turnaround he’s had in his Arsenal career. Hardworking performances also from Jesus and Saka. Job well done by the Gunners.
Former Arsenal defender Martin Keown, speaking on BT Sport, says: “Granit Xhaka is now becoming an Arsenal fan favourite and who could’ve imagined that?
“Mikel Arteta gets the job done and it’s really important to make sure they are in charge of this group.
“PSV were so geared up to stop Arsenal they ran out of steam. Saka, every time I watch him play he just gets better. His upper-body strength is getting better and the way he runs past players is first class.”
