Arsenal will field a heavily rotated XI, so this isn't an easy game to call. PSV will be determined to deliver a strong performance, but they're entering this game with three defeats from their last four games.
Arsenal don't lose many at the Emirates so we think they'll avoid defeat, but it's unlikely they'll be getting the Emirates crowd out of their seats. Arsenal 1-1 PSV.
With a spot in the quarterfinals all but confirmed, Arsenal play the second leg of their last 16 tie with PSV this week with an unassailable lead.
The Gunners battered PSV 7-1 in Eindhoven last week, and regardless of how much Arsenal might take their foot off the gas this week, PSV aren't turning that around. It was a dominant performance by Mikel Arteta's side, who picked apart a PSV side that brought the game to them, with Jurrien Timber, Ethan Nwaneri, Mikel Merino, Martin Odegaard (X2), Leandro Trossard and Riccardo Calafiori scoring the goals.
All in all, Arsenal's season has been a fairly significant disappointment. They came into the campaign expected to push strongly for the Premier League crown after a few near misses, but a combination of injuries and poor form has seen them fall well short of expectations, with Arteta's men sitting 15 points behind leaders Liverpool.
With the Gunners having lost in the semi-finals of the League Cup while also losing to Manchester United on penalties in the FA Cup, their entire season essentially rests on their exploits in this competition. Their place in the quarterfinals is all but sewn up, but their likely quarterfinal opponent is Real Madrid, so they have a huge chance to claim would be a status-defining win for this team.
They'd be the underdogs in that game no doubt, and with their issues this season they likely would be knocked out, but if ever there were an opportunity to salvage something from an overwhelmingly disappointing season, a quarterfinal tie against Real Madrid would be exactly that.
PSV will be hugely disappointed with last week's performance. The Dutch side hadn't lost a Champions League game on home soil since 2022 and the crowd was in full swing. However, they were comprehensively put to the sword by the London club and have left themselves without a chance to progress.
There have been some memorable moments in this season's competition for PSV, particularly the win over Juventus in the playoff round, so it would be very sad to see this campaign end on such a sour note. With the team having fallen notably behind league leaders Ajax in the title race, their season looks likely to peter out into nothing.
The least the team can do is offer up a gutsy performance that gives the travelling fans something to cheer about, because they certainly owe it to them. Arsenal will no doubt rest players so they'll have a good chance to salvage some pride, but that's about as good as it will get for the Dutch club.
This game will be televised live to all subscribed viewers in the UK on TNT Sports 1.
Arsenal Team News:
The Gunners will once again be without Bukayo Saka, Kai Havertz, Gabriel Jesus and Takehiro Tomiyasu, all of whom are out injured.
Jurrien Timber is also unavailable through suspension, with Mikel Arteta likely to ring the changes here.
Predicted lineup: Neto; White, Saliba, Kiwior, Zinchenko; Odegaard, Jorginho, Lewis-Skelly; Sterling, Trossard, Tierney.
PSV Team News:
As they were in the first leg, PSV will be without Malik Tillman, Ricardo Pepi and Esmir Bajraktarevic, with the trio remaining sidelined through injury.
Predicted lineup: Benitez; Ledezma, Flamingo, Obispo, Junior; Veerman, Schouten; Bakayoko, Til, Lang; De Jong.
Arsenal:
Arsenal's form is mixed, with the Gunners having won two, drawn two and lost one of their last five games. Last time out, Arsenal drew 1-1 with Manchester United, where a late Declan Rice equaliser saw them claim a point.
That result followed the win in Eindhoven last week, which came after a 0-0 draw with Nottingham Forest and a 0-1 loss to West Ham, where Jarrod Bowen stole the three points with a first half goal.
Before that, Arsenal were beaten 0-2 by Leicester City.
PSV:
PSV are coming into this game two wins and three losses from their last five games. Their weekend matchup saw them beat Heerenveen 2-1 thanks to goals from Saibari and Til, which followed the loss to Arsenal and a 3-2 defeat to Go Ahead Eagles, where they squandered a 2-1 lead given to them by De Jong and Lang.
Prior to that, PSV again lost to Go Ahead Eagles, this time by a 1-2 scoreline, which was preceded by the 3-1 win over Juventus, where Perisic, Saibari and Flamingo.
Premier League | Pos | Club | P | W | D | L | GD | PTS | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Liverpool | 29 | 21 | 7 | 1 | +42 | 70 | |
| 2 |  Arsenal | 28 | 15 | 10 | 3 | +28 | 55 | |
| 3 |  Nottm Forest | 28 | 15 | 6 | 7 | +12 | 51 | |
| Last updated 12/03/2025 | ||||||||
Dutch Eredivisie | Pos | Club | P | W | D | L | GD | PTS | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Ajax | 25 | 20 | 3 | 2 | +35 | 63 | |
| 2 |  PSV | 25 | 17 | 4 | 4 | +45 | 55 | |
| 3 |  Utrecht | 25 | 14 | 7 | 4 | +8 | 49 | |
| Last updated 12/03/2025 | ||||||||
