Arsenal's talented teenage duo Myles Lewis-Skelly and Ethan Nwaneri combined on Tuesday to help the Gunners to an imperious 7-1 Champions League last-16 first leg advantage over a shambolic PSV Eindhoven.
The Premier League side were on a different level to the struggling Dutch champions, who were condemned to their worst-ever defeat in European football.
Arsenal become the first team in #UCL history to score seven goals away from home in a knockout match🤯🔴#SSUCL pic.twitter.com/7RK1nhtUyi
— SuperSport Football ⚽️ (@SSFootball) March 4, 2025
"The standard was way too high for us tonight," admitted PSV's French defender Olivier Boscagli. "They were way better in every situation... every time they got into our box, they scored."
"No chance. Outplayed. Bad," said PSV coach Peter Bosz, summing up his team's performance.
Arsenal dominated from the outset. Declan Rice's powerful shot into the PSV net on 11 minutes was chalked off for a narrow offside, but it was a taste of what was to come.
Against the run of play, PSV should have taken the lead after a quarter of an hour but Ismael Saibari somehow contrived to hit the bar from close range with goalkeeper David Raya already beaten.
Arsenal made the hosts pay for their profligacy two minutes later. Rice was afforded far too much space in the PSV box, allowing him to chip a cross to the far post, gratefully headed home by Arsenal's own flying Dutchman, Jurrien Timber.
The visitors doubled their lead shortly afterwards following more generous Dutch defending.
Lewis-Skelly, the 18-year-old English defender, found himself in acres of space in a dangerous area, squaring to fellow teenager Nwaneri, who smashed the cross into the top corner.
PSV's shambolic defending turned to embarrassment as Arsenal made it three after just over half an hour played.
The defence squandered four chances to make an easy clearance, the ball eventually falling to makeshift striker Mikel Merino, who rolled past Walter Benitez.
The shellshocked fans in the Philips Stadion received a glimmer of hope however just before halftime, PSV winning a penalty after Thomas Partey needlessly wrapped his arms around striker Luuk de Jong's head.
Netherlands international winger Noa Lang made no mistake from the spot, smashing the ball into the top corner, giving Raya no chance.
It was a lifeline for the Dutch champions, who went into halftime 3-1 down after a breathless first 45 minutes.
Lewis-Skelly meanwhile had been substituted, arguably fortunate to escape a second yellow card after a clumsy challenge on Richard Ledezma.
RECORD DEFEAT
Any hope for the home fans was quickly snuffed out, as Arsenal scored twice in the first three minutes of the second half.
Nwaneri broke impressively down the right, squaring a cross that Benitez could only palm into the path of Martin Odegaard.
Ødegaard cleans it up for the Gunners to get their fifth 😎🍿
— SuperSport Football ⚽️ (@SSFootball) March 4, 2025
📺 Stream #UCL on DStv: https://t.co/B0jLrQW5cc pic.twitter.com/qn6rSyihvN
By now, it was all too easy for Arsenal. With 49 minutes gone, Riccardo Calafiori eased past the left side of the PSV defence, finding Belgium forward Leandro Trossard, who lifted his shot effortlessly home.
Odegaard grabbed a second as PSV capitulated, the Norwegian running unchallenged at the defence before firing a shot that Benitez parried lamely into his own net.
Calafiori compounded the misery with a seventh on 85 minutes, beating the previous record for PSV goals conceded in Europe – they lost 6-0 to Saint-Etienne in the 1980 Uefa Cup.
A performance befitting of that phenomenal away support.
— Arsenal (@Arsenal) March 4, 2025
We heard you loud all evening, Gooners ❤️ pic.twitter.com/FZKlogmTUv
It was a sad evening for the 1988 European Cup champions, whose fans streamed out of the stadium well before the final whistle.
"You can lose. Just not like that," said club captain and talisman De Jong.
"Everyone is annoyed about this. The fans, the players, believe me. We're not happy about this," he added.
Arsenal in contrast have the luxury of a comfortable lead, with the winner of the tie between Real and Atletico Madrid the next challenge.