Champions League: Arsenal Need Some Dutch Courage

PSV Eindhoven vs Arsenal

Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal head to the Netherlands on Tuesday to continue their 2025 Champions League campaign away to Eredivisie club PSV Eindhoven. 

The Champions League 2025 betting odds rate the Gunners as fourth favourites to win the title, at a SBOTOP price of 6.50, and Arteta’s team are clear favourites to navigate this tie. This is probably Arsenal’s best chance for a trophy this season, out of the FA Cup and Carabao Cup and 13 points behind Liverpool in the Premier League. They come into the game on a run of one win in four, scoring just two goals in that sequence and the Gunners desperately need a result and a positive performance in Eindhoven.

The North Londoners have a good record against Dutch teams, losing only once in 14 Champions League games…though that was against PSV. Peter Bosz’ Eindhoven aren’t in the best form either. Having exited the FA Cup Arsenal had a weekend off, while Eindhoven went down to a 3-2 defeat away to Go Ahead Eagles, losing to those opponents for the second time in a week.      

 

Talking Points

Europe brings out the best in PSV

They have enjoyed a good set of Champions League 2025 results but Eindhoven fans have been frustrated by a poor return in domestic competition recently; going out of the KNVB Cup to G A Eagles last week and then losing to the same underdogs in a league game on Saturday. PSV have only won two games in their last eight in all competitions, both in the Champions League, and they have fallen five points behind Eredivisie leaders Ajax, with three successive draws before the loss to the Eagles.       

But Eindhoven, who finished 14^th in the Champions League, sprung a surprise in the play-offs, seeing off Serie A giants Juventus 4-3 on aggregate, turning over a first leg deficit with a 3-1 win at home. Former Inter Milan and Tottenham Hotspur star Ivan Perisic scored with a brilliant volley to set the Dutch side on their way at home, as well as scoring in the away leg, and he is set to start on the left flank against the Gunners. Other players to watch are all action USA midfielder Malik Tilman who has three goals and three yellow cards, and Ismail Saibari who has three goals, scoring the second as PSV saw off the Old Lady in the second leg.    

 

Eindhoven come too soon for Saka  

The Gunners have suffered a terrible run of injuries to key players this season and, while defenders Ben White and Ricardo Calafiori have recently returned to action, Arteta has a serious lack of firepower with his main forwards still unavailable. Bukayo Saka and Kai Havertz have scored four goals each in the competition; no-one else has scored more than one; but neither will be available for this Round of 16 tie. Havertz is out for the campaign after suffering a hamstring injury at the club’s warm weather training camp and that must be particularly galling for Arteta who has lost his most creative player, Saka, to a similar injury for over three months. The news is better for the England winger though as he is in the road to recovery and could be ready within a month, after the international break, and possibly in time to play Fulham on April 1^st.     

The Gunners have fired blanks in their last two Premier League games, losing 1-0 at home to West Ham United then drawing 0-0 away to Nottingham Forest.  Mikel Merino has been used as a makeshift striker but, after impressing with a brace against Leicester City he has failed to trouble the scorers since. But with Gabriel Jesus and Gabriel Martinelli also out, Arteta may chose to use the former Real Sociedad man in attack again.  

Alongside Aston Villa and Liverpool, the Gunners finished in the Champions League top eight and received a favourable draw for the Round of 16, while the likes of Real Madrid and Bayern Munich have very tough matches, and now Arsenal need to take advantage…or their season, which promised so much, could end with a whimper.      

 

History

Arsenal have won three of their nine previous meetings with PSV, losing two and there have been four draws. But the Gunners have failed to win on four trips to the Philips Stadion, the last meeting, in December 2023 ending in a 1-1 draw, as well as losing to PSV back in 2007.

With three wins, one draw and two defeats, Arsenal’s recent form has been better than their hosts who have won one, drawn two and lost three.   

 

Betting Tip

This is a tight game to call with Arsenal at odds of 2.06, PSV at 3.32 and the draw is priced at 3.17. The Gunners would take that result right now and I can see a 1-1 draw, though I won’t rule out a narrow win either way.    

   

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