Mikel Arteta probably seems to retain confidence with Mikel Merino as the attacking focal point against PSV.
The Gunners season is on the line in the Champions League Last 16, and they are going on their care for the dangers that the home team can form after they have seen the Dutch Outfit Ko Juventus in the Play -Off round.
Arsenal is out of shape, arriving in Holland on the back of a defeat by West Ham and a scoreless draw with Nottingham Forest, and have only scored twice in their last four games – with both who come to a Leicester City side on the way to the championship. Indeed, they only registered two shots on goal against West Ham at the Emirates, and only one on the goal of Forest in that stalemate.
However, PSV is far from Stellair defensive, after they have only held one clean sheet in their last 14 games. The Dutch champions can be reached.
“We still have gears with the players that we have to bring the game to a different level,” Arteta said on Monday at his press conference for the game.
“Every individual must be at his best. And when we do that, and we have that connection, we are a very strong team.
“We can't change it (the last result). We have to learn from it. And concentrating on what we have done this season in the Champions League is our biggest reassurance, because that does not happen at that level of consistency for any reasons. It's because we have it in us.
“We will have to adjust. That is clearly indisputable, but we can still be very efficient and a top team. And if you come in this phase of the Champions League, there is something else.
“You feel it in the atmosphere and the energy of the place. It is something else because it is a match that you don't play every week. You play, and you are inside or you are gone. And that gives your urgency. “
MyLes Lewis-Skelly will probably return to the starting line-up after he was suspended for the trekking with forest, while fellow teen Ethan Nwaneri should hold his place on the right flank. Jurrien Timber goes on right back and it is likely that Merino leads the line.
And while Arteta says that his side can increase their game in the Phillips Stadium and take a step in the direction of the quarterfinals – where Real Madrid or Atletico are waiting – PSV wing player Ivan Perisic believes that his side can overcome in the same way.
He said: “Arsenal often lacked that one bit to win something last year. We must be fully prepared, then we have a good chance of beating them.
“It will be a tough match against a young team with a strong coach. But I believe in our team and we have to play at our best. When you hear the national anthem of the Champions League, it gives something special. “
Probably Arsenal starts XI: Raya; Wood, Saliba, Gabriel, Lewis-Skelly; Rice, Pedey; Trossard, Odegaard, Nwaneri; Merino.
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