Mikel Arteta greeted a 'special night' for Arsenal when they were erased 7-1 on Tuesday evening with PSV Eindhoven to appreciate their largest Champions League win in history.
The Gunners placed their striker behind them after just 31 minutes to go 3-0 thanks to goals from Jurrien Timber, Ethan Nwaneri and Improsshift Forward Mikel Merino.
Noa long just before the break to PSV struck from the penalty place, but it was one -way traffic in the second half when the visitors scored another four goals to seal a statement victory from home in the first 16 first stage.
Captain Martin Odegaard came twice on the score sheet and added to goals from Leandro Trossard and replaces Riccardo Calafiori. The second stage is on the Emirates next Wednesday.
The remarkable result of Tuesday leaves the men of Arteta with one foot in the quarterfinals of the competition where they are confronted with Real Madrid or Atletico Madrid.
Arteta said: 'I really enjoyed the competition. Thank you to the players for the performance they have done. It was a big night for us against a really good side.
'The way in which they (PSV) thorn in the final round against Juventus (4-3 on aggregated) was really impressive. The way we did it, as we played, the goals we scored. Thank you because it was a special evening.
“It clearly gave us a lot of joy, trust and faith. In football it is not what we did three days ago or today, it will be what we will do tomorrow. '
When asked if he had seen seven goals coming, he joked: “I knew it was coming,” before he added: “No. That's the great thing about it. Nobody in this room when I give you an envelope and say: “Can you predict what will happen tomorrow and who will score?” [would predict that]That's the beauty of football.
“You are doing very well today, put your head down, be modest, analyze how you can improve because the next game will be completely different from this, and nobody can write the script, unfortunately, even if we would like it.”
Arsenal Play Manchester United in the Premier League on Sunday, and Arteta is convinced to get a result.
Arteta said: 'We are going to Old Trafford with how we behave, how we play and be able to win a game. That's it – enjoy tonight because it was a very impressive version and an incredible score. We earn that and I will take it and keep improving it as a team. '
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