Arsenal player ratings vs PSV as Raheem Sterling stars and Zinchenko shows Odegaard the way

Arsenal are into the final eight of the Champions League after their aggregate win over PSV Eindhoven. They will travel to Madrid looking to make history.

Arsenal took the lead on the night inside the opening ten minutes courtesy of Oleksandr Zinchenko, cutting in from the right after a nice pass from Raheem Sterling before curling a shot into the corner. However, the lead would be cut out after former Tottenham forward Ivan Perisic exploited some free space before lobbing David Raya.

Sterling would be provided for a second time before the break, beating his man to dart to the touchline, cross perfectly for Declan Rice who just had to head in. Again, PSV would negate the goal as Couhaib Driouech chipped Raya after the Gunners’ defence was caught high up the field.

Here is how football.london rated the performances of the Arsenal players:

David Raya – Very little he could do to prevent Perisic’s goal, looping over the Spaniard giving him no chance. However, he kept the scores level with a great save from Driouech and repeated the save again in the second period from Babadi. 7

Ben White – This was his first start back since his injury, solid passing and movement; however, there was a near-costly mistake that needed his teammates to come rescue what looked to be a goal. Between him and Kiwior, there was some poor positioning for PSV’s second goal. 5

Jakub Kiwior – Booked for what has to be the most ridiculous decision by a referee for a yellow card since Declan Rice’s sending off, a perfectly good challenge on Perisic for some reason punished. He was caught high up the field for the PSV second goal. 6

Gabriel Magalhaes – Brilliant last-man challenge to stop Driuech from scoring what looked to be a certain goal following Ben White’s mistake. He celebrated like a goal too. 8

Myles Lewis-Skelly – Caught napping for the goal, leaving Ivan Perisic in loads of space to receive the pass before scoring. Nearly made up for the error, seeing a shot hit the post after making a good run into the box. 7

Jorginho – As usual, the Italian midfielder was the experienced head in the middle. Always available for teammates and progressed play excellently from that pivot position. 7

Oleksandr Zinchenko – A goal against his former side early on, great movement and strike and will certainly give Martin Odegaard – who the Ukrainian filled in for – some inspiration to rediscover similar ball-striking. 8

Declan Rice – Two goals in two games for Declan Rice, who headed in Raheem Sterling’s pinpoint cross. There was a real purpose about how Rice played what was a dead-rubber game; pressing and chasing opposition players for his whole appearance. 8

Raheem Sterling – An assist at last for Raheem Sterling who worked the ball well with a nice spin away from two PSV players to Zinchenko. Then came another, beating Malacia before firing a brilliant cutting cross for his England teammate. 8

Kieran Tierney – Playing on the left wing, Kieran Tierney did what he does best and fired crosses into the PSV box for the majority of his stint. Beyond this however, he was not able to have too much of an impact on the game. 6

Mikel Merino – Did very little throughout the game again at centre-forward as Mikel Arteta looks to try and force this in some way. 5

Substitutions:

Riccardo Calafiori – Came on at left-back but again was involved in a brilliant move with fellow left-backs Tierney and Lewis-Skelly. Sadly, his shot was straight at Benitez which thwarted a great effort. He produced at the other end, getting a great block on a Babadi shot. 6

Leandro Trossard – Replaced Mikel Merino and moved into the striker position but also failed to have much of an impact. 5

Gabriel Martinelli – Replacing Kieran Tierney, again he came on and looked very direct. A welcome return for Arteta and his team. 6

Jurrien Timber – White is going to have a very tough time breaking back in as Jurrien Timber looked very strong coming off the bench again in a small cameo. 6

Martin Odegaard - Had little impact on the game after coming off the bench. n/a