Arsenal 4
Saka 8, Trossard 20, Jesus 38, Odegaard 70
PSV Eindhoven 0
If there were any doubts about how the young squad would cope with this vaunted stage, they were quickly dismissed in a ruthless display of attacking verve to see off PSV Eindhoven.
The scoreline should have been even more one-sided but, by half-time, Arteta and his starting XI had already begun looking towards the north London derby back here on Sunday, following goals from Bukayo Saka, Leandro Trossard and Gabriel Jesus.
A raft of second-half substitutions gave the hosts a second wind, and captain Martin Odegaard added deserved gloss to the display with a magnificent fourth goal.
Arsenal came into this game having not played in the Champions League for six years, since a 5-1 defeat by Bayern Munich, and with a group of players inexperienced at this level; only 11 of Arteta's squad had played in the Champions League and just one - Mohamed Elneny for the Gunners.
While clear favourites, the sense of occasion might have got to a lesser team on an emotionally-charged night, and even the steely Arteta admitted to prematch butterflies.
"I was [emotional], yeah," said the manager. "I was really excited about it. I wanted to control it and not show that too much, but I was really excited.
This story is from the September 21, 2023 edition of Evening Standard.
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This story is from the September 21, 2023 edition of Evening Standard.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
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