Arsenal are through to the Europa League knockout stages and close to achieving a secondary aim, too. Granit Xhaka’s superbly-taken winner 19 minutes from time saw off a PSV Eindhoven side, managed by an old foe in Ruud van Nistelrooy, who resisted awkwardly before buckling under intense pressure. It means Mikel Arteta’s team retain their perfect Group A record, now requiring a point from their final two games to finish top and avoid the inconvenience of an extra playoff round in February.
The task for Arsenal was made clear from kick-off: they would have to break down visitors who had come to sit in and thwart. Van Nistelrooy’s side, second in the Eredivisie, had scored 10 times across two ties with FC Zurich but were pragmatic about what might be achieved here. They did not manage a spell of possession in Arsenal’s half until the 16th minute although, in fairness, they had hardly been hanging on until then.
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