Arsenal set up a Champions League quarter-final showdown with either Atletico Madrid or Real Madrid as a 2-2 draw with PSV Eindhoven at the Emirates Stadium sealed a 9-3 aggregate win.
Mikel Arteta took the chance to rotate following last week’s 7-1 first-leg win, naming a much-changed side which included Kieran Tierney on the left wing and Oleksandr Zinchenko in midfield.
Raheem Sterling was also handed a rare start and set up both Arsenal goals in an eye-catching display, first turning the ball around the corner for Zinchenko, who finished superbly from outside the box for the early opener, then producing a pinpoint cross for Declan Rice to head home their second.
Twice, though, the Gunners were pegged back. Zinchenko’s opening goal was cancelled out by former Tottenham player Ivan Perisic, who finished coolly when put through in the first half, with Couhaib Driouech levelling again when he lifted a fine finish over David Raya in the second period.
Raya made several other saves to keep out PSV, who looked eager to prove a point following their first-leg humiliation, as he denied Driouech in the first half and twice pushed away shots from Isaac Babadi.
Oleksandr Zinchenko apologised to the travelling fans having spent time on loan at PSV earlier in his career
Arsenal had other chances too, two of which fell to Sterling, who was denied by PSV goalkeeper Walter Benitez when one-on-one on two separate occasions, and the winger’s evening was soured when he was shown a late yellow card which means he will be suspended for the quarter-final first leg.
Arsenal, 15 points behind leaders Liverpool in the Premier League, leaving the Champions League as their last hope of silverware, now wait to learn the outcome of the last-16 second-leg clash between Atletico Madrid and Real Madrid to find out the identity of their quarter-final opponent.
Analysis: Sterling’s confidence returns in positive display
This tie was effectively over after the first leg but this was still a big game for Raheem Sterling. He needed a big performance after a dismal spell in which his confidence has appeared drained. He delivered it. This was, by a distance, his best display in Arsenal colours.
The winger had not scored or set up a goal in his previous 13 appearances but his self-belief grew from the moment he produced the clever pass to release his former Manchester City team-mate Zinchenko for the opening goal. He played with conviction and quality from then on.
His second assist came from a precise cross after beating his man and there were plenty more examples of clever touches, feints and bursts of pace. Not everything came off but at least he was trying. This was a significant improvement on recent performances.
His evening ended on a low note as he was booked, meaning he will be suspended for the first leg of the quarter-final, but there were no complaints from Arteta. “The way he tracked back when he got booked,” said the manager, “that’s the kind of player we want to see.”
On this evidence, and even though he will have to sit out that first leg, Sterling may still have a role to play in the final few months of what has been, until now, a difficult loan spell.
