PSGvs.Liverpool

Mikel Arteta's men travel to the Philips Stadion in Eindhoven for the first leg of their knockout battle on Tuesday night and will once again be forced to cope without Bukayo Saka, Gabriel Martinelli, Kai Havertz and Gabriel Jesus up front.

The Gunners have also failed to score in back-to-back Premier League games against West Ham United and Nottingham Forest, meaning that the Champions League is likely their best chance of silverware as they sit 13 points behind Liverpool in the top-flight table.

However, if Arsenal prevail against PSV, they would then either have to get past Real Madrid or Atletico Madrid in the quarter-finals and potentially either Liverpool or Paris Saint-Germain in the semi-finals, and Watts feels that the knockout draw was the worst possible outcome for Arsenal.

Asked if Arsenal would now be prioritising European glory, Watts said: "I'm not sure they'd prioritise it, they were prioritising both competitions. It couldn't have been a worse draw for Arsenal, really.

'Arsenal will struggle to score no matter who they play'

"PSV, you look on paper, you'd bite your hand off. With the second leg at home in the first knockout round, of course you would. But the situation Arsenal are in, it doesn't matter who they're going to play at the moment, they're going to struggle to score any goals. So it's going to be really tough."

Arsenal have already clashed with PSV 10 times in European competition and are meeting the Dutch giants for the third season running, having also taken them on during the 2022-23 Europa League and 2023-24 Champions League group stages.

On both occasions, the Gunners triumphed at home but fell short in Eindhoven, and they are now winless in four straight matches on PSV's turf since earning their first and only away win against the Rood-Witten in September 2002.

However, Arsenal were beaten 1-0 by Porto in the first leg of their last-16 tie away from home last year and still managed to reach the quarter-finals for the first time since the 2009-10 season, progressing via a penalty shootout after a 1-1 aggregate draw.

Given the Gunners' significant attacking absences, Watts has urged Arteta's men to avoid a first-leg thumping by any means possible, as there is optimism that Saka and Martinelli will return from their hamstring injuries in time for April's quarter-finals.

"They know all about PSV, there's been a lot of games against PSV, they are a very good side at home," Watts added. "You'd think Arsenal would certainly have the advantage in the second leg. It's all about just staying in the tie in that first game, not leaving yourself a mountain to climb and then seeing what you can do in the second leg.

Watts: 'Do what you did against Porto against PSV'

"For Arsenal's chances at the Champions League season, this is so crucial. If they can get through PSV, you've got a little bit of a break and then you would hope by the time the next round, you could have Saka, Martinelli back and then suddenly you're looking at a much more fluid, attacking, dangerous Arsenal team.

"It's just about getting through against PSV. Ugly? Fine. Exactly what happened against Porto last season; it was a horrible game in Portugal, they end up losing it with that last minute goal, but they managed to get themselves through on penalties in the second leg.

"Do that again against PSV. Any which way, just get through and then you're going to be in a slightly stronger position, albeit with the toughest of runs you could possibly get in terms of the route through to the final."

PSV eliminated Juventus from the knockout round playoffs with a 4-3 aggregate victory after extra time, but Peter Bosz's side have won just one of their last six matches and were beaten 3-2 by Go Ahead Eagles in the weekend's Eredivisie match.

In contrast, Arsenal have had a full weekend to prepare for the trip to Eindhoven, where 17-year-old Ethan Nwaneri will join Phil Foden and Jude Bellingham in an exclusive club if he makes the starting lineup.

Written by

Ben Knapton