Arsenal returned to the Champions League after six years and did so in style as they beat PSV Eindhoven 4-0 at the Emirates Stadium on Wednesday night.
After the match, Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta admitted that he felt emotional listening to the competition’s iconic theme blasting out at the Emirates Stadium before kickoff.
Arteta had the song many times as an Arsenal player but having guided the Gunners to a return to Europe’s premier club competition as a manager, it was special for him to savour it again after a long absence.
“I’m really happy. It was really emotional just listening to the music and the atmosphere that we had in the stadium, it was great. It is a good memory for the first game to win 4-0 and the way we played, I’m really happy,”
Arteta went on to highlight why his side won the game convincingly.
“I could sense over the past 48 hours and the way [the players] were, the level of attention that they wanted, how they were competing like they were up for the fight. But then you have to do it against a really good side that hasn’t lost a single game, and today we won because we were really efficient in both boxes.
“We had some transition moments to defend after their reply and we did that really, really well and we were really clinical. We were really composed on the ball to pick the right player, the right pass, the right space and that was the difference in the game.”
Arsenal will return to Champions League action on October 3, away to French Ligue 1 side Lens in their second game in Group B.
