Mikel Arteta's side claimed a 1-0 at Emirates Stadium to guarantee themselves a spot in the knockout stages
Arsenal guaranteed themselves a spot in the Europa League knockout stages with a 1-0 win against PSV Eindhoven on Thursday night.
The Gunners enjoyed almost total domination against the Dutch outfit, but had to wait until the 70th minute to finally break their resistance.
Granit Xhaka was the man who did it, firing home a sweet right footed half-volley after he had been neatly picked out in the box by Takehiro Tomiyasu's ball in.
The win moves Arsenal five points clear at the top of Group A with two games remaining and guarantees they will now progress through to the knockout stages.
And they now know that a draw at PSV next week will be enough to ensure they win the group with one game remaining, giving them a bye into the round of 16.
The Winners
Winner: Granit Xhaka
The never-ending redemption story continues.
Just when it looked like Arsenal were going to endure a frustrating evening in front of goal, Xhaka delivered with an excellent strike 20 minutes from time.
The midfielder now has three goals and three assists as his fairytale season gets better and better.
It's no wonder Mikel Arteta barely ever leaves him out of his starting XI.
Winner: Rob Holding
This was another impressive performance from Holding, who has had an excellent group stage campaign so far.
Given his lack of minutes in the Premier League, the centre-back could be excused for looking a little rusty, but he has barely put a foot wrong when called upon.
Granted, he may not have been put under too much pressure by the PSV forward line, but the 27-year-old was dominant when he needed to be and was excellent in possession.
It's been a frustrating season for Holding so far, but when he has been given an opportunity by Mikel Arteta he has not let anyone down.
Winner: Takehiro Tomiyasu
Tomiyasu was charged with keeping danger man Cody Gakpo quiet and he did exactly that.
Having played at left-back against Liverpool and Leeds, the Japan international was moved to his natural right-back position to deal with the threat of Gakpo.
Given Gakpo's form this season, it looked like being a tough ask, but Tomiyasu did it comfortably.
And he also proved to be crucial at the other end as well, setting up Granit Xhaka for his goal 20 minutes from time.
AdvertisementThe Losers
Loser: Cody Gakpo
This was a big night for the PSV winger, who is expected to make a big-money move to the Premier League in the summer.
He was given the big build-up by Ruud van Nistelrooy ahead of the game, but Gakpo couldn't live up to the billing on a frustrating night for the Dutch international.
Takehiro Tomiyasu barely gave him a kick out wide and when he drifted into the central areas he was unable to really influence things like he would have hoped.
Loser: Ruud van Nistelrooy
Given his history with Arsenal, Van Nistelrooy would have been desperate for his team to impress on his return to north London.
But instead he saw his side fail to really threaten at all and now they know they must win in Holland next week to stand any chance of going through as group winners.
PSV have been free-scoring all season, both domestically and in Europe, but there was no real sign of attacking intent on show at the Emirates.
They seem to just sit back and play for the draw and it was a tactic that eventually saw them punished.
Arsenal Ratings: Defence
Matt Turner (7/10):
Only had one save to make and he did that well, stopping Xavi Simons' low shot.
Takehiro Tomiyasu (8/10):
Excellent performance. Marked Gakpo out of the game.
Rob Holding (8/10):
Another fine Europa League performance from Holding.
Gabriel Magalhaes (7/10):
Cruised through the game.
Kieran Tierney (7/10):
Kept bombing forward all night.
Midfield
Sambi Lokonga (7/10):
Tidy in possession, didn't do much wrong.
Granit Xhaka (8/10):
He just can't stop scoring. Excellent once again.
Fabio Vieira (7/10):
Some lovely touches. Moves the ball so well.