Jurrien Timber has called Arsenal’s trip to PSV Eindhoven a chance to “change the narrative” after a difficult couple of weeks for the club.
Arsenal have won just one of their last four games in all competitions, while Kai Havertz and Gabriel Martinelli (both hamstring) joined Bukayo Saka (hamstring) and Gabriel Jesus (anterior cruciate ligament) on the injury list.
Mikel Arteta’s side qualified for the Champions League round of 16 automatically, by finishing third in the league phase, but have lost momentum of late.
“The motivation is there,” Timber said in a pre-match press conference in Eindhoven. “It’s an amazing tournament to play in and we showed in the league phase that we did really well and we have a good team. Tomorrow is a beautiful game to change the narrative (of recent weeks) to win.”
Asked what he meant by changing the narrative, the Netherlands international added: “By winning games. It’s as easy as that. We have to score tomorrow. We have to win games. I don’t think of it as negative, but we have been through a lot in the last couple of weeks. It’s a challenge for us and we just have to take it. Tomorrow is a beautiful game to show that and we will definitely show that tomorrow.”
On whether he agreed with Timber, Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta said: “It’s a game that brings a different energy. It’s a competition that has everybody on their toes. We’ve done a lot already this season and now is the moment to start making another strong step in the direction we want.”
Arsenal have failed to score in three of their last four matches in all competitions, scoring two in the same game against Leicester City through Mikel Merino.
In the meantime, they have faced a familiar problem of teams deploying a low block in the Premier League. Asked whether he expects a different approach from Champions League opposition in PSV, Arteta added: “Normally they (PSV) behave in a different way.
“I don’t know because they’ve done different things, especially when playing (either) home or away, so we will have to see.”
PSV have lost both their last two matches to Go Ahead Eagles (one in the league, and one in the KNVB Cup) but they knocked out Juventus 4-3 on aggregate in the previous round of the Champions League, losing 2-1 in Italy and winning 3-1 at the Philips Stadion.
Arsenal have won six of their eight Champions League matches this season, drawing one with Atalanta and losing the other to Inter.
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(Top photo: Warren Little/Getty Images)
