EXCL: The TRUTH about Osimhen-Arsenal links, reaction to special win at PSV, plus will Martinelli or Trossard leave this summer?

The latest on all things Arsenal FC as the club reportedly close in on a new sporting director...

(Photo by Mike Hewitt, Justin Setterfield, Ahmad Mora/Getty Images)

A special night for exceptional Arsenal

It was a special night for Arsenal in Eindhoven on Tuesday.

No-one would have predicted a scoreline like that before the game given the issues Mikel Arteta’s side have been struggling with in attack in recent weeks.

But Arsenal were exceptional. They tore PSV to shreds and in truth the scoreline could have been even greater than it was.

You could see encouraging signs in the game against Forest, but nothing to suggest something like this was coming.

It was really encouraging because the performance showed that the players are now getting to grips with what they have to do in the absence of the squad’s main attackers.

It was very apparent that Arsenal were looking to get more players into the penalty area on Tuesday night than they have been doing of late. The full-backs were constantly in and around the 18-yard box, as were Declan Rice and Martin Odegaard.

I counted seven Arsenal players in the penalty area when Jurrien Timber scored and there were six when Ethan Nwaneri netted. They swamped the penalty area and PSV couldn’t deal with it.

I thought Martin Odegaard was excellent, especially in the second half, but Declan Rice and Jurrien Timber were exceptional, as were Leandro Trossard and Ethan Nwaneri.

A win like that has to give the team confidence. It shows they can score goals even with the players they have missing and you would hope that would send them into Sunday’s game at Old Trafford full of optimism.

It’s too late in terms of the title. That ship has sailed, but hopefully Arsenal can at least now finish the season strongly and give themselves a chance in the Champions League.

Experienced Andrea Berta looks a strong choice for new Arsenal director

We are still waiting for confirmation on who Arsenal’s next sporting director will be, but as it stands Andrea Berta is understood to be at the top of the list of the remaining candidates.

My understanding is that an official offer has yet to be made to Berta, or anyone else, but Arsenal do want their preferred choice in place imminently with the club well aware of how important the upcoming summer window is.