Arsenal fans think Mikel Arteta used 'secret tactic' he previously joked about in PSV win

Arsenal supporters are all saying the same thing after their Champions League round of 16 first-leg victory against PSV.

The Premier League side were simply too good for their Dutch opponents as Mikel Arteta’s team ran riot at the Philips Stadion.

Jurrien Timber put the away side ahead on 18 minutes before Ethan Nwaneri, assisted by Myles Lewis-Skelly’s pass, doubled Arsenal’s advantage just three minutes later.

By 31 minutes, the Gunners were cruising when Mikel Merino added a third before Noa Lang pegged Arsenal back with a penalty on 43 minutes.

But normal service resumed the other side of half-time, when Martin Odegaard restored the Premier League outfits' three-goal lead. Goals from Leandro Trossard and Odegaard followed before Riccardo Calafiori added Arsenal’s seventh and final goal of the evening.

Riccardo Calafiori makes it SEVEN for Arsenal 🫨#UCLonPrime pic.twitter.com/AsYHeb5Lrd

— Amazon Prime Video Sport (@primevideosport) March 4, 2025

But among the many goals fans spotted something interesting.

Several Arsenal fans think Arteta has actually utilised a left-field tactic which he teased a few weeks back.

Ahead of Arsenal's 2-0 win in the Premier League against Leicester on February 15 he spoke to former defender Martin Keown, who joked that Calafiori could be used as a makeshift striker after impressive goals against Man City and Wolves this season.

“It’s been done in the past you know," Arteta quipped when speaking to TNT Sports. "They [defenders] have this capacity to become a threat, especially in the context of the game against low blocks, it is an option that we have.”

Fans on social media had their say and think Arteta used the Italian defender as a forward.

One said: "We have CF’s playing as defenders. Just look at that finish from Riccardo Calafiori."

Another added: "Calafiori’s more dangerous than Sterling in the final 3rd lol what a finish."

While a third commented: "How do I explain that Calafiori actually plays like an attacker and not a defender?"

After the victory, Arsenal captain Odegaard expressed his delight with his side's performance.

"I enjoyed that one," he told UEFA. "When you play at this stage it is always tough and especially away from home so I think we've done incredibly well to get a result like that.

"It is hard to explain but I think we worked hard to improve after the last two games. I think today you saw what we are capable of and hopefully we will continue now.

"We know how important every goal is and today we are happy with the result."

Meanwhile, Arteta, 42, also gave his thoughts on the convincing win.

"So happy for the boys because in the last two games, we haven't scored a goal and we know the noise around that," he told Prime Video.

"It's a massive result away from home in a competition that we love, that we miss for so many years, " he added. "Today is a really special night for us."