Mikel Arteta joked that he knew Arsenal would put seven goals past PSV Eindhoven as he hailed a historic and unbelievable night for his players that all but guarantees their place in the Uefa Champions League quarter-finals.
A double from Martin Odegaard and individual strikes by Jurrien Timber, Ethan Nwaneri, Mikel Merino, Leandro Trossard and Riccardo Calafiori sent Arsenal on their way to a thumping 7-1 triumph – their biggest away win in Europe's premier club competition.
It marked a remarkable reversal in fortunes for Arteta’s previously goal-shy side, who arrived in the Netherlands with three blanks from their last four outings and their Premier League title hopes up in smoke.
But when asked if he could ever have envisaged such a scoreline, Arsenal boss Arteta said with a smile: “I knew it was coming.
“That is the beauty of football. Nobody in this room, if I gave you an envelope and said, ‘can you predict what’s going to happen tomorrow and who is going to score?’ would have predicted it. But that’s the beauty of football. You put your head down, be humble, and analyse how you can improve.
“We will enjoy tonight because it was a very impressive performance and an unbelievable score. We deserve that and I’ll take it. Today, we were exceptional.”
Following a 1-0 defeat against West Ham United and a goalless draw against Nottingham Forest in the league which leaves them 13 points adrift of Liverpool, Arsenal’s campaign had been in danger of fizzling out.
However, Arteta’s men answered Timber’s pre-match call to change the narrative with an electric performance on the European stage – admittedly against a utterly lightweight PSV side – to put them on the brink of a last-eight match-up against either Real Madrid or Atletico Madrid.
Without a recognised striker, Timber opened the scoring for the Gunners after 18 minutes before teenager Nwaneri and makeshift forward Merino extended Arsenal’s advantage inside half-an-hour.
Noa Lang gave PSV hope from the penalty spot only for Odegaard to score 60 seconds after the restart, with Trossard adding the fifth a minute later.
Odegaard doubled his tally with 17 minutes remaining and Calafiori completed the devastating rout – which surpassed Arsenal’s 5-1 win against Inter Milan in 2003 as the club’s biggest away from North London in the Champions League – in the closing moments.
The second leg, effectively now a dead rubber, will take place at the Emirates Stadium a week on Wednesday, with the Gunners back in action in the Premier League against Manchester United at Old Trafford on Sunday.
Diaz comes through for Real
Real Madrid claimed a small edge on city rivals Atletico Madrid with a tight 2-1 Champions League last-16 first leg win at the Bernabeu.
Julian Alvarez levelled for Atletico after Rodrygo Goes sent the hosts ahead, but Moroccan forward Brahim Diaz stroked home the winner for the record 15-time winners to delight of the home crowd.
"I think we played a complete game today, [my] goal was good and it earned us the win, but it's not over," Diaz told Movistar.
"There's still the second leg and we have to give everything, like we did today."
Diego Simeone's Atletico, who lost in the 2014 and 2016 finals against their bitter rivals, kept stars Vinicius Junior and Kylian Mbappe quiet but still came up short.
The Rojiblancos played it safe in the final stages, seeming to accept their one-goal disadvantage for the second leg derby clash at home next week.
"For a moment we had the game under control, but we knew that it would not be an easy match, because they were at home and they have great players," said Alvarez.
"But we know there are 90 minutes to go ... it's one goal, and another game, at home with our fans."
"They started better ... I think the big plus from our team was that we didn't give up, we didn't get stage fright after conceding so early," said Simeone.
"We started to play, to get into the game, and to own the ball more, and play more in their half."
Aston Villa win away
Aston Villa shook off their poor away form this season, and it was largely due to an own goal from a rival player.
A turning point came in the 82nd minute when Club Brugge defender Brandon Mechele beat his own goalkeeper with the teams tied at 1-1. Mechele slid to stop a cross from Morgan Rogers, only to deflect into the back of the net.
Before that, the Belgian side had looked solid, enjoyed most of the possession and created the best chances in the second half.
Looking demoralised, the hosts then conceded a late penalty that was converted by Villa substitute Marco Asensio.
Villa had suffered two away defeats in the group phase of the tournament, including one at Club Brugge. In the Premier League, Unai Emery's side have lost seven of 13 away matches.
Last season’s runners-up Borussia Dortmund are evenly matched with Lille ahead of the second leg after Hakon Arnar Haraldsson’s goal salvaged a 1-1 draw for the French team.
Dortmund led thanks to Karim Adeyemi’s low shot from outside the box in the 22nd minute, but Canada forward Jonathan David sliced open the Dortmund defence with a through ball in the 68th minute for Haraldsson to level the score.
