PSV vs Arsenal LIVE: Champions League team news and line-ups as Myles Lewis-Skelly returns

A big night for two Mikels: Arteta’s season increasingly rests on the Champions League, with Arsenal likely to finish second in the Premier League and very unlikely to drop out of the top four, and Merino, who again leads the line in Eindhoven tonight for a side who have not scored in three of their last four games. Merino got the goals in the other match, at Leicester. There is a carrot of a trip to Madrid, whether Real or Atletico, if Arsenal can see off PSV in what is becoming a very familiar rivalry.

For Arsenal, Arteta has made two changes to the side that drew 0-0 to Forest last time out.

In defence, Miles Lewis-Skelly returns in place of Riccardo Calafiori at left-back, while in midfield, Thomas party replaces Jorginho.

Mikel Merino leads the line once again, with Ethan Nwaneri and Leandro Trossard on the wings.

For Arsenal, Arteta has made two changes to the side that drew 0-0 to Forest last time out.

In defence, Miles Lewis-Skelly returns in place of Riccardo Calafiori at left-back, while in midfield, Thomas Partey replaces Jorginho.

Mikel Merino leads the line once again, with Ethan Nwaneri and Leandro Trossard on the wings.

There is just one change for PSV tonight, with former Spurs man Ivan Perisic coming in for Johan Bakayoko.

PSV XI: Benitez, Ledezma, Flamingo, Boscagli, Malacia; Schouten, Til; Perisic, Saibari, Lang; de Jong.

Subs: Drommel, Schiks, Obispo, Karsdorp, Nagalo, Veerman, Babadi, Land, Bakayoko, Driouech.

Arsenal XI: Raya; Timber, Saliba, Gabriel, Lewis-Skelly; Odegaard, Partey, Rice; Nwaneri, Merino, Trossard.

Subs: Neto, Setford, White, Kiwior, Zinchenko, Tierney, Calafiori, Jorginho, Sterling, Kabia, Butler-Oyedeji.

The line-ups should be released in the next 10 minutes or so, so here’s a reminder of the early team news…

Arsenal have had almost a week off since their draw with Forest, and there were no new injury concerns for Mikel Arteta after that match. Miles Lewis-Skelly is free to return to the side in European competition, so he could feature again.

With news that Kai Havertz, Gabriel Jesus and Takehiro Tomiyasu will miss the rest of the season, Arsenal continue to be short of options in key positions. In addition, this match will come too soon for Bukayo Saka and Gabriel Martinelli, with neither expected back until next month.

For PSV, former Barcelona full-back Sergino Dest is expected to return this month, though this match may come too soon. Centre-back Ricardo Pepi and midfielder Malik Tillman are the long-term absentees for the Dutch side.

There are a lot of elite footballers who still have the Champions Leaguetheme as their ringtone, and some will be actively playing it on the way to stadiums. Familiarity hasn’t dulled excitement. It’s fair to say that isn’t really from the relative laboriousness of the group stage, but rather the exquisite energy of the knockouts.

This week is where football history starts to be made, partly because of how visions of glory can be instantly consigned to the past. It is tension and tantalising opportunity all at once. Through that, there’s a distinctive thought, one even more striking than the sense many players will feel this week of stepping out into great stadiums. A good chunk of this season’s stars were children when watching Barcelona’s comeback against Paris Saint-Germain in 2017, the kind of game that made them first realise the unique magic of these nights.

That was obviously the case for Camp Nou’s current talents like Lamine Yamal, Pedri and Gavi but also stars like Jude Bellingham, Jamal Musiala, Ryan Gravenberch and arguably even William Saliba and Bukayo Saka. Such grandeur and mystique is what Uefa and all of football’s major stakeholders at least think they are striving for.

With Villa’s match against Brugge already underway, here’s a brief reminder of the last-16 ties in the Champions League.

Aston Villa vs Club Brugge

Real Madrid vs Atletico Madrid

Bayern Munich vs Bayer Leverkusen

Perisic, 36, has revived his career at the Dutch club and scored in PSV’s victory over Juventus in the previous round and will now face his former north London rivals on Tuesday night in Eindhoven.

Mikel Arteta’s side have crashed out of the Premier League title race since their last Champions League outing, with a defeat to West Ham and a draw to Nottingham Forest handing the advantage to runaway leaders Liverpool.