Arsenal keeper Aaron Ramsdale benched for second consecutive game as his side defeat PSV Eindhoven 4-0

Arsenal ended its six-year absence from the Champions League on Wednesday night by demolishing Dutch side, PSV Eindhoven, 4-0 at the Emirates Stadium. This continues the Gunners' impressive start to the new season.

Mikel Arteta's men were in front shortly after the start as Bukayo Saka scored his first Champions League goal in his first appearance in the competition to give Arsenal the lead in the eighth minute. Saka then turned provider as he set up Leandro Trossard to double the lead before Trossard himself assisted Gabriel Jesus to put the home side ahead 3-0 at the break.

With a strong lead intact, Arteta made multiple changes in the second half as he took off all three first-half goal scorers as well as Oleksandr Zinchenko and Declan Rice. This was taking into consideration that the Gunners' next fixture is against local rivals and in-form Tottenham Hotspur on the weekend.

Captain Martin Odegaard added a fourth for Arsenal in the 70th minute as he slotted away a brilliant effort from distance to cap off a brilliant night in front of the Arsenal faithful. This opening matchday victory for Arsenal puts them in a good position to advance from the group stage.

The North London side's next game in the competition will be in a fortnight against French side, RC Lens, who drew 1-1 with La Liga side, Sevilla, in the other game in the group.

Much talk before the game centred around who would start in goal for Arteta's side, with new signing David Raya, having made his debut on the weekend in a 1-0 win away to Everton. Arsenal's other goalkeeper, Aaron Ramsdale, was dropped to the bench at Goodison Park as a result, causing plenty of debate over who Arteta's undisputed number one was.

Raya was selected to start again on Wednesday night against PSV Eindhoven, in what was his home debut and first game in the Champions League. The Spaniard impressed again as he kept a second consecutive clean sheet and looked calm and assured in goal.

Raya joined Arsenal on a loan deal in the summer from Brentford with there being an option for Arsenal to purchase the goalkeeper at the end of the loan spell for £27 million.

Raya spoke on his battle for the number one spot with Ramsdale after his side's Champions League victory. He told reporters: "If Aaron (Ramsdale) comes back in he needs to fight for the team and to win games. I think it's the first time that two top goalies are on the same team. That's just part of football now."

After he dropped Ramsdale against Everton, Arteta gave his explanation for wanting two quality goalkeepers at the club, by suggesting competition is needed in all positions. He stated: "It's the same rationale as to why Fabio [Vieira] and Gabby [Jesus] played – I haven't had a single question about why Gabriel hasn't been starting. I want Aaron to react the same as Gabriel Jesus. The same as Kai Havertz, as Takehiro Tomiyasu."

Ramsdale will feel disappointed at the recent decisions to place Raya in goal ahead of him as the possibility of him losing the goalkeeping starting spot at his club may derail his aspirations of starting for England at the European Championships in Germany next summer. Everton's Jordan Pickford has been England's number one at the last three major tournaments but Ramsdale's form last season led many to suggest he should be Gareth Southgate's first choice in goal instead.

It remains to be seen who Arteta will select as his starting goalkeeper in Sunday's North London derby against Tottenham. Ramsdale has performed well in the fixture in the past so that could give him the edge, but Raya may be Arteta's favoured choice from this moment onwards and has kept consecutive clean sheets.

Elsewhere, goalkeeping discourse is being discussed over Manchester United's new number one, Andre Onana, who made a costly error in his side's 4-3 defeat away to Bayern Munich in one of Wednesday's other Champions League fixtures. Onana has had a difficult start to life at Old Trafford as he has let in 14 goals in his first six games.