Former Arsenal transfer target could now come back and haunt Mikel Arteta’s side following Champions League draw

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Arsenal have found out their route to potential Champions League glory and face Dutch outfit PSV Eindhoven in the last-16.

Arsenal and PSV are regular opponents in Europe having faced off in last season’s Champions League and the Europa League the season before.

PSV once embarrassed Arsenal at the last-16 stage under former manager Arsene Wenger and current boss Mikel Arteta will be wary of their threat.

Arteta believes his side will be ‘ready’ for PSV but one former Gunners transfer target will be lining up for the Dutch side and could come back to haunt the Emirates Stadium.

READ MORE: Arsenal fans are all saying the same thing after brutal Champions League draw

Arsenal were interested in signing Noa Lang when he was at Club Brugge

PSV winger Noa Lang will be lining up against the Gunners after pulling the strings in their 4-3 aggregate win over Juventus in the Champions League play-off round.

As per The Mirror, the Gunners were interested in the Belgian star back in 2021 when he was playing for Club Brugge, who have just been drawn against Aston Villa in the last-16.

Lang caught the attention of Arteta after firing 22 goals in the 2020-21 season however a move the £20m rated Belgian did not materialise and he eventually moved to PSV in 2023.

Since that move, Lang has scored twelve times in 50 appearances for his current club and provided twelve assists. Arteta will know he needs to put a plan in place to stop the threat that he clearly poses.

Jurrien Timber played with Lang at Ajax

One player who may be given the task of stopping Lang is Arsenal defender Jurrien Timber and the Dutch powerhouse spent some time in the same Ajax side as Lang back in the 2020-21 season.

Both Timber and Lang were both breaking through into the side at young ages before going on to further their careers elsewhere, they will know each other’s games well.

Arteta could not ask for a more reliable defender to do the job on Lang given the form Timber has shown this season, he has made an incredible 34 appearances already this season after returning from an ACL injury.

His tenacity in the tackle, strength in the duels and composure on the ball make him one of Europe’s most highly-regarded defenders and Lang will have his work cut out to get the better of Timber.