“We are not a team” - Ex-Tottenham star Ivan Perisic expresses anger at PSV teammates before Arsenal clash in Champions League

Former Tottenham Hotspur winger Ivan Perisic has blasted his PSV Eindhoven teammates for their lack of unity ahead of their Arsenal clash in the UEFA Champions League. The Dutch outfit is set to face the Gunners over two legs for a place in the quarterfinals of the competition, having overcome Juventus in the playoffs.

PSV defeated Juventus 4-3 in the playoffs last month, with former Bayern Munich star Perisic scoring in both legs of the tie. The 36-year-old has won the Champions League once before and knows what it takes, and has called out his teammates on the need to do better for the rest of the season.

He said (as per TNT Sport's);

"We are not a team. We are not doing well. We should be more of a team, which we are not now. We are not fighting for each other and that makes me angry. We need to change that quickly. We need to give everything until the end of the season, because it is far from over. Why are we not a team? We talked about that. We create enough chances and score enough, but without the ball we need to do better. We need to fight and run for each other."

PSV have won just one of their last six games across all competitions and lost each of their last two games against Go Ahead Eagles in the league and cup. Peter Bosz's side are struggling for form and are eight points behind rivals Ajax at the summit of the Eredivisie.

The Dutch side won the competition in 1988 and will be aiming to shock Mikel Arteta's Arsenal in the last-16 tie. They have a good home record in the competition this season, defeating Liverpool, Juventus, Girona, and Shakhtar Donetsk so far at the Philips Stadion.

Arsenal receive boost as key player closes in on return from injury

Arsenal have received a major boost as star forward Gabriel Martinelli is preparing to return to action for the side this month. The Brazil international has spent the last month out injured with a hamstring problem which he picked up in the Carabao Cup semi-final defeat to Newcastle United.

Martinelli was expected back in April but has been included in Brazil's preliminary squad for their FIFA World Cup qualifiers this month. This may indicate that the 23-year-old is set to return from his injury earlier than expected.

Mikel Arteta is left with just three fit senior forwards in Raheem Sterling, Leandro Trossard, and Ethan Nwaneri, forcing him to play Mikel Merino up top. A return to fitness for Martinelli will be a big boost for Arsenal heading into the final weeks of the season.