Arsenal Get Back On Track In The Champions League With Hard-Fought Win Away To Sevilla

Arsenal pulled off one of their most impressive results of the season so far as they defeated Sevilla 2-1 away from home on Tuesday night in the UEFA Champions League to return to the top of Group B.

After thrashing PSV Eindhoven 4-0 in their first group game, Mikel Arteta's side fell to a 2-1 defeat in their last Champions League outing away to Lens so a big response was needed against Sevilla.

Arsenal began the game quickly as Takehiro Tomiyasu had a shot from inside the penalty box that went just wide of the near post. Soon after, Gabriel Martinelli raced forward onto a pass from Gabriel Jesus, but his shot did not have enough conviction and was hit straight at Sevilla keeper, Orjan Nyland.

Then in first-half stoppage time, Martinelli was played in again by Jesus as the latter performed a brilliant skill move to break free from Sevilla's defence in his own half and set up his fellow Brazilian again. Martinelli made no mistake with his chance this time as he burst forward and rounded Nyland before slotting the ball into an empty net to give Arsenal a 1-0 lead going into the break.

Eight minutes into the second half, Jesus went from provider to goal scorer as he cut in from the left-hand side and launched a powerful curling strike past Nyland into the top right corner to double Arsenal's lead. This was Jesus's third goal in as many games in the Champions League this season, making him the joint top scorer in the competition alongside Julian Alvarez, Jude Bellingham, Rasmus Hojlund and Brais Mendez.

Sevilla looked to get back into the contest and did so just five minutes later as Ivan Rakitic's corner was met by a header from Nemanja Gudelj to cut the deficit to one. The La Liga side pushed to find an equaliser and complete the turnaround with David Raya having to tip a dangerous cross from Juanlu Sanchez over the bar in the dying moments of the game.

Lucas Ocampos then had another late chance on for Sevilla, but he lashed his shot wide and Arsenal managed to hold on and secure a 2-1 victory at the Ramon Sanchez-Pizjuan Stadium. Despite the win, it was somewhat of a concerning end to the game for Arsenal as Jesus limped off in the latter stages due to a challenge from Boubakary Soumare and was replaced by Eddie Nketiah.

After the game, Arteta reflected on his side's display with pride, telling TNT Sports: "Very happy to win in here, not many teams have won here in the last 10 years in Europe. And we've done it. There were moments when we were very dominant and then we had to suffer, and it's necessary to suffer to win a game."

Regarding the status of Jesus' injury, Arteta commented: "He felt something in his hamstring. He straight away asked to be subbed which is not good news because Gabi is not a player that does that at all so we will have to wait to see in the next few days."

Jesus, who was awarded player of the match for his display, eased concerns over his injury when talking to TNT Sports after the match.

The striker said: "I felt something. Let's see. I did some tests with the physio, it looks not that big, but let's see. I have a scan, maybe tomorrow. I'm pretty sure it will be nothing."

Next up for the Gunners in the Champions League is the return fixture against Sevilla at the Emirates Stadium in a fortnight. Arsenal will secure qualification for the knockout stages on the next matchday providing they defeat Sevilla and Lens beat PSV.

Having been absent from the competition for six years, Arsenal supporters will be delighted with the way their team has performed in the Champions League this season and the position they are in after three games.

Arteta's side will next be in action this Saturday when they host Sheffield United in the Premier League, where they will be looking to maintain their unbeaten start to their league campaign.