Sevilla win a ‘Big step’ for Arsenal, says Mikel Arteta

Arsenal managed a gutsy 2-1 win over Sevilla, and Mikel Arteta was ecstatic with his team’s performance in such a hostile environment.

Arsenal managed to secure a tough 2-1 win over Sevilla thanks to goals either side of halftime from Gabriel Martinelli and Gabriel Jesus.

With the win, the Gunners now move to the top of Group B and are in a commanding position to finish the group stages on top with back-to-back home games against Sevilla and Lens to come over the next couple of weeks.

For manager Mikel Arteta, he couldn’t be more pleased with how his side rolled into Seville and managed to escape with three points.

"“I’m really happy,” Arteta said via arsenal.com. “I really liked the determination and the courage that the team played in a stadium like this. [Sevilla] haven’t lost many games in 10 years in Europe and it was incredible to play in this atmosphere. It was a big, big step for us to be able to play the way we played here.“To come here and to restrict them and control the game like we’ve done and to generate the situation that we’ve generated, big credit because it’s very, very difficult to do that.”"

Arsenal knew what a win would do for its chances of progressing to the knockout stages and, conversely, what a loss would do as well.

The Gunners should have been in the lead after the first 10 minutes as Gabriel Martinelli was through on goal but had his effort denied by Orjan Nyland.

However, the young Brazilian made up for his early miss after being played through by Gabriel Jesus as he rounded the Nyland and slotted home to give his team the lead.

Jesus then scored a goal of his own as Arsenal took control of the contest…but it lasted just minutes as the Gunners conceded from a corner as Nemanja Gudelj headed home past David Raya.

For Arteta, Sevilla’s ability to score from its first shot on goal in the half shows how difficult Champions League games can be.

"“In the first action they had, they scored from the corner and it’s game on and they can generate momentum,” Arteta said. “They have a lot of experience to deal with those moments and they really have to suffer and we did that really well.“We are on a journey still, a lot of games to play for, a lot things can happen, it shows you how difficult it is to win in the Champions League, especially away from home.”"

Arsenal will now turn its attention to Sheffield United in the league on Saturday but will also be sweating on the fitness of several players as Jesus after he picked up a hamstring injury, while Thomas Partey didn’t feature at all in Seville after picking up a muscle injury the club confirmed.

The Gunners currently sit second in the league table, two points behind Tottenham, who are also unbeaten through nine games.