Gabriel Jesus stars as Arsenal down Sevilla
Group B
Sevilla 1-2 Arsenal
Gabriel Jesus stole the show as his superb goal and assist fired Arsenal to a 2-1 win at Sevilla to put the Gunners in control of Champions League Group B.
The Brazilian striker’s stunning turn and assist sent Gabriel Martinelli on his way to a debut Champions League goal on the stroke of half-time, before Jesus bettered it himself after the break with a superb curling finish to put Arsenal 2-0 up.
Arsenal’s deficit was halved when Nemanja Gudelj headed home from a corner on the hour mark and despite some heavy Sevilla pressure in an electric Ramon Sanchez-Pizjuan Stadium, some impressive saves from the much-maligned David Raya – including one in the last moments of the game – maintained the Gunners’ lead until full-time.
The Gunners’ win plus Lens’ draw with PSV Eindhoven means they are four points clear of third-place in the group and they will qualify for the knockout stages if they beat Sevilla in their next game on November 8, and Lens beat PSV on the same night.
Arsenal were accused of starting slowly at Chelsea on Saturday, but the Gunners were speedy in Spain in the opening few minutes.
Takehiro Tomiyasu hit the side netting with a low drive from the edge of the box while Martinelli had his first major chance of the game when he was played through on the break, but fired straight at Orjan Nyland when he should have done better.
Sevilla gained some confidence as Lucas Ocampos fired wide at the near post from Jesus Navas’ cross – with the home side’s growing belief coming at Arsenal goalkeeper David Raya’s expense for a few nervy first-half minutes.
The Spaniard – jeered regularly by the home crowd following his high-profile mistakes – hit two straight passes at Ocampos in quick succession – the second error nearly leading to an opening for Dodi Lukebakio, who could not control well in the box.
A stop-start first half – which included injury scares to Arsenal duo Martinelli and Bukayo Saka – nearly drifted towards a slack conclusion but came alive in injury time.
Youssef En-Nesyri fired wide when a slick Sevilla move opened up the Arsenal defence, but then the Gunners hit with seconds of the half remaining.
Jesus was the chief creator spinning two Sevilla defenders on the centre circle before feeding the rapid Martinelli, who burst past the retreating home players with ease. The Brazilian rounded Nyland before tapping into an empty net.
Arsenal continued their rise in the second half with Martin Odegaard blasting over from inside the box after Nyland denied Jesus from close range – but it was not long until the Gunners fired for a second time.
Declan Rice drove well through the left-hand side of the pitch and fed Jesus on the wing. The Brazilian cut inside as he entered the box before firing in between two Sevilla defenders into the top corner.
Arsenal pushed again with Saka, who put his first-half ankle injury worry behind him, seeing a shot blocked inside the box but then Sevilla struck back out of nowhere to halve their climb back. Ivan Rakitic’s corner was headed in at the near post by Gudelj and the home crowd lifted their voices to maximum levels.
Sevilla thought they were level when substitute Mariano Diaz fired at goal from inside the box but Arsenal goalkeeper Raya tipped his rasping drive onto the crossbar, without knowing the referee would penalise the home forward for controlling the ball with his hand.
The pressure continued to build on Arsenal as Raya saved again from Mariano, but the closest the home side came to an equaliser came in the fifth minute of stoppage time.
A cross from the right was punched backwards by Raya and thankfully for the Arsenal goalkeeper, the ball landed on top of the net.
It was enough for the Gunners to hang on for a big win in arguably their most challenging Group B test.
Tonight’s other Champions League results:
Group A
- Galatasaray 1-3 Bayern Munich
- Manchester United 1-0 FC Copenhagen
Group B
- Lens 1-1 PSV Eindhoven
Group C
- SC Braga 1-2 Real Madrid
- Union Berlin 0-1 SSC Napoli
Group D
- Inter Milan 2-1 Red Bull Salzburg
- Benfica 0-1 Real Sociedad
