Arsenal beat Sevilla 2-0 on Wednesday night to edge closer to qualifying for the Champions League knockout round.
Leandro Trossard put the hosts ahead before the half-time break, latching onto a lovely low cross from Bukayo Saka before putting the ball beyond Marko Dmitrovic in the Sevilla net.
Arsenal then doubled their lead in the second half when Saka was set up by Gabriel Martinelli. This wrapped the game up, but there was a slight blow for Arsenal in the last 10 minutes after Saka had to leave the pitch following treatment for an injury.
Here, The Athletic’s James McNicholas addresses three talking points from the game…
Trossard impresses at centre-forward
In theory, Arsenal came into this game without a recognised centre-forward. They lost Gabriel Jesus to a hamstring injury in the reverse fixture a fortnight ago, while Eddie Nketiah was a late withdrawal after picking up a knock at Newcastle. That meant Arteta had to choose between Kai Havertz and Trossard, both of whom prefer to start in deeper positions.
Trossard impressed as a false nine at both Brighton and Arsenal last season and this was another encouraging outing for the Belgian international. He got the goal, finishing confidently from Saka’s cross, but more impressive was the way he linked play. Trossard demonstrates you don’t have to be a six-footer to hold the ball up. At one point, he received a long throw on the halfway line, took the ball under control and used his low centre of gravity to spin away from his man.
Trossard may not be a conventional centre-forward, but he is quite an effective one.
Arsenal’s wingers back on their game
In the Premier League, wingers Saka and Martinelli frequently find defenders doubling up against them. In Europe, for whatever reason, they seem to be granted more space.
Martinelli tormented Juanlu, regularly allowing the full-back to draw close before knocking it beyond him and racing in behind. On the opposite flank, Kike Salas’ only way of attempting to slow Saka down was resorting to fouls. The 22-year-old is well used to that treatment and didn’t allow it to deter him.
Martinelli and Saka combined for Arsenal’s second goal, the Brazilian releasing the English international, who dummied back inside and finished confidently. Saka did, though, have to leave the pitch with an injury late in the second half.
Arsenal’s attack has struggled for fluency of late. The return to form of their two wide forwards could signal a significant improvement on that front.
Signs of life from Havertz?
Since losing Martin Odegaard shortly before the Newcastle game, Mikel Arteta has switched Havertz’s starting position to play him as the ‘right eight’. While he is still some way short of the kind of performances that would begin to justify his £65million ($80m) price tag, the last two games have elicited some signs of life from the German international.
He’ll be disappointed not to have ended the night with a goal: he missed a good headed opportunity in the game’s opening exchanges and curled an effort from the edge of the box just wide of the far post. Nevertheless, he contributed well to Arsenal’s team play and pressed alongside Trossard in Arsenal’s 4-4-2 ‘out of possession’ shape.
The problem is that spot on the right of Arsenal’s midfield three rightfully belongs to Odegaard. Could Arteta be persuaded to switch Odegaard to the left to allow Havertz to continue his improving form on the right?
What did Arteta say?
On Arsenal’s control: “I’m really happy with the performance from the team. They showed aggression and commitment. Even when we lost the ball, we were incredibly good to get it back. It’s hard in Europe to control it how we did. That’s why we won it. When you let them get set in your own half, they are a dangerous team. We only allowed one shot, in the 97th minute.”
On the injuries to Saka and Tomiyasu: “It was just a kick (to Saka) and I was told by the physios on the radio he wasn’t happy to continue. So he will have some discomfort but, hopefully, I am going to assume he will be OK. (Tomiyasu) had some discomfort in the first half and we didn’t want to take any risks because he’s played a lot of minutes. Obviously, with Alex (Zinchenko) on the bench ready to come in, I think it was the right decision.”
What next for Arsenal?
Saturday, November 11: Burnley (H), Premier League, 3pm GMT, 10am ET
Arsenal’s final game before the November international break will see them host Burnley. Vincent Kompany’s side have had a tough start to the season, winning just one of their opening 11 matches. They have also lost four of their last five.
It will be a tough test for Burnley given their only victory came against fellow strugglers Luton Town.
Burnley have not lost either of their last two visits to the Emirates Stadium, though, with a 0-0 draw in January 2022 being their last match there. They also won the meeting before — a 1-0 victory during the 2020-21 season.
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(Top photo: Adrian Dennis/AFP via Getty Images)
Daniel Miller is a sports fanatic who lives and breathes athletics. His coverage spans from major league championships to local sports events, delivering up-to-the-minute updates and in-depth analysis for sports enthusiasts.
