On that note …
Thank you very much for joining me. Enjoy the rest of your night.
Rice: “It was good. A tough game. We know what Sevilla are like. We knew we had to get three points.
“After the upset in the cup and the weekend, we said we can’t be losing three games in a row. The manager made it clear we had to get back to winning ways.
“My best position is as a 6, I get a bit excited as an 8 and go off dribbling.”
TNT’s desperate attempt to praise absolutely everything is a bit cringe.
Ferdinand and Keown are analysing Saka’s ankle issue. It’s not exactly an episode of House.
Here is David Hytner’s report from the Emirates.
Trossard: “It is perfect. We wanted to give something back to the fans today. We did it. We created a lot.
“You play football for nights like this. The crowd were incredible. It was a great night for us.
“When I saw Jorgy on the ball, I knew he would put it in behind for Saka and I had to be there to score. It was a great team goal.”
If I were you, I would join Scott Murray for the final stages of Copenhagen v Man Utd.
Full time! Arsenal 2-0 Sevilla
It was a wonderfully routine night of Champions League football for Arsenal, who cruise past Sevilla thanks to goals from Trossard and Saka. Sevilla had their first shot in the 97th minute.
90+5 mins: The corner has an immediate effect. Gabriel heads clear to Vieira on the edge of the box. He chests it down onto his arm, so we have a long look but it is not a pen.
90+4 mins: Arteta is still handing out instructions. Mainly telling everyone to be calm while showing off how his hair is still perfect.
SEVILLA GET THEIR FIRST CORNER OF THE MATCH. GET THE CERVEZAS IN!
90+2 mins: Sevilla have failed to have a single shot – on or off target. Just in case you were wondering how meek they’ve been.
90 mins: The crowd is starting to thin at the Emirates. This game is done.
Elneny is on for Jorginho.
Six minutes added on.
88 mins: Rice has been booked. Again, I am not sure why. The referee must be bored.
86 min: Shawn Grant emails: “At this rate Sevilla will finish bottom of the group and be out of Europe entirely, meaning they won’t win the Europa League as has been customary of late. Can VAR intervene and send them straight to the final if they come 4th?”
It would be the right thing for Uefa to do.
85 mins: For some reason the referee books him as he tries to walk the long way off to the far touchline. All a bit odd. Kiwior is on.
84 mins: Everything has certainly slowed down. Not helped by Saka sitting on the turf. He is heading off.
82 mins: Oh no! Saka lands awkwardly on his ankle and looks in pain. The physio sprints on to see him. He looks uncomfortable but not in agony. I suspect he will be taken off at this point.
Updated
80 mins: Nelson and Vieira on for Arsenal. Trossard and Martinelli off.
78 mins: Ocampos honours Soumare’s cameo by also getting himself booked immediately. He takes down Martinelli for his amusement.
Ocampos then fails to get back 10 yards for the free-kick and the ref needs to have a word but does not do the hilarious thing of handing out a second booking.
76 mins: More Sevilla changes … Nianzou replaces Pedrosa, while Ocampos comes on for Kike Salas.
74 mins: Mariano Diaz is on, passed by the trudging Soumare.
Diaz makes an immediate impact. He spins Saliba and gets through on goal, he takes a touch but Raya closes the angle, forcing the sub to pull it back rather than shoot and Arsenal clear.
72 mins: Soumare is still limping about and looks over to the bench every few seconds. His race is run after seven minutes. He came, he saw, he left immediately. He is now set on the floor.
He is joined in the book by Juanlu who cleans out Martinelli on the touchline purely out of malice.
Updated
70 mins: Elsewhere in the group … PSV are 1-0 up against Lens, meaning Arsenal cannot go through tonight if things stay the same.
69 mins: Looks like it is more of ankle issue than calf for Soumare. Either way, it’s been great stuff from the Leicester loanee.
68 mins: It’s all good fun now. White gets round on the overlap and dinks in a cross which is headed to Zinchenko to volley at goal from the edge of the box. Dmitrovic punches clear and the danger is gone.
Soumare is now down holding his calf. If he goes off within a few minutes of coming on, it will be one of the great cameos.
66 mins: Game, set and match? Probably. Sevilla make changes with Soumare and Rakitic on for Sow and Jordan.
Fair play to Soumare who immediately dives in recklessly on Rice and is booked – the first of the match.
GOAL! Arsenal 2-0 Sevilla (Saka 64)
The Arsenal No 7 latches onto a through ball from Martinelli. He has plenty of work today but has the skill to get past the defender and slots into the corner. VAR will check for offside but he is on.
Updated
61 mins: Rice receives the ball from Martinelli in the box, he briefly considers shooting but instead flicks a pass to Trossard. The Belgian is off-balance and his shot goes nowhere near the net.
59 mins: The visitors look to play out from the back but the pass to the left-back is wayward and ends up out of play. They need to be better in position if they are to get back into this.
57 mins: Sevilla are giving Saka and Martinelli less space to operate in, which is a sensible decision.
55 mins: Speaking of Havertz … he gets the ball on the right and cuts in onto this left foot before letting fly but his effort wings its way wide.
54 mins: Pat emails: “For me, the Havertz issue comes down to two things. It’s worth saying from the off that he’s clearly a very talented footballer. Great ball skills, good positioning, thinks well, clearly liked by his teammates.
“But first, he’s what my dad would call a lummox. He looks uncoordinated. He’s got a normal sized body on Peter Crouch’s legs. So when he does something poor, it looks twice as bad as if another player had done it. (It doesn’t help when he wears those big black boots.)
“Second, he doesn’t have a natural position. He’s no Declan Rice or Saka who are clearly suited to a specific place on the pitch. He’s not fast enough to be a winger. He’s not strong enough to be a defensive midfielder or even a thrusting, attacking midfielder. He’s not confident enough to be a striker. Definitely not a defender. But managers see the skills and keep thinking well maybe I’ll try him here. Hmmm no, that didn’t really work. What about here? And it takes a season or two before the manager realises that he’s probably just not worth it.”
Updated
53 mins: The first sight of Martinelli breezing past a Sevilla of the half sees him reach the byline from where he chips to the back post but there is no one in red waiting to knock it.
51 mins: More Saka trickery on the edge of the box concludes with the winger tumbling inside the area. Neither he nor the ref look too interested in a penalty being awarded.
49 mins: Sevilla have not changed their plan. They will just sit back and hope someone manages to get an equaliser from their home half or something. They do get a free-kick into the Arsenal box but Arsenal break on them at speed. Saka drives up the right and picks out Havertz, who takes a touch and fires towards goal but a Sevilla boot deflects it wide.
47 mins: Juanlu takes an appalling foul throw but no one intervenes. VAR should come down like a ton of bricks on this. His foot was off the floor!
Niall Sullivan emails: “Reminds me of the good old days vs Bolton when Nolan and Davies used to go around kicking everyone until they got a booking.”
GREAT DAYS!
Second half
Here we go again!
Zinchenko is on for Tomiyasu.
Half-time reading.
I am not saying this Arsenal match is not grabbing the attention of the pundits but Rio Ferdinand is sat in the studio watching the United match.
Half time: Arsenal 1-0 Sevilla
It has been a straightforward 45 minutes for Arsenal against a pretty average Sevilla team who have offered nothing going forward. The only surprise is that Arsenal have not scored more.
45 mins: Martinelli gets to the byline for roughly the 176th time in the match but his cross drifts out of play. For all the fine work he has done, his end product has been lacking.
One minute added on.
43 mins: We seem to be drifting towards half time. Neither side look particularly engaged in proceedings.
“If Saliba doesn’t win Arsenal Player of the Year I’ll eat my hat,” claims Daragh Thomas.
41 mins: Havertz is late on a challenge with Fernando but, like everyone else tonight, avoids a booking.
39 mins: Sevilla almost get beyond the Arsenal back four but Saliba is alert to the danger and slides in to get the ball back to Raya. That’s as good as it’s got for Sevilla thus far.
37 mins: Saka swings in a free-kick from the right but the goalkeeper is able to punch clear.
Despite not being in this game at all, Sevilla are still trying to play out from the back. It must feel like 100 miles from their goal to Arsenal’s passing it this slowly.
35 mins: Saka shifts the ball and breezes past a couple of defenders down the right but his cross is overhit.
Kike Salas fouls Saka again. Sevilla cannot cope with the Arsenal wingers.
33 mins: Sevilla look like a team who have won once in eight and lack the confidence required to give Arsenal a game.
31 mins: Can Sevilla get back into this? The evidence is to the contrary.
GOAL! Arsenal 1-0 Sevilla (Trossard 29)
Finally! The ball is wonderfully slipped between two defenders by Jorginho for Saka to collect. He takes a touch and crosses to Trossard to sweep home.
Updated
28 mins: Martinelli again wanders down the left at speed; he reaches the byline but his pullback is cleared. He gets another chance soon after but Bade is in the right place to head away.
Matthew Stephens offers even more positivity: “I take a lot of positivity from Kai Havertz’s presence in the team. It give me hope at age 52 that I could get a game for Arsenal.”
26 mins: I was at Man City v Young Boys last night and this match has a very similar feeling. It is extremely one-sided. I await Arsenal opening the scoring …
Saka shows off his tricky feet once more and he goes down under pressure from Kike Salas in the box. Saka wants a penalty but he does not merit one.
24 mins: A Martinelli cross is headed out to the edge of the box to Jorginho, who lays it off for White to shoot but he fails to get any power or accuracy on his effort.
22 mins: Kari Tulinus emails: “Having watched my share of Bundesliga games through the years, I can testify that Havertz was brilliant for Leverkusen. Sometimes good players don’t fit into a team, and that might be the case with him and Arsenal. As for him not living up the hype, he did score winning goals in the finals of Champions League and Club World Cup. That’s a pretty good rate of return for eighty million or whatever Chelsea paid.”
Some positivity is what we need.
20 mins: Lamela dispossesses Rice in the Arsenal half, which is about the most attacking thing Sevilla have done all game.
18 mins: I do not think Sevilla have crossed the halfway line. It is very one-sided. Stats claim Arsenal have had around 70% possession.
SAKA IS FOULED AGAIN! Kike Salas again. Someone needs booking here. The Romanian referee needs to be stronger.
Saka fires the free-kick over the bar from around 25 yards. I am sure he will get another soon.
16 mins: A slight change for Saka as he is fouled by Kike Salas on this occasion. It’s good to have variety.
14 mins: Martinelli once again nips past Juanlu. The Arsenal wingers are going to have a great night here.
Gudelj commits another foul! Just book him, mate.
12 mins: Martinelli rinses the right full-back and gets into the box, he pulls it back to Trossard and/or Rice but neither can get a shot away in a crowded area, allowing Sevilla to clear.
10 mins: Gudelj cleans out Saka for a second time. It is a poor challenge but he somehow avoids a yellow.
“What is so difficult to understand?” asks Jeff Sax. “Havertz has not and will not live up to the hype about him from years ago.
“Another one of Arsenal’s inexplicable signings.”
Updated
8 mins: The referee has a strong word with Gudelj after he takes down Saka from behind. I think the Sevilla man is in for a tough evening. Saka swings in the subsequent free-kick from the right touchline … it lands on Gabriel’s head but his effort is completely misdirected. A bad start for Arsenal and headers.
Updated
6 mins: The away end at the Emirates looks a touch lively, that’s for sure.
“Poor old Havertz,” emails Charles Antaki. “A simple header at the far post completely fluffed. Either he has the luck of the devil, a confidence level in minus figures, or shares in a meme-producing company specializing in footballer howlers.”
4 mins: Loic Bade is at centre-back for a Sevilla, a man who barely got a kick at Nottingham Forest in the first half of last season. He has been decent since moving to Spain. I suspect Forest underestimated him.
3 mins: I am not sure if Sevilla have completed a successful pass yet. It is all Arsenal.
2 mins: Martinelli darts down the left and earns his side a corner within 25 seconds. The Brazilian whips it to the back post where Havertz is completely unmarked but his header is utterly woeful and goes well wide from a few yards.
“There’s not much in reserve tonight, is there?” suggests Mike Jakeman. I always think people underestimate how hard it is when squads return to the CL and have two big games every week. Takes two or three years for the squad to get properly grooved. Only City among the English CL clubs this year are used to the grind.”
Updated
Kick off
Peep! Peep! Peep! Here we go!
The mascots dressed up in Mastercard kit gets me every time.
“Who controls the TV cameras during a UEFA Champions League match?” asks Kurt Perleberg.
The host broadcaster’s director will be in charge of the coverage.
The players are in the tunnel, as are Laura Woods and Rio Ferdinand for some reason. This coverage is far too busy. It’s just a bit weird.
Mikel Arteta speaks: “I like to control games in the last 20 metres. It is the most difficult thing in football when teams are really low against us. This season we have been struggling to unlock teams early, unlike last season.”
Bit more VAR chat: “It is my duty and who I am. I will defend this club and these players. In the dressing room, I demand the best and I am the same out here.”
Updated
TNT’s coverage really is trying too hard. They are jumping from behind the goal, to the side of the pitch and now to the commentators to do some analysis. Get in a studio and keep it simple.
Rai Skrupskis lands in my inbox: “Let’s hope Sevilla are denied a winner by an outrageous VAR decision so Arteta can rage about the injustice of it all. Eh? Oh.”
Russell Eberts gets in touch touch to say: “I find it odd that Arteta gets stick for the same things that Klopp, Mourinho, Sir Alex, and many other managers have done over the years. Klopp gets mad at reporters for asking him how he feels about playing on Saturdays! Mourinho threw his players under the bus time and time again. Sir Alex used his bully pulpit as much as he could. Not sure why people dislike Arteta so much, except for maybe the fact he coaches Arsenal, and people can’t stand Arsenal being good again (and they are good).”
Jeff Sax emails: “Let’s see what Arteta will whinge about tonight?!
“What he lacks in coaching skills, he makes up with whining.”
Sid Lowe and Victor Orta together at last.
There is no Eddie Nketiah for Arsenal tonight because the striker has an ankle issue.
Get in the mood for tonight’s match with a look at Arteta v VAR.
Starting lineups
Arsenal (4-2-3-1): Raya; White, Saliba, Gabriel, Tomiyasu; Rice, Jorginho; Havertz, Saka, Martinelli; Trossard
Subs: Ramsdale, Hein, Soares, Kiwior, Zinchenko, Vieira, Nelson, Elneny, Cozier-Duberry, Sagoe Jr.
Sevilla (4-1-4-1): Dmitrovic; Juanlu, Badé, Gudelj, Kike Salas; Fernando; Lamela, Jordan, Sow, Pedrosa; En-Nesyri
Subs: Flores, Gattoni, Ocampos, Suso, Rafa Mir, Rakitic, Lukebakio, Mariano Diaz, Nianzou, Navas, Torres, Soumare
Preamble
The Gunners sit top of the table and a win tonight could confirm their place in the knockout stages, depending on results elsewhere. Mikel Arteta’s team have, however, lost their last two matches and the manager is still absolutely fuming about VAR.
On the upside, the only time Sevilla have been victorious in their past eight outings was a victory in the Copa del Rey over fourth tier Quintanar. They find themselves 15th in La Liga thanks to a grand total of two victories in 11 and are already onto their second manager of the season, with Diego Alonso replacing Europa League winner José Luis Mendilibar at the helm in October.
Let’s hope for a cracker!
Kick-off: 8pm GMT.
