Arsenal brush aside Sevilla as Trossard, Saka shine
Arsenal are within touching distance of qualifying for the Champions League knockout stages after Leandro Trossard and Bukayo Saka clinched a 2-0 win against Sevilla on Wednesday.
Mikel Arteta's side got back on track after successive domestic defeats thanks to Trossard's first half opener and Saka's strike after the break at the Emirates Stadium. With three wins from four Group B games, Arsenal sit in first place, four points ahead of second-placed PSV Eindhoven.
The north Londoners will be certain to reach the last 16 if they take one point from their remaining matches at home to Lens and at PSV. The only concern for Arteta was the sight of Saka limping off with an injury after appearing to twist his ankle in the closing stages.
Brushing aside Sevilla was the perfect way to erase the bitter taste of a difficult spell that included a League Cup defeat against West Ham and the end of their unbeaten start to the Premier League at Newcastle.
That loss against Newcastle, whose winning goal by Anthony Gordon was controversially awarded by VAR, sent Arteta into a sustained fury that had hardly subsided in the days since.
Arteta labelled the decision "embarrassing" and a "disgrace", while Arsenal backed him in a statement that said the defeat involved "yet more unacceptable refereeing and VAR errors".
There were no more VAR dramas to provoke Arteta into another red mist as Arsenal made light work of lacklustre Sevilla, who languish at the bottom of Group B without a win. Arteta said his side have to be "absolutely ruthless" and make opponents "suffer" if they want a long run in the Champions League this season.
The Gunners followed his message to the letter as they out-classed Sevilla from start to finish. Arsenal beat Sevilla 2-1 in Spain a fortnight ago and the serial Europa League winners once again had no answer for the Gunners' relentless tempo.