25 October 2023 , 12:44
1242
0
Arsenal have proven they are on the same level as Real Madrid by beating Sevilla in the Champions League on Tuesday, according to Sergio Ramos.
The Gunners picked up a 2-1 win in Spain thanks to goals from Gabriel Martinelli and Gabriel Jesus. Martinelli rounded the goalkeeper to put Mikel Arteta ’s team ahead just before the break and Jesus doubled their advantage with a stunning curling strike into the top corner.
Nemanja Gudelj headed Sevilla back into contention, but they couldn’t force an equaliser despite some late pressure. Victory moved Arsenal back to the top of Group B, a point ahead of Lens, who beat the Gunners 2-1 before the international break.
Arsenal are playing in the Champions League for the first time since 2016/17 after finishing second in the Premier League last season. They may lack experience of competing in Europe’s top club competition, but Ramos thinks they have the quality to test any side. He compared them to Real Madrid, who drew 1-1 with Sevilla on the weekend.
“In one against one we had chances to hurt them, knowing that Arsenal are a team that wants to play football, that leaves a lot of space on the line to take advantage of those losses that we sometimes found, but we did not capitalise well enough,” he said.
Wenger breaks silence on Arsenal visit as he doubles down on title prediction
Sergio Ramos was full of praise for Arsenal (Fran Santiago/Getty Images)“I think that in the end we played face to face, both against Real Madrid and Arsenal. It is true that it is difficult not to see a difference before we played the teams that, for me, currently play the best in Europe. And playing face to face with this type of team and knowing that they create from the back and want to create by playing football from the goalkeeper’s kick, is not easy.”
Arteta was delighted with his side’s performance in Seville, but emphasised how much further the club still have to go. Asked about the win, he said: “Yes, but that’s the difficulty of winning in the Champions League and it shows how much we have to value that. That result against Lens put us in a difficult position and the team had to react.
“We are coming from the back of very difficult games where the team has to step in and go against adversity as well with some of the injuries that we picked to big players. The team is so willing to at least try their best even if we don’t manage to be our best all the time.”
Arsenal are back in action against Sheffield United at the Emirates Stadium on Saturday in the Premier League before travelling to West Ham for a last-16 tie in the Carabao Cup next week.