- Arsenal v Sevilla: recent form and squad values
- After the yellow card fest of Tottenham / Chelsea some are still attacking Arsenal!
By Bulldog Drummond
This is the fourth consecutive year that Sevilla has been in the Champions League. Last season the club won one, drew two and lost three of its six group-stage games. The year before it was a case of winning one, drawing three and losing two.
However, in 2020/21 the club made it through to the round of 16 where it was knocked out. That season the club played eight, won four, drew two and lost two. In the previous decade they appeared in the Champions League five times in the ten years.
In the decade before that they only appeared once, in 2007/8 again getting to the round of 16. But as we note below it is the Europa League where the club has shone.
Sevilla gained promotion to the top division in Spain in 2001 after spending three out of the previous four seasons in the second division. In 2022/23 they came 12th in the league but they got themselves into the Champions League for this season by winning the Europa League for the seventh time last spring. In that competition they beat PSV, Fenerbahce, Manchester United, Juventus and finally in the final, Roma.
If they finish third in the group stages of the current Champions League competition they will then re-enter the Europa League at the knockout stage and as we show below, that could well please them.
But first let us consider Arsenal and Sevilla. There have been just three matches between Arsenal and Sevilla in the past – two in the Champions League in 2007 and of course the one last month in this season’s Champions League. Here are the results…
| Date | Match | Result | Score | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 19 Sep 2007 | Arsenal v Sevilla | W | 3-0 | Champions League |
| 27 Nov 2007 | Sevilla v Arsenal | L | 3-1 | Champions League |
| 24 Oct 2023 | Sevilla v Arsenal | W | 1-2 | Champions League |
Although the two clubs obviously play in different leagues it is still possible to undertake a home and away comparison for this season.
Home / away table
| Team | P | W | D | L | F | A | GD | Pts | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 | Arsenal home | 6 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 15 | 6 | 9 | 14 |
| 15 | Sevilla FC away | 5 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 6 | 8 | -2 | 3 |
We can also see a per-game table for goals and points for these European games in the past…
| Team | Played | GF per game | GA per game | GD per game | Pts per game |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arsenal home | 6 | 2.5 | 1.00 | 1.5 | 2.33 |
| Sevilla away | 5 | 0.83 | 1.60 | -1.33 | 0.6 |
On that basis a 3-1 victory to Arsenal would seem to be the most likely score, followed by 2-1 as the second most likely result.
Certainly, away from home Sevilla’s record is poor – here is the Spanish league table for away form. Sevilla are 15th.
| P | W | D | L | F | A | GD | Pts | ||
| 1 | Girona | 6 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 14 | 7 | +7 | 16 |
| 2 | Real Madrid | 7 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 13 | 6 | +7 | 16 |
| 3 | Rayo Vallecano | 7 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 7 | 3 | +4 | 12 |
| 4 | FC Barcelona | 6 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 11 | 8 | +3 | 12 |
| 5 | Atletico Madrid | 6 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 13 | 5 | +8 | 10 |
| 6 | Athletic Bilbao | 6 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 7 | 6 | +1 | 10 |
| 7 | Osasuna | 6 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 9 | 10 | -1 | 9 |
| 8 | Villarreal | 5 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 6 | 6 | 0 | 8 |
| 9 | Valencia | 6 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 7 | 10 | -3 | 6 |
| 10 | Las Palmas | 6 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 7 | -3 | 6 |
| 11 | Real Betis | 6 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 7 | 13 | -6 | 6 |
| 12 | Real Sociedad | 5 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 5 | 6 | -1 | 5 |
| 13 | Mallorca | 7 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 9 | 14 | -5 | 5 |
| 14 | Celta Vigo | 5 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 7 | 9 | -2 | 4 |
| 15 | Sevilla FC | 5 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 6 | 8 | -2 | 3 |
| 16 | Getafe | 6 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 8 | 13 | -5 | 3 |
| 17 | Alaves | 6 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 3 | 8 | -5 | 2 |
| 18 | Granada | 6 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 7 | 15 | -8 | 1 |
| 19 | Cadiz | 6 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 3 | 12 | -9 | 1 |
| 20 | Almeria | 6 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 5 | 17 | -12 | 1 |
There have been just 34 away wins in the Spanish league this season out of 118 games – just under 29%. This compares with 35% in the Premier League this season – so it is even tougher to win away in Spain than in England.
Thus all the perspectives point to an Arsenal win. But of course, one never knows…
OT
I note that Arteta has called for other managers to join with him in his stance against the appallingly low standard (my words not his!) of officials in the Premier League. He’s actually calling for a better standard from which all clubs would benefit. This was noted in one or two media outlets. Not one word on the BBC website about that though. Funny that, it’s almost like they only tell the stories they want peple to hear!!!
Mikey,
just read the last piece in the Guardian…not one word about what you mentionned. Just censored. Why am I not surprised…..
Mikey and Chris
You may of read in my recent comments that that kind of unity is what is required. Not only from managers but from the fans, but as witnessed by the nigh on unified condemnation of all things Arsenal by the fans, and the deafening silence from the managers, barring the Spurs managers hypocritical backing of the referees and VAR of course, it isn’t going to happen.
Fans are too tribal and as a rule just believe the propaganda the red tops SKY, TS, MOTD tell them.
Managers are immersed in self interest.
Hypocrisy is the key word, and it is everywhere.
@ Nitram
I guess, although SOME other managers might see a benefit for their clubs in a better standard of refereeing, there will be several who will be all too aware that of the big 7 Arsenal get a pretty bum deal. Hence it largely benefits the other six if it stays that way.
Aside from that, why the hell would clubs from the North West want a shake up of the PGMO if it might possibly lead to there being fewer refs from the North West officiating games and one or two from London and the South East being allowed into the inner sanctum!!
Mikey
Yep, all good points that feed in to this ongoing farce.
Too many vested interests in maintaining the Status Quo.
It actually makes it worse because effectively all the media will hear is ‘Don’t know what Arsenal are on about, all seems pretty good to me’, hence the ridiculous fawning statement from Postecoglou.