Mikel Arteta hailed a “magic night” at the Emirates Stadium as Arsenal beat Porto 4-2 on penalties to reach first Champions League quarter-final in 14 years.

Trailing 1-0 from the first leg in Portugal, a goal from Leandro Trossard just before half-time levelled the tie late in the first half, but there Arsenal’s momentum stalled as they failed to wrap the game up inside 90 minutes.

After a nervous extra-time it took heroics from goalkeeper David Raya, saving twice in the shoot-out, to put the hosts into the last-eight for the first time since Arsene Wenger’s team faced Barcelona in 2010.

“A magic night,” said Arteta. “We expected a really tough opponent. It’s very difficult to generate momentum and that’s credit to them.

“It’s a huge experience for us. We had to do it as well through penalties. Credit to David who had some difficult moments to start but showed incredible determination and stood up and got rewarded.”

Arsenal, roared on by a home support determined to drag their team through, began with urgency befitting of their predicament, but they suffered a frustrating first half.

Not until four minutes before the break did the second leg tip their way, and the goal was brilliantly made by Martin Odegaard, receiving the ball from Trossard 30-yards out and taking four Porto players out of the game with a superb slide-rule pass.

There on the end of if was Trossard, skipping in off the left and sliding it cooly past Diogo Costa for 1-0.

Odegaard thought he’d given Arsenal the lead in the tie when he tapped into an empty goal in the second half, only for his effort to be ruled out for a foul by Kai Havertz on veteran defender Pepe. A furious Arteta was booked for his protests.

Gabriel Jesus came off the bench and almost settled things with his first touch, goalkeeper Costa spreading himself well and deflecting his effort wide, before Odegaard shot inches past the post after the goalkeeper beat out Bukayo Saka’s shot.

Porto’s threat on the break lingered throughout the ensuing extra 30 minutes, though penalties had long looked the likeliest destination.

So it proved, and it was goalkeeper Raya who was the hero, saving from defender Wendell and first-leg match-winner Galeno to send Arsenal through.

“For (the players) to do it when the club hasn’t done it for 14 years, I tell you it will be a boost,” said Arteta. “The margins are so small.

“I see how much they want it, how much they try and they are able to sacrifice anything to win. When you play like this at the end good things are going to come your way.

“It’s another big step (in the season), especially as a club. For seven years we haven’t been in this competition and for 14 years we haven’t got this far. That tells you the difficulty of it. We want more and we’re going to go for it that’s for sure.

“It’s the first time that I’ve done it in the Champions League. I try to learn every day, get advice and that’s why you have good people around you, great coaches around you as well to help you and make you better.”

Porto boss Sergio Conceicao was involved with an altercation on the pitch with Arteta at the end of the game, and gave a terse explanation of what was said.

“During the game, (Arteta) turned to the bench and in Spanish – it must be a Spanish coach thing because it was the same thing with (Pep) Guardiola – he insulted my family,” he said.

“In the end I told him to pay attention because who he insulted is no longer with us, and to worry about coaching his team, because due to individual quality he has an obligation to do more and better.”

Mikel Arteta admitted Arsenal need a psychological “reset” after they could not capitalise on chances in their 2-0 FA Cup third-round loss to Liverpool at the Emirates.

The Gunners dominated the first half but Jakub Kiwior conceded an own goal after 80 minutes before Luis Diaz’s neat finish in second half added-time was enough for Jurgen Klopp’s men to claim victory.

Arteta’s side now have just one win in seven matches across all competitions and the boss agreed his side risk falling into a mental slump after failing to find the finishing touch.

He said: “Probably it has (become a psychological issue). Especially after today, more than it was against Fulham or West Ham before that. That’s why I think we need to reset. This break is good. It comes in a good time.

“We’re going to as well feel how we feel and how I feel about them in difficult moments. Hopefully I can see that from other people too. When things are going well they jump on the train. Now things are difficult, let’s see where they stand.

“We haven’t capitalised. Not just today, but in the last few games as well. That’s why we’re not winning games. Merit-wise there is no question that we deserve to win the games but the results are very different.

“But when my team plays with that courage and attitude against probably the best team in Europe right now in terms of momentum what can I do but stick by them and support them?

“What we need to do now is stick behind those players, give them some love, train them and make sure they visualise something very different to what is actually happening now. They’ve done it. We’re not going to reinvent the wheel, because they’ve done it.”

Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp was delighted by his side’s second-half reply, but brushed aside any suggestion he might look at the result as a harbinger for the Premier League title race, or even a boost for the Reds’ confidence in that chase.

He said: “No. I can’t (read into it). It doesn’t mean nobody can, but I can’t. We don’t have a problem with belief and confidence, we are not really bothered about the things you are talking about because we can read the calendar.

“We see it’s January; it’s cold outside, stuff like this, and you just have to stay warm and play as good as you can, and that’s what we try.”

Klopp was more forthcoming about his squad, rattling off a list of injured and absent, including Virgil van Dijk, who was ruled out with illness before the contest but remains a “hopeful” return for Wednesday’s Carabao Cup semi-final first leg with Fulham.

He added: “It’s a tough game, nobody comes to Arsenal and wins just like this [clicks fingers], so in this game there will be difficult moments [and] if we start in these moments – which humans very often do – [looking] for excuses and then we realise who else is not here, it’s normal that we have these problems, then we are screwed.

“But if you know these kinds of things you can avoid it – and that’s what we did. The boys enjoyed the game, at least in the second half. That’s really cool. Staying in a game that looked in the first half like that, then growing into a game, is a pretty special thing to do.”

Mikel Arteta admitted his side came up short in both boxes as Arsenal slumped to defeat to West Ham to miss out on regaining top spot in the Premier League.

The Gunners remain behind Liverpool as they lost 2-0 at the Emirates Stadium on what Arteta conceded was one of the most frustrating nights of his four-year tenure as Arsenal boss.

Tomas Soucek’s opener – awarded after the VAR could not determine whether the whole ball had gone out of play in the build up – and a second-half header from former Arsenal defender Konstantinos Mavropanos earned the visitors a deserved win.

Things could have been even better had Said Benrahma not had a stoppage-time penalty saved by David Raya on a night where Arteta applauded the performances of the opposition.

“I congratulate West Ham and praise my players. That’s what I can tell you,” he said.

“This is football. When you look at how much we generated in the game, to see the result is very disappointing. But they were better than us in both boxes. They had two shots, with the penalty three. We had 30.

“If we don’t score with 30 shots, then we have to do 50 or 60 to try to score. That’s the only thing. I can’t imagine a game where we have more touches in the box, more dominance and less situations for the opponent against a really good West Ham side. Today though, it wasn’t enough to win the game.”

Asked if it was among the most frustrating nights of his managerial career, Arteta replied: “It is. But it’s football. Normally when the team generates so much it’s going to win games.

“That’s the way we’ve done it. Against Brighton, we generated so much and against Liverpool as well, but we score goals in different ways.

“We have to make another step in that area to win games more comfortably, that’s for sure, because today the team deserves to win the game. There’s no question about that.”

Arteta successfully fought a Football Association charge after he criticised the officiating and VAR in defeat at Newcastle last month and was less vocal this time.

He did, however, suggest technology needs to be further advanced to make close calls, adding: “They’re saying it’s not conclusive. It’s a shame that with the technology that we have, that it’s not that clear so that we can say whether it’s out or in. It’s done. It’s gone. There’s nothing we can do about it now.

“If the technology we have at the moment is not good enough to give us that answer, what we have to do is without that win the game. With the number of situations we generated in the game, that should have been more than enough.”

For West Ham and manager David Moyes, this was a rare taste of victory at the Emirates Stadium – Moyes had failed to secure victory in his previous 72 Premier League away games at Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool or Manchester United.

West Ham were 17th at the turn of the year but went on to win the Europa Conference League and now sit just four points off the top four after this hard-fought and deserved win.

Moyes is out of contract in the summer but, on the four-year anniversary of his reappointment as West Ham boss, feels a new deal will soon be ironed out.

“We’re getting ready to talk,” he told Amazon Prime.

“I don’t think any of us are jumping to get it done too quickly, I think we are just happy to make sure we get it done. We will do, I don’t see any problems with that at all.

“We are not one of the top teams. We are trying to get up and grow the team. For West Ham to be in Europe is a great period.”

Arsenal missed the chance to return to the top of the Premier League as they slipped to a disappointing defeat to West Ham amid more VAR controversy.

The Gunners needed victory to replace Liverpool at the summit but lost 2-0 by the Hammers on a night where David Moyes finally landed a victory at the Emirates Stadium.

His West Ham side lost Kurt Zouma ahead of the game and Lucas Paqueta after just over half an hour but hit the front through Tomas Soucek’s strike, awarded after VAR could not determine whether the whole ball had gone out of play in the build-up.

A second-half header from former Arsenal defender Konstantinos Mavropanos secured the points and things could have been even better for the visitors had Said Benrahma not seen a last-gasp penalty saved by David Raya.

Moyes had failed to secure victory in his previous 72 Premier League away games at Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool or Manchester United, so this was a long time coming for the Scot.

Arsenal laboured when they needed to continue their recent winning run in London derbies to go back to the top of the table.

Instead, only captain Martin Odegaard could hold his head high on a night where their defence creaked and Gabriel Jesus was guilty of missing a couple of very good chances.

Arsenal started well, with some great touches in and around the West Ham box from Odegaard in particular.

But at the other end their defending left a lot to be desired, as Oleksandr Zinchenko and Gabriel Magalhaes failed to deal with a simple ball into the middle.

Jarrod Bowen capitalised by latching onto the miscue and teed up Soucek to finish – the goal surviving a lengthy VAR check which could not ultimately make a call on if the ball had not gone out of play before Bowen’s cutback.

Arsenal looked to respond although the goal gave West Ham something to defend, although Jesus found a way in behind with a subtle flick into Bukayo Saka, whose header was brilliantly saved by Alphonse Areola.

Paqueta had been hurt in the warm-up and lasted just over half an hour, with his fellow Brazilian Gabriel Martinelli curling an effort just wide for Arsenal as they continued in vain to find a leveller.

The hosts were getting closer, West Ham gifting possession as two passes saw Arsenal in on goal once more, this time Saka hitting the base of the post from an acute angle.

Former West Ham captain Declan Rice fired just over from 25 yards but it was another player coming back to haunt his former club who would find the back of the net soon after.

Mavropanos made just seven league starts in three years as an Arsenal player but returned to the Premier League last summer with the Hammers and headed them two goals ahead before the hour.

Jesus then headed straight at Areola before sending another fine chance well over the bar moments after Arteta introduced Eddie Nketiah and Reiss Nelson off the bench.

Areola was on hand again to keep out a Leandro Trossard effort, with Vladimir Coufal clearing a William Saliba header off the line from the resulting corner.

Rice had come off the bench during a 3-0 Carabao Cup defeat on his return to West Ham earlier in the season and endured another night to forget here as he conceded a late penalty for tripping Emerson Palmieri in the box – only for Raya to keep out substitute Benrahma’s tame spot-kick.

Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta believes Brighton’s impressive showing in Europe proves just how strong the Premier League has become.

The Seagulls travel to the Emirates Stadium on Sunday just three days on from a late win over Marseille that saw Roberto De Zerbi’s team qualify in top spot from their Europa League group.

Arsenal – who themselves won their Champions League group – were roundly beaten by Brighton in the corresponding fixture last season, with the 3-0 loss all-but ending their Premier League title hopes.

Arteta feels Brighton have “evolved” since last year and, along with West Ham and Aston Villa also topping their respective European groups, knows the standard in the Premier League makes any fixture a challenge.

Asked if the league is now tougher than ever, the Spaniard replied: “I think so.

“Not only with those teams but you have to really sweat and suffer to win any game in this league. You have examples every week, the margins of how teams are winning games is minimal.

“They are a really good side. Last year when we had the game under control, we conceded a goal and then the game completely broke up and we struggled, especially in the last 15 minutes of the game, so we have to play better and be very efficient, which is key against them.

“A lot of things happened that day as well. We were missing some key, key players and we lost Gabriel Martinelli straight away before half-time. A lot of things happened.

“The margin was none. Losing any points and the title was almost over and we had to cope with that. Now, the situation is very different because it’s still a marathon to go.”

Arteta will be back in the dugout for the game after watching from the stand as Arsenal lost at Aston Villa last time out having received three yellow cards this season.

An animated character on the touchline, Arteta may have met his match in De Zerbi – but he is a bit of a fan of his Brighton counterpart.

“We live the game as we feel it,” he added.

“When I was a player, it was very similar. Everybody has their own way of being, talking and communicating. I think it’s great. As long as we’re genuine, I think that’s great.

“I know him and have spoken to him a few times about different topics. I’ve followed his career since he was at Sassuolo, before he moved to Ukraine.

“It’s very impressive what he’s done, the way his teams play and what he’s accomplished in the Premier League as well.”

Mikel Arteta admitted it was a “genuine dream” watching Arsenal’s dominant 6-0 victory over Lens at the Emirates Stadium which saw them qualify for the Champions League last 16.

The Gunners topped Group B with a game to spare after they battered their French opponents with six different goalscorers.

Kai Havertz, Gabriel Jesus, Bukayo Saka, Gabriel Martinelli and Martin Odegaard struck in the first half before Jorginho added their sixth from the penalty spot late on.

Arsenal boss Arteta talked up his team’s determination which secured the club’s 100th Champions League victory.

“It was a genuine dream,” Arteta said.

“We had a chance to qualify today and we’ve done it in a really convincing way against a really good side. The team from the beginning showed a lot of aggression and determination to go for the game.

“It’s great we’re able to win in this way and we showed at home not to concede any goals and score a lot which is a positive factor. The players need to believe we can do that against big opponents.”

The Spaniard noted that qualification with a game to spare allows him to rotate in Arsenal’s final group fixture against PSV Eindhoven on December 12.

Arteta added: “Every time we play a football match we’ll prepare in the best way but it will give us some room now certainly in relation to the state of the squad by being able to use certain players more or less.”

Havertz scored his second in as many games after the German netted a dramatic late winner in Saturday’s 1-0 Premier League victory at Brentford.

The attacker’s influence in recent games has impressed Arteta after a difficult start to life in north London since his reported £65million move from Chelsea in the summer.

“Kai again scored two goals in two games and that’s really good for the confidence of the player,” he added.

“He’s scoring goals, playing well, participating in wins. Those are positive attributes and you can see the reception of his team-mates and the crowd singing his name and being with him in every positive action.

“These are good things that are going to help him show why he’s a tremendous player.”

Declan Rice had another flawless game in midfield and Arteta applauded the England international’s consistency and decision-making.

He said: “He was superb again today with the consistency and understanding of the game that he’s showing.

“The decision-making all the time and the action and timing to win the ball back is so good.”

Arsenal stylishly cruised into the Champions League knockout stages as Group B winners by thrashing French club Lens 6-0 at Emirates Stadium.

The Premier League leaders kicked off needing just a point to reach the last 16 of the competition following PSV Eindhoven’s 3-2 comeback win at Sevilla earlier on Wednesday evening.

Mikel Arteta’s men duly delivered in devastating fashion thanks to first-half goals from Kai Havertz, Gabriel Jesus, Bukayo Saka, Gabriel Martinelli and Martin Odegaard.

Substitute Jorginho completed the scoring with a late penalty, awarded following VAR intervention for a handball by Abdukodir Khusanov.

A one-sided encounter in north London was marred slightly by visiting fans throwing a lit flare at home supporters in the aftermath of Saka’s 23rd-minute strike.

With first place in the pool emphatically secured with a game to spare, Gunners boss Arteta now has the luxury of being able to rotate his squad for next month’s visit to Eindhoven amid a hectic December fixture list which could determine the seriousness of his side’s title ambitions.

The Spaniard made just two changes from Saturday’s dramatic 1-0 win at Brentford, which moved the Gunners top of the table.

Havertz was recalled as reward for his late winner against the Bees, while on-loan goalkeeper David Raya was restored having been cup-tied against his parent club.

Arsenal controlled proceedings from the first whistle and quickly blew away last season’s Ligue 1 runners-up.

The recalled Havertz, who had already headed narrowly wide, capitalised on static defending to open the scoring in the 13th minute, poking beyond France keeper Brice Samba from close range following Jesus’ nod down.

Lens’ vocal travelling support responded by throwing a pyrotechnic device on to the field before quickly seeing the game run away from their outclassed team.

Jesus doubled the hosts’ advantage in the 21st minute, calmly sidestepping Kevin Danso and coolly slotting past Samba following strong running from Saka.

England forward Saka quickly added to the punishment by finishing with his left thigh on the rebound after Samba poorly parried Martinelli’s initial effort.

That unorthodox finish led to unsavoury scenes as an active flare was launched from the away end into home spectators in the tier above.

Dominant Arsenal continued to shine brighter on the pitch and Martinelli lit up the contest with a wonderful fourth with only 27 minutes on the clock.

The Brazil international raced away down the left flank and then cut inside Przemyslaw Frankowski to curl a sumptuous finish into the far corner.

Arsenal’s first defeat of the season came in the reverse fixture in northern France at the start of October.

On this evidence, most inside the ground must have been wondering how, albeit Lens’ Facundo Medina rattled the right post from distance during a rare foray forward.

That proved to a fleeting moment of positivity for the away side, who went into the break 5-0 down after Odegaard expertly volleyed home Takehiro Tomiyasu’s cross.

Arteta used a more subdued second period to rest some of his star names, with Saka and the outstanding Declan Rice among those withdrawn.

Substitute Reiss Nelson came close to adding to the visitors’ embarrassment but his deflected effort was repelled by former Nottingham Forest keeper Samba.

Lens’ misery was completed four minutes from time when Jorginho calmly sent Samba the wrong way from the spot after substitute Khusanov was punished for handling on review.

Arsenal announced they would become the first Premier League club to welcome fans in for a competitive fixture since March following the coronavirus pandemic, on this day in 2020.

The north London club confirmed 2,000 spectators were to be allowed in for their Europa League match against Rapid Vienna the following week.

The Gunners learned Emirates Stadium was to be in tier two of the Government’s new regionalised approach to tackling the coronavirus pandemic, and were able to welcome fans in for the clash with the Austrian side.

A club statement read: “It’s been almost nine long months since we had fans in attendance at Emirates Stadium and our matches have simply not been the same without you.

“While we appreciate that reduced capacity matches will be far from being ‘back to normal’, we can’t wait to welcome our fans back home for what will be a historic moment for the club.”

This was the first time fans have been able to watch a Premier League side in action since the first coronavirus lockdown saw the 2019-20 season pause in March.

In the match itself, Arsenal eased to a 4-1 victory.

The Gunners had already booked their place in the knockout stages, but a comfortable win meant they finished at the top of Group B.

Alexandre Lacazette opened the scoring with an impressive long-range strike before Pablo Mari, returning to the team for the first time since suffering an ankle injury in June, headed in a second, with academy graduates Eddie Nketiah and Emile Smith Rowe adding the gloss either side of Kohya Kitagawa’s consolation.

Mikel Arteta made a point of praising the officials and VAR as 10-man Arsenal beat Burnley to move level with Premier League leaders Manchester City,

Fabio Vieira was sent off late on for a high challenge on Josh Brownhill, who had earlier cancelled out a brave Leandro Trossard opener.

But Arsenal had already secured the points by the time Vieira was dismissed, William Saliba heading them back in front before Oleksandr Zinchenko secured the points with an acrobatic volley.

Arteta could yet face a Football Association charge after he criticised the officials during a 1-0 loss at Newcastle last week, having been asked to provide his observations having called the winning goal “embarrassing” and a “disgrace.

Here, though, he was keen to play to the gallery and made sure he hammered home his praise of the referees.

“With the red card… yes, VAR was right, he said.

“The referee was right. Really good decision, really positive from Mikel to speak about that! Good decision.”

He later added to talkSPORT: “Please ask me about VAR because today it was good.

“I hope that I’m on TV saying the referees are so good and I’m completely with them and being very constructive.”

Trossard was the difference-maker for the Gunners, the Belgium international once again starting as the central striker and breaking the deadlock with a close-range finish that saw him clatter into Burnley goalkeeper James Trafford and the post.

He recovered to lay on the corner from which Saliba scored and it was another Trossard set-piece that led to Zinchenko’s fine scissor-kick.

“I think he connects everybody. He’s so intelligent,” Arteta said of Trossard.

“I think he moves in ways that attracts people that generates spaces and options for people.

“Today he did that really good because it was so difficult and the spaces were so small to attack. He gave us a lot of threat and possibilities to connect and find spaces for us.

“He put your body on the line if it’s necessary, and that was it. It’s the 1,000th goal at the Emirates – a beautiful number.

“I’m very happy with him. I think every time you ask him to play whether it’s wide or as a nine, it flows and he has a real threat. So I’m really happy with him.”

Burnley could end the weekend bottom of the table after a 10th defeat in 12 league games since their return to the top flight.

But manager Vincent Kompany believes the Clarets continue to show resilience in their battle against the drop.

“We were solid first half. To concede the way we conceded is avoidable. It’s football. Good teams are there for a reason,” he said.

“Our team is as hard working as you like and resilient as you like. The club is filled with good, hard-working people. In the games we’re not expecting to have their level but we want to give ourselves a chance. This team wants to embrace this challenge.”

Oleksandr Zinchenko scored the pick of the goals as 10-man Arsenal secured a comfortable win over Burnley to move level on points with Premier League leaders Manchester City.

Mikel Arteta’s side took advantage of rivals Tottenham losing earlier in the day to pick-up a 3-1 victory over struggling Burnley, whose captain Josh Brownhill cancelled out Leandro Trossard’s brave opener at the Emirates Stadium.

Arsenal reacted well to being pegged back and William Saliba headed them level just three minutes later before Zinchenko’s scissor kick wrapped up the points, although the hosts did lose Fabio Vieira to a late red card.

Despite several injury doubts heading into the game, Arteta made just one alteration as Zinchenko replaced the unfit Ben White in defence as Bukayo Saka was deemed fit enough to start despite limping off in Wednesday’s 2-0 Champions League win over Sevilla.

The England winger had a great effort well saved by James Trafford as Arsenal set their stall out to attack from the off.

They would be frustrated, however, by a Burnley defence already at the stage of throwing themselves in front of shots and making last-ditch blocks before the half-hour mark, Saka time and again finding space and Kai Havertz also drifting in to cause trouble.

Havertz, still without a goal from open play since his £65million move from Chelsea, headed wide a glorious chance from a corner before Burnley threatened for the first time.

A rare mistake from Saliba gifted the ball to Johann Gudmundsson, who raced through on goal to force David Raya into a good, low stop.

Trossard was the next Arsenal player denied by Trafford, his effort from range tipped over the bar after Declan Rice had robbed Brownhill of possession in a dangerous area of the pitch.

The Belgium international was deployed as a central striker once again and gave the hosts the lead with his sixth goal of the campaign, turning home Saka’s header from close-range as he crashed into Trafford and the frame of the goal in the process.

Burnley were level nine minutes after the restart, Brownhill firing home after good work from Luca Koleosho led to the ball breaking for Brownhill, whose finish flashed in off Gabriel Magalhaes.

The goal stood despite a VAR check for a potential foul on Takehiro Tomiyasu but to Arsenal’s credit, they did not let the equaliser play on their minds.

In fact, the goal seemed to stun Arsenal back into life and Gabriel Martinelli broke clear only to fire straight at Trafford.

The lead was restored from the resulting corner as Saliba moved in front of Trafford to rise and head home Trossard’s delivery from close-range.

Zinchenko’s strike came from another Trossard corner as Dara O’Shea first headed the ball against his own crossbar before clearing into the path of the Ukraine captain, who finished acrobatically.

Burnley tried to find a way back into the game and were given some hope when substitute Vieira was dismissed, shown a straight red card by Michael Oliver for a high challenge on Brownhill.

Arsenal, though, saw out the remainder of the contest to join City on 27 points ahead of the champions’ trip to Chelsea on Sunday.

Mikel Arteta played down concerns over Bukayo Saka’s fitness after he was forced off during Arsenal’s 2-0 win over Sevilla in the Champions League.

Saka scored in front of England manager Gareth Southgate to help the Gunners record a third victory in Group B and move within touching distance of the last-16.

Arteta substituted goalscorer Leandro Trossard and the excellent Gabriel Martinelli in the 81st minute but left Saka on and seconds later he went down holding his ankle after landing awkwardly before he limped off.

Arsenal host Burnley in the Premier League on Saturday while Southgate names his England squad for this month’s European Championship qualifiers with North Macedonia and Malta on Thursday, but Arteta suggested his six-goal attacker would be fine despite this latest bruising encounter.

He said: “At the end he wasn’t comfortable to carry on. Hopefully it’s not too much but I’m really pleased with his performance.

“I think he’s getting used to it (being kicked). I don’t think that’s going to change, especially with the way he plays and the way he attracts players, so he better get used to it because I don’t think it’s going to change.

“It was just a kick 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.”

After the controversy of last weekend’s loss at Newcastle, where Arteta labelled the decision by VAR to award Anthony Gordon’s winner as “embarrassing”, this was a much-needed routine night for his injury-hit team.

With Eddie Nketiah ruled out with an ankle knock to join Martin Odegaard and Gabriel Jesus on the sidelines, Trossard led the line and broke the deadlock when he finished off a slick move in the 29th minute.

Jorginho unlocked the Sevilla defence with a wonderful through ball to Saka, who squared for Trossard to stroke home his fifth goal of the campaign.

Saka, who was fouled four times inside the opening 17 minutes, made the points safe with a smart finish after 64 minutes.

Martinelli released the England international away on the right and Saka cut inside Adria Pedrosa before he curled into the bottom corner.

Arsenal would have qualified for the knockout stages had Lens been victorious at PSV. But with a four-point gap at the top of Group B, the north London club will almost certainly continue their Champions League adventure in 2024.

Arteta added: “I think it was more of the really good things that we did against Newcastle. We didn’t need a response because the team performed extraordinarily well against a team that are really difficult to play against.

“Today it needed other requirements, tactically we needed something else and we implemented what we wanted really, really well, so I’m really happy with the last two performances.”

On top of worries over Saka, Takehiro Tomiyasu was also taken off during the interval.

“He had some discomfort in the first half,” Arteta said of the defender.

“We didn’t want to take any risks because he’s played a lot of minutes. With Alex (Oleksandr Zinchenko) on the bench ready to come in, I think it was the right decision.”

On Odegaard (hip) and Nketiah (ankle), Arteta added: “They are racing against the clock to be fit.

“They tried their best to be here today with us, it wasn’t possible and we have another 48 hours before we play Burnley. We’ll try again and see because we need players at the moment.”

Sevilla only managed their first shot on target in the seventh minute of stoppage time and suffered a second group defeat.

Boss Diego Alonso admitted: “We weren’t able to put in the performance we wanted to.

“Our opponents were better than us and did well. Our aim was to win the ball high up the pitch, but we were very far away from their area. That is my assessment.”

Arsenal took a huge step towards qualifying for the knock-out stages of the Champions League as Bukayo Saka starred in victory over Sevilla before limping off late on.

Saka set up the opening goal for Leandro Trossard before scoring the second himself as the Gunners secured a straightforward 2-0 win at the Emirates Stadium that leaves them on the cusp of the last 16.

Mikel Arteta opted to play Trossard through the middle as his central striker with Eddie Nketiah joining Gabriel Jesus in the treatment room, with the Belgium forward the only change from Saturday’s contentious defeat at Newcastle.

There was not such drama here although four early fouls on Saka went unpunished as both Nemanja Gudelj and Kike Salas left their mark on the England international.

Kai Havertz, without a goal from open play since his £65million summer move from Chelsea, fluffed his lines with an early headed chance, but Arsenal set out their intent from the off.

Saka went down again under close contact from Salas, but this time Romanian referee Istvan Kovacs was unmoved as the hosts wanted a penalty.

Just moments later, however, and the deadlock was broken. The lively Saka unsurprisingly laying on the assist for Trossard to tap home – but Jorginho was the architect with a slide-rule pass to start the move.

It proved to be the only shot on target of a forgettable first half as Sevilla, without a LaLiga or Champions League win under head coach Diego Alonso since his appointment last month.

Havertz bent an effort inches wide as Arsenal went in search of a second after the break and Trossard should have done better soon after, but curled his strike the wrong side of the post.

It was Saka, though, who made the difference once again, beating the offside trap to race onto a Gabriel Martinelli pass before cutting inside Adria Pedrosa and tucking home with aplomb.

Gabriel Jesus had provided the goal and assist that ultimately saw off Sevilla in Spain a fortnight ago, but he was injured during the game and has not played since.

The same went for Saka here, who fell awkwardly and limped off with five minutes to go, with England manager Gareth Southgate – who announces his next squad on Thursday – watching from the stands.

Arteta had said on the eve of the game that Arsenal should “put to bed” qualification for the last 16 with two games to spare and his players did their bit.

But PSV Eindhoven’s win over Lens leaves Group B open, although a draw against the Ligue 1 side at the Emirates Stadium in three weeks time would be enough for Arteta’s side to advance.

Mikel Arteta insisted it has not become a psychological issue for Arsenal after they conceded in the first minutes of a home game for the third time this year against Fulham.

Bukayo Saka’s blind pass let in Andreas Pereira to score for the visitors after just 57 seconds in front of a stunned Emirates, after the team made similarly poor starts against Southampton and Bournemouth last season.

The hosts had looked to have done enough to seal a fine comeback victory when substitute Eddie Nketiah slotted past Bernd Leno from Fabio Vieira’s cross 18 minutes from the end.

That was two minutes after Saka made amends for his early error and equalised from the penalty spot, with defender Kenny Tete penalised for tripping Vieira as he charged into the box from Gabriel Martinelli’s pass.

And when Calvin Bassey was shown a second yellow card for bringing down Nketiah near the halfway line, Fulham’s hopes seemed to have gone until Joao Palhinha found space inside the box to hook Harrison Reed’s corner beyond Aaron Ramsdale in the 87th minute.

Arteta lamented that his side had gifted Fulham a point by gifting two poor goals, but praised the way the players regathered their composure and went at their opponents after yet another bad start.

“When in the first minute you make a mistake that we made and you give a goal to the opponent, the game becomes much more difficult,” said Arteta.

“The reaction after that, even the first half, the number of situations and chances we generated, we didn’t give anything away. We controlled the game for full periods, but we didn’t score the goal.

“In the second half we made some changes. The dynamic changed, we had better relationships. I think the subs (Nketiah and Vieira) made a huge difference and impact. I loved the determination and confidence they brought to the team.

“We go 2-1 up and then you have to defend the box with your life. You cannot concede a goal after everything we’ve done, because we should have scored five, six, seven.

“We had a big (error) here last year against Fulham where we gave a goal to (Aleksandar) Mitrovic. It’s part of football.

“I haven’t seen it (playing on the players’ minds). I don’t see that afterwards, the way the team played. In any other sport you would win by a hundred points difference, but this is football.

“We drew, we conceded two very, very poor goals. In the Premier League, when you give something (away), you’re going to get punished, and we were today.

“If I compare the game we played against Fulham this season and last season, we were at least 10 times better today than last season. We were much better than last season. Last season we won 2-1 in the last minute, today we drew 2-2.”

Arsenal had struggled to find a way back into the game despite putting Fulham under near constant pressure after going behind.

It was not until the introduction of Nketiah and Vieira midway through the second half that their fortunes turned.

Vieira showed ready instincts to anticipate Martinelli’s clever ball in behind to win the penalty, then his pinpoint cross was expertly timed for Nketiah to crash home their second to send the Emirates into raptures.

Gabriel Jesus, who returned to training this week after surgery, was kept in reserve until being brought on in added time, a decision Arteta defended.

“The way we generated chance after chance I didn’t think it was necessary (to bring on Jesus earlier),” he said. “In the last minute we decided to bring him in, he’s only had a few days of training sessions after the surgery. But I’m very happy with the subs, the way they came in.

“Fabio, I’m delighted with him because he hasn’t played any minutes this season. To see a player that comes with a determination and positiveness to the team and has the impact he had, it’s difficult. I’m really pleased and I’m happy for him as well.”

Fulham boss Marco Silva reflected on a point hard earned as his side recovered from the disappointment of their 3-0 home loss to Brentford last time out.

“Really tough and emotional,” he said. “After the last defeat against Brentford – a harsh result for us – we wanted to react.

“People said that (the Emirates) was not the best place to show a reaction. Our idea was completely different, that it was the best place for us to show a reaction.

“In my opinion Arsenal are going to be even stronger than last season. The quality that they have is impressive. I have to say they are going to be contenders again.”

A bronze statue of former Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger lifting the Premier League trophy has been unveiled outside the Emirates Stadium.

Wenger won three top-flight titles and the FA Cup on seven occasions while in charge of the Gunners between October 1996 and May 2018.

The Frenchman managed 1,235 matches during his time in north London and helped the club go unbeaten in the league during their 2004 title success.

Arsenal also spent 20 successive seasons in the Champions League under Wenger, including reaching the 2006 final, where they were beaten 2-1 by Barcelona.

The 3.5-metre statue of the 73-year-old, created by award-winning sculptor Jim Guy, was fixed into position outside the North Bank Stand on Friday morning.

Arsenal executive vice-chairman Tim Lewis told the Gunners’ website: “We’re delighted to recognise and celebrate Arsene Wenger’s outstanding leadership and career at Arsenal Football Club.

“Arsene’s contribution to, and achievements with, the club mark him out as the club’s greatest manager.

“He treated the club and its supporters to many trophies and fantastic memories and brought a revolution in the running of the club, an unbeaten season and the move to Emirates Stadium.

“It is fitting, therefore, that as a mark of the club’s enduring respect and gratitude a magnificent statue of Arsene now stands outside Emirates Stadium.”

Wenger will be the club’s guest of honour for the Emirates Cup match against Monaco on Wednesday and is due to visit the statue in the coming days.

His statue joins five others – featuring Tony Adams, Dennis Bergkamp, Herbert Chapman, Ken Friar and Thierry Henry – on the podium around the Emirates Stadium.

Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta, who was signed by Wenger in 2011, said: “It’s such a great tribute that the club has done something special for Arsene that he fully deserves and merits.

“With a statue now at the stadium, Arsene can have that recognition and be here at our club forever.

“He chose me to be one of his players and selected me to be the captain of the club and that’s something I will never forget.”

Arsenal will play five Women’s Super League games at the Emirates Stadium next season and are committed to hosting all Champions League fixtures there should they qualify for the group stage.

Jonas Eidevall’s side have played three WSL fixtures at the stadium this season, setting a new league attendance record when they beat neighbours Tottenham 4-0 before selling over 86,000 tickets across matches against Manchester United and Chelsea.

Five of their Women’s Champions League games were also staged at the Emirates, including the semi-final second-leg sell-out against Wolfsburg, which saw the German side win in extra-time.

Arsenal are in a tussle to qualify for next season’s Champions League but, if they do progress, every fixture from the group stage onwards will be hosted in N5 rather than at Meadow Park.

The successes of this season have built on a groundswell of support for women’s football following on from England’s Women’s Euro victory last summer.

Now, Arsenal are keen to continue the trend of hosting more games at the Emirates, with Eidevall saying recently he believes it would be possible to host all women’s fixtures there at some point in the future.

“We’re delighted to confirm that our women’s first team will play five WSL games at Emirates Stadium next season,” Arsenal chief executive Vinai Venkatesham said when the announcement was made on Wednesday morning.

“We’ve received fantastic support at Emirates Stadium this year, setting a new record attendance in the WSL and achieving a memorable sell-out for our recent UEFA Women’s Champions League semi-final against Wolfsburg earlier this month.

“This latest announcement ensures that as many supporters as possible can enjoy the matchday experience with us, as we continue to support the sustainable growth of women’s football.”

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