Sevilla and Arsenal face off for the first time in the last 16 years when they take on each other tonight at the Estadio Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan in a UEFA Champions League group B fixture. The two teams head into tonight's match both coming on the back of hard-fought draws in their most recent domestic battles. Arsenal was forced to make a comeback in order to get a point from their game with Chelsea while Sevilla held Real Madrid to a 1-1 stalemate. The man who steadied a sinking Sevilla ship and led them to Europa League crown number seven is now on the hunt for a new role, as another unsightly set of domestic results spelled the end of Jose Luis Mendilibar's tenure at the Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan. Diego Alonso the new Sevilla manager experienced the true meaning of a baptism of fire in his first game in charge at the weekend as his side fought hard to snatch a point from their encounter with league leaders Real Madrid. 

Also Read: Barcelona President facing bribery allegations

A hard-earned point versus Carlo Ancelotti's men represents Sevilla's third stalemate on the bounce, the first of which saw them throw away a pair of one-goal leads to draw with PSV Eindhoven in their last Champions League affair, where they fell victim to an injury-time Jordan Teze leveler. Only Almeria and Las Palmas have fallen victim to defeat against Sevilla this season, although the hosts can take some solace from the fact that both of those successes came on home soil, where they will now seek just a third win from 17 in Europe's elite competition. 

Mikel Arteta's men had to come back from 2 goals down to share the spoils with Mauricio Pochettino's side. Experiencing a full range of emotions in the past two weeks alone, the Gunners also witnessed their troops sink Manchester City and suffer a deserved Champions League beating away to Lens before the international break, a result that bumped them down to second in Group A after their 4-0 destruction of PSV. Arsenal are now focused on winning their first Champions League game on the road since December 2016 when Arsene Wenger's side gave  Basel a 4-1 beating. Wenger was also in charge for Arsenal's first and only meeting with Sevilla in 2007 when the Gunners won 3-0 at the Emirates, but the Spanish powerhouses avenged that defeat with a 3-1 victory at the Estadio Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan before both sides advanced to the knockout stages.

ALSO READ:
Ways that Ratcliffe can get Manchester United back on track
Sir Jim Ratcliffe Purchases Manchester United as Sheikh Jasim bin Hamad Withdraws from the bidding process.
UK and Ireland confirmed as Euro 2028 hosts
Faith Kipyegon nominated for the 2023 World Female Athlete of the Year award
Football Unites! The 2030 World Cup is to be hosted on three continents and six nations

(Image: The Sun)