Jesus and Martinelli roll back their Brazilian magic in Arsenal's hard-fought win over Sevilla

Arsenal’s return to the UEFA Champions League has gone exactly as many predicted: difficult, manageable, and a window for upsets.

The Gunners opened their European campaign with an impressive victory over PSV Eindhoven. However, they were brought back down to earth in their surprise defeat at RC Lens.

Mikel Arteta and his side returned to Champions League action on Tuesday (October 24) against Sevilla. Although the Spanish side has always been a difficult opponent, the Gunners managed to weather the storm, winning 2-1.

Arsenal weren’t at their best far away in Spain. But just as they’ve done for much of the season, they were clinical when it mattered most and made their moments count.

Gabriel Jesus and Gabriel Martinelli sink Sevilla

The Gunners, though, had Gabriel Jesus and Gabriel Martinelli to thank for their victory over Sevilla. The Brazilian duo proved to be the difference at the Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan.

The pair were threats to the hosts throughout their time on the pitch and combined beautifully for the opening goal at the end of the first half. Jesus pulled off a brilliant turn before setting up Martinelli, who rounded the goalkeeper to score on the stroke of halftime.

From providing an assist, Jesus then grabbed the game by the scruff of the neck in the 53rd minute. He scored from a wonderful curling effort to double Arsenal’s lead early in the second half.

Although Sevilla later pulled one back, thanks to Nemanja Gudelj’s header, the magic from the Brazilian duo proved to be the difference between the two teams.

Both Jesus and Martinelli have been blighted by injuries this season, which has limited their game time. But they rolled back the years on Tuesday and dragged Arsenal to victory on what was a difficult night.

Arsenal on course to top group

Arsenal’s win over Sevilla has taken the club to six points and they now sit at the top of Group B of the UEFA Champions League. The Gunners still have a long way to go to cement their place at the summit of the group but their latest victory puts them on course to do just that.

For a team that staging a return to the Champions League after six years, Arsenal’s ability to beat Sevilla away shows how far they have come.

“That’s the Champions League, that’s the group stages and that shows you the difficulty of winning, and how much you have to value that,” Arteta told Arsenal.com after the game.

“Against Lens, obviously, that result put us in a difficult position and the team had to react. We are coming off the back of a period of very difficult games, and the team constantly has to step in, and go against adversity as well.

“And injuries that we’ve picked up with some big players. The team is so willing and so determined to at least try their best.”

Indeed, the Gunners have shown that they will give their all even in times of adversity. They showed resilience to come back from two goals down against Chelsea last week. To add to that, the character shown to go to the Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan to secure a result typifies a team that is on an upward trajectory.

After their impressive Premier League campaign last season, it’s refreshing to see the Gunners repeat the same performances on the European stage.