Arsenal's last Sevilla trip saw Wenger sent off and forgotten Premier League star score

After their debacle in France, Arsenal can't afford to lose again in the Champions League.

The Gunners suffered a shock 2-1 defeat at Lens in their last European outing to dent their hopes of reaching the knockout stages. Right now, Arsenal fans are still confident of progressing. But a loss to Sevilla in Spain on Tuesday might just alter that attitude.

Arsenal have only played Sevilla twice before. Their first meeting was back in September 2007, when Arsene Wenger's side eased to a 3-0 victory at the Emirates. Yet the reverse game in Spain the following month was a shambles for the Premier League giants.

The Gunners were thumped 3-1 by Sevilla to end their unbeaten start to the 2007/08 campaign. It was a game that went from bad to worse for Wenger's stars.

Arsenal started on top, as Eduardo got on the end of Nicklas Bendtner's delivery in the 11th minute to open the scoring. Wenger's side that day included many cult heroes, including Emmanuel Eboue, Kolo Toure, Gilberto Silva, Manuel Almunia and Philippe Senderos.

Cesc Fabregas was at the heart of Arsenal's midfield, but many of Wenger's key players were missing. None of Emmanuel Adebayor, Gael Clichy, William Gallas, Alexander Hleb or Robin van Persie made the matchday squad, while Freddie Ljungberg, Jose Antonio Reyes and the great Thierry Henry had left the club during the summer transfer window.

Although Arsenal took the lead, Sevilla quickly fought back. Seydou Keita and Luis Fabiano scored before half-time to leave the visitors chasing the game. Wenger tried to get the best out of his depleted squad - bringing on the likes of Tomas Rosicky and Theo Walcott - but the game was over when Frederic Kanoute's penalty found the net.

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That was a cruel blow for the Gunners, as Kanoute scored 43 goals in 144 Premier League games for West Ham and Tottenham. Wenger was furious with the referee's decision to give a penalty and made his feelings known. Yet that protest got him sent off.

"I had no exchanges with the referee," said Wenger in his post-match interview. "I don't know why I was sent off, I was really surprised. The fourth official was really difficult for the whole game. I said to the referee, 'Will you explain to me why I have been sent off?'."

Wenger was furious with Dani Alves' timewasting for Sevilla. The Brazilian right-back, who went on to win plenty of trophies with Barcelona, and future Manchester City winger Jesus Navas caused Arsenal plenty of problems down the right flank.

The Gunners boss moaned: "I have been involved in over 100 Champions League games and I must say his behaviour was absolutely shocking. Alves was down and when the trainer came on he stood up and two minutes later he was sprinting."

Wenger was also criticised for fielding an experimental team. "I don’t regret it because I wanted some players to be exposed to the top level and I’m happy I did that," said Wenger before admitting: "An unbeaten record in the Champions League is not important."

Fast forward 16 years and Arsenal will be hoping for a much better evening in sunny Spain. Arteta can't afford to rotate his troops too much after their defeat to Lens and is expected to make only a few changes for their upcoming Champions League clash.

Aaron Ramsdale is in contention for a recall in goal after David Raya's poor performance against Chelsea at the weekend, while Thomas Partey, Kai Havertz, and Leandro Trossard will all be confident of being selected. Trossard scored against the Blues... and Arsenal fans will be delighted if he hits winner against Sevilla on Tuesday.

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