Our Champions League encounter against Sevilla will be a poignant one for many Gooners and locals, as it conjures up memories of Jose Antonio Reyes.
The striker represented both clubs with distinction, winning a Premier League title and an FA Cup during his time in north London, and three Europa League titles in Seville before he tragically died in a car accident in 2019 aged just 35.
Mikel roomed with Jose on international duty with Spain’s under-21 side, and he paid a touching tribute to him during his pre-match press conference.
“I have great memories,” he said. “He was my roommate and we spent quite a lot of time together. He was a fantastic character with a very special personality and had an incredible football talent.
“At that age, I can’t recall a better player than him, he had everything. He played for both clubs and he is part of our history in a big way because he was part of the Invincibles as well. Hopefully he’s up there and feeling proud of both clubs, and tomorrow will be a very special night for him.”
As for the game, Mikel believes that we must be at our absolute best in defence in attack if we’re to get a favourable result against Sevilla.
We were hit by two sucker punches in our last Champions League encounter with Lens that saw us fall to a 2-1 defeat in France, despite leading in that game, and the boss feels that we have to be watertight at the back and clinical when it comes to goalscoring if we’re to beat our Spanish opponents.
Sevilla have drawn their opening two group games, and were only denied a win against PSV Eindhoven by a 95th-minute equaliser, which highlights the fine margins at this level of football.
Reflecting on what lessons have been learnt from our trip to France, he said: “There were a few from that game, especially that in the Champions League you cannot give anything away.
“Both boxes are tremendously important to have control of the game, and there are going to be moments that can get away very quickly. You have to understand why this is happening and how the game went away from us, but there was a lot in our side. To lose the game the way we did, even though looking about two times, we didn’t deserve that result.
“The opponents are really good and to win away from home is always difficult, but to win away from home in Europe, you see a shift in all the top teams that they are not the same results.
“Margins become critical and the emotional state of the team in certain moments goes through difficult ones, so that’s absolutely key.”
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