Watch out Arsenal, these guys are high class'

Frederic Kanoute

It's difficult to have a conversation about Sevilla at the moment without mentioning Antonio Puerta.

The Spain international, just 22, died three days after suffering a heart attack in Sevilla's La Liga game against Getafe on August 25. The shadow of Puerta's death has loomed large over Juande Ramos' team ever since.

Sevilla's players have done their former team-mate proud on the pitch, outclassing AEK Athens in the Champions League qualifiers to advance to the group stage of the competition for the first time. Not that Sevilla lack pedigree - they have won back-to-back Uefa Cups and are arguably the biggest threat to the Spanish duopoly of Barcelona and Real Madrid.

We spoke to Spanish journalist Inigo Gurruchaga of El Correo ahead of Wednesday's eagerly-awaited Group H opener. Read on for his insight on Spain's reaction to the Puerta tragedy, Sevilla's meteoric rise, the men Arsenal need to watch at Emirates Stadium and the reasons why tomorrow night's game should be remembered for the right reasons.

Inigo, how much has Puerta's death affected Sevilla and Spanish football in general?

It depends because Spain is a country with a great variety of landscapes and cultures. In Seville there are processions at Easter where people are singing and wailing to the statue of the Virgin and wearing dark clothes. There is so much passion surrounding it and this is a great cultural event in Seville. You don't see that at all in other areas of Spain, for example in Barcelona, Madrid or Galicia in the north. The same has happened with the Puerta phenomenon because in Seville you see the emotions of a city expressed very publicly while in other parts of Spain people feel sad but they do not express themselves to the same degree. But obviously all across the country it is seen as a tragedy and a great loss.

On the pitch Sevilla seem as strong as ever after two convincing wins in Europe and two more in La Liga.

It was very traumatic in their first game after Puerta's death. I saw the pictures of the squad coming back from Athens and they were shaking because one of their team-mates had died. But it is a very cosmopolitan team so each player has different ways of dealing with their grief. There has been a certain seriousness about the players and when I saw them beat Huelva at the weekend the team didn't show they were in mourning. They were clinical, it was a very impressive display, despite having the Puerta tragedy hanging over them. They have played very consistently and played very high-quality football.

Sevilla have lost some big names in recent years, including Reyes and Baptista, but they have continued to improve. Why do you think that is?

There have been two phases in the birth of Sevilla. They were in the second division at the beginning of the century and Joaquin Caparros, now the manager of Atletico Bilbao, built a team from a very modest resources. He was managing the academy team and Sevilla had no money but he built a team spirit as well as a good team. They brought in good local players but they had an inner spirit. In that team there were players like Reyes and they were very impressive. They went up very quickly. What has been very clear is that Sevilla have a good scouting system because they pick up players who are not well known but become good team players for Sevilla.

Juande Ramos came to a project which had already been set up very well and was able to sign some very good players and gel them together in the same spirit of team play. In Seville and the south there is sometimes a culture of individuality, of extravagant displays and a lack of discipline, but these two managers have built a good team spirit and they have made Sevilla very successful very quickly.

Who are Sevilla's key men? A lot of their play seems to go through Frederic Kanoute in attack.

I am happy you mention Kanoute because I know he is a former Tottenham player but he really is a crucial player for Sevilla. I find him extraordinary, he is extremely difficult to defend against because he is fast, he has long legs. Maybe he does not have a great touch and sometimes misses opportunities, he is not a superstar, but he is moving all the time, he is always causing trouble for defenders. He gives so many opportunities to guys who play around him like Luis Fabiano. Maybe others will score more goals but Kanoute does some fantastic work.

Alves is one of the defining players of Sevilla, he is small, kind of a Speedy Gonzalez player. Their midfield against Hueva was so fast, even when the game was in their pocket they had so much pace and movement. They have some terrific players - Jesus Navas combines with Alves very well and they move the ball around very quickly. They certainly have strength in depth.

Sevilla like to attack, as do Arsenal. Can we expect an entertaining game on Wednesday?

It should be a good game. For me it is good news is that Javi Navarro is injured because I find players who have reputations for being hard men are not to my taste. They spoil the game. Navarro has a reputation as a tough defender who goes for the body of the player so I am happy he is out because there will be no nastiness. Both games play technical football after all. Possibly there is a question mark over Sevilla's defence without Navarro but Arsenal need to watch out because these guys play some high-class football.