VÍCTOR ORTA: "I'M CAUTIOUSLY OPTIMISTIC ABOUT THE GROUP STAGE"

Víctor Orta, Sevilla FC's sporting director, refused to dwell too heavily on the UEFA Champions League group that the club finds itself in: "I don't like to celebrate draws, but I don't think it was a bad one. Arsenal are the favourites, having taken the Premier League down to the wire last season. [Declan] Rice has added stability in midfield and they have lots of options, like [Bukayo] Saka, who is one of the best in the world. Lens also had a great season, but recently lost their best player [Lois] Openda, who scored almost 60 goals over two years. Their front three can cause problems, although they haven't started the season well. They have a great atmosphere in their stadium too. We certainly have a chance against PSV, where there are familiar faces like De Jong. They lost out on the league title, which came as a surprise. They are an attacking time, and not afraid to approach away games head first. Champions League groups are never easy. I am cautiously optimistic and I can already hear our hymn blaring around the Sánchez-Pizjuán because our crowds give us the ability to earn points and that gives us huge confidence.

"Lens are going to spend some of the Openda money to find a replacement, PSV have started very well and were magnificent yesterday against Rangers... and I think Arsenal will add more players before the transfer window closes. We have to wait and how the calendar pans out because that can always give us an advantage, depending on whether the scheduling helps us and makes it easier to qualify, which is of course the aim. I would prefer to play our final match at home," he added.

Orta finished off by commenting on the club's activity in the transfer market at this late stage: "Things are hectic in the final few hours, the financial restraints in LaLiga are very strict, everything is classified in a certain way, so we are dealing in terms of arrivals and departures. These comings hours are going to be intense as we look to find solutions. We are trying our best in these final moments to leave the market in a stronger position than when we went in, and hopefully that will be the case.