Gunners can still be tops - Almunia

Manuel Almunia remains confident Arsenal will finish top of Champions League Group H – despite their 3-1 defeat at Sevilla.

The Gunners goalkeeper was “hurt” to concede three goals in Spain on Tuesday night as Sevilla leapfrogged Arsene Wenger’s team to top the qualifying group with just one round of matches remaining.

Arsenal, already through to the last 16, may therefore come up against tougher opponents when the Champions League resumes in the new year – but Almunia is confident that will not happen.

“We knew before this game that if we finished second in the table we can be drawn with a big team,” he told his club’s official website, Arsenal.com.

“But right now I have faith that Sevilla are not going to win in Prague.

“It is a difficult stadium and a difficult pitch. Also I feel we can beat Steaua (Bucharest) and go to the top of the table again.”

Gunners midfielder Gilberto, meanwhile, is urging his team-mates to put behind them their unaccustomed setback in Sevilla – where their 28-match run without defeat came to an end.

“We need just to forget about this,” said the Brazilian, after a match which saw manager Wenger sent from the dug-out following an altercation with officials.

“We need to just take the lessons from it and make sure everything is different in the next game.”

That will start with domestic fixtures – before the Gunners take on Steaua on December 12.

“We must now switch our minds to the Premier League,” Gilberto prescribes.

“We are doing so well in that.”