WE KAN DO IT, INSISTS FREDI
Sevilla striker Frederic Kanoute returns to north London this week
confident of putting one over his old adversaries Arsenal in the
Champions League.
Kanoute played for both West Ham and the Gunners' arch-rivals
Tottenham during a five-year stint in England before joining
Sevilla in 2005, and the Mali international is hoping for a happy
trip back to England.
Sevilla open their Champions League group stage at the Emirates
Stadium on Wednesday, and Kanoute sees no reason why the
back-to-back UEFA Cup winners cannot begin with a victory over
Arsenal.
"I believe that we can win, I have faith that we can go far in the
competition but we will have to see after each game," said Kanoute,
who scored twice on Sunday as Sevilla downed Recreativo Huelva 4-1
in La Liga.
"We are going to have matches in the Champions League that are much
more difficult than in the UEFA Cup, but the team is prepared and
ready for this competition.
"We have a better squad than last year, with more experience, and
more players. For every position there are two or three
players."
Sevilla's victory over Recreativo was their second successive 4-1
win of the Spanish season, and they are currently second in the
table with six points from two games - three points behind leaders
Real Madrid.
Arsenal are also flying high in the Premier League, with Saturday's
3-1 derby win over Spurs lifting them to the top of the
table.
Kanoute knows it is not going to be easy for his side on Wednesday,
saying: "Arsenal are a team who play very fast going forward, and
who are very attacking.
"We can win, I know their team and if we can nullify their key
player, Cesc (Fabregas), and we start quickly as always, I believe
we can achieve the win."
Confident though he is of a good result in north London, Kanoute
still believes Arsenal are the slight favourites to progress from a
Champions League group that also includes Steaua Bucharest and
Slavia Prague.
"Arsenal are bigger favourites than us because they have more
experience in this competition," said the 30-year-old.
