Olympiakos vs Arsenal Breakdown

Olympiakos vs Arsenal Breakdown, 

Almost a Given?

By Steven Kountourou

There are three things in life that are almost a given. Death, taxes and Arsenal drawing Olympiakos in Europe. Although I cannot take credit for this phrase, it certainly seems to be the case. Upon edging through to the last 16 for a consecutive season at the expense of PSV, Thrylos supporters, myself included all pondered, who would be our next opponent as we attempt to reach the quarter finals. Some joked about the possibility of drawing the Gunners again, and while it would be typical to be pitted against the Premier League side again, I was hopeful that this would not be the case. The draw was streamed live on Friday the 26th of February and we all waited with bated breath. But as fate would have it Arsenal would be the team drawn to face Thrylos...again. 

The reaction upon the announcement of the draw was rather mixed, with some supporters from both sides rubbing their hands and seeing this as an easy tie, others were frustrated at the prospect of both teams playing one another again, and then there was me who found the whole thing hilarious, always in it for the meme I am. So with the first leg in Piraeus being less then two weeks away I thought it would be fun to take a dive into Arsenal's season up to this point. How the North London side performed in all competitions up to this point, taking a look at the fascinating record between them and Olympiakos, and briefly looking at players that have represented both teams.  

How Arsenal have Performed this Season

It certainly has been a transitional season for Arsenal. Upon finishing last season strong and winning the FA Cup, they started the 2020/21 season right by defeating champions Liverpool on penalties to claim the much coveted Community Shield. The Gunners seemed to start their Premier League season on the up as they defeated fellow London sides, Fulham 0-3 at Craven Cottage and West Ham in their first home match of the campaign. Following that positive start however, North London team only won two of their next twelve outings in the League, in which they scored only three times from open play and looked like if their form did not improve, they would actually be in a unlikely relegation battle. Eventually however, results started going their way and they finished 2020 with a 3-1 win over rivals Chelsea which would put Arsenal on a run of seven games unbeaten leading into the new year. 

 

In the last month or so results have also been mixed, with losses to Wolves, Aston Villa and league leaders Manchester City, but also exciting victories over Leeds United and most recently the weekend just gone as they out classed a rather depleted Leicester City side 1-3 away from home. Mikel Arteta's men currently finds themselves in 10th place, which makes sense due to their inconsistency this campaign and while top four might be a bit of a stretch considering the strength of their opponents also vying for a spot in the Champions League. But they are only eight points behind Fourth place West Ham and six behind sixth place Liverpool, so there's every chance with some fortune and a good run of games, the Gunners could book a place into Europe next season via the domestic places.

   

To briefly touch on Arsenal in the domestic cups, the Gunners reached the quarter finals of the League Cup after beating Leicester City 0-2, winning once again on penalties against Liverpool, before finally being well beaten 1-4 at home to finalist and holders Manchester City. As holders of the FA Cup they exited the competition rather early, after needing extra time to defeat Newcastle United 2-0, they were defeated by Southampton 1-0 knocking them out at the Fourth Round stage.

 

The Europa League is where North London club has certainly shone the most. Being drawn in a favourable group containing, Austrian side Rapid Wein, Norwegian club, Molde and Dundalk from the Republic of Ireland. The biggest test for the Premier League side came on Match Day 1, when they travelled to Austria against a side spearheaded by talented Greek forward Taxiarchis Fountas. The Greek international would be a thorn in the Gunners side throughout and even scored the opener to put Arsenal up against the wall with a potential upset on the cards. Eventually though Arsenal went into second gear and scored two in four minutes thanks to David Luiz and Aubameyang to give their side the win. After that it was plain sailing, with Arsenal winning all six group stage games, scoring twenty and only conceding five.   

 

The Round of 32 would be their biggest test in Europe so far as they were drawn against Portuguese side Benfica. After going a goal down in the first leg thanks to a penalty through Pizzi, Arsenal instantly replied with an equaliser from young prospect Bukayo Saka, to give his side a vital away goal going into the second leg. Arsenal would Ironically play their next game at the Karaiskakis Stadium in Piraeus, perhaps foreshadowing what the future would hold for them in Europe. In a hard fought game, by the hour mark Arsenal looked like they may be taking an early bow once more in the Europa League as they went 1-2 down and 3-2 on aggregate. Left back Kiaran Tierney levelled the scoring on the match score but were still going out on away goals. With three minutes of normal time to go Aubameyang, who had scored the opener got his second and a late winner for his side, putting the Gunners 4-3 up on aggregate and taking them through to the Round of 16 at the expense of Benfica.

Head to Head Record Between the Two Sides

The head to head record between the two sides is a really fascinating one and as I have said on numerous occasions, this will be the 11th and 12th time the two sides face each other. Once these games Thrylos will be the side Arsenal have played the joint most times in European football along with German giants Bayern Munich. The Gunners interestingly will be Olympiakos joint most played side in European competition too, tied with Italian Champions Juventus, who the Thrylos have also faced twelve times.

 

The first encounter between both clubs came during the 2009/10 addition of the Champions League group stage. The Gunners hosted the Ethryolefki first in North London, where they defeated the Greek champions 2-0 before the return game in Piraeus where they lost 1-0. This would also be the only circumstance, at the time of writing, that both Arsenal and Olympiakos qualified together as winners and runners up respectively of a Champions League group stage. 

 

A mere two seasons later, the two sides would play each other again in the Champions League group stage. In almost a mirror image of the previous encounter, Arsenal won at home 2-1 but upon the visit to the Karaiskakis Stadium, Olympiakos would claim a 3-1 victory. 

 

This is where the supporters from both sides started to see this match up as almost a guarantee, when the next season in 2012/13, both teams were drawn to play each other in the group stages again. Just like the two previous group stage encounters, Arsenal comfortably defeated Thrylos 3-1 at the Emirates Stadium and after guaranteeing themselves qualification to the round of 16 lost to Piraeus 2-1.

 

Up to this point neither side had ever one at each other's home ground, with Olympiakos especially holding a long winless record when travelling to England. The script was flipped however in 2015/16 when Olympiakos pulled off an exciting 2-3 win in North London and put them in pole position to qualify for the Round of 16. Olivier Giroud had other ideas when his side traveled to Piraeus in a must win game where Arsenal had to score more then two goals to leapfrog the Greek Champions on head to head. The Frenchman scored a heart breaking hat trick to do just that and Thrylos had to settle for a Europa League Round of 32 place. 

 

The latest encounter between the two sides came last season in the Europa League Round of 32, the first time they had both played each other in the knockout stages of a competition. A late away goal from Lacazette in Piraeus put Arsenal in pole position to qualify ahead of the return leg in North London. Early in the second half in a packed Emirates Stadium Cisse scored a thundering header to level the tie and take the match to extra time. Arsenal thought they had won late on as Aubameyang scored in the 113th minute, but at the death after a well taken cross from Omar Elabdellaoui found El Arabi who slotted it home to give Olympiakos the crucial away goal and take his side to the Round of 16.

 

Currently the head to head record before these two upcoming games stands at five games won, five games lost for both sides. The goal difference is fairly close although Arsenal have scored more with 16 to Olympiakos 13. Naturally Thrylos also maintained a better home record against the Gunners with three wins no draws and two losses, although they are also winless in two at home against their opponents. Arsenal's home record is identical even down to them being winless in two at home against the Greek side. 

Players who have Represented Both Sides

As far as I am aware there aren't many players that have represented both teams but two big ones certainly spring to mind. 

 

Joel Campbell

 

The Costa Rican winger joined Olympiakos on loan during a very successful 2013/14 season. Probably enjoying one of his best seasons as a player Campbell was an integral part of a Thrylos side that walked the title, creating four assists in one game in a 5-1 demolition of OFI as well as scoring and assisting a further two in a 4-0 victory over PAOK. With his lightning pace, intelligent crossing and the technique to score some fantastic goals, his most memorable being in the Champions League Round of 16 first leg tie against Manchester United in a 2-0 win, Campbell is remembered fondly by Thrylos supporters and it was such a shame his loan was never made permanent. 

 

Sokratis Papastathopoulos

 

The most recent transfer between the two sides, the tough tackling Greek international returned home in January of this year, after his three season stay with the Gunners was cut short and his contract cancelled. Since his rather recent arrival, Sokratis has been slowly integrated into the side, and while he is not yet a mainstay in the back line the ultimate objective seems to be returning him to full match fitness after a period out of the Arsenal squad. It looks as though Sokratis will be playing against his former club with the recent injury to Ruben Semedo and we shall see if he shows Arsenal exactly what they have been missing.     

Final Thoughts Early Doors 

Judging just on the head to head record this is going to be a very close encounter. While Arsenal boast a number of hugely talented players and one their day they are more than capable of taking this tie by the scruff of the neck and qualifying. They will also want revenge for the way in which they were knocked out of the Europa League last season, but I wonder if they are also a tad afraid to play against this Olympiakos side once more. For Thrylos to be victorious they must take advantage of that psychological edge they have over the Gunners and also keep their star striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang quiet. Individual brilliance was nearly Thrylos downfall last outing against PSV, as front man Zahavi scored all four of the Dutch sides goals so a next level forward like the Gabon striker must be shut out from the chances that he will inevitably attempt to convert. Attacking set pieces, while not Arsenal's strong point, are still a weakness in Olympiakos' game that Mikel Arteta will certainly try to implement against them. While I wont give an out and out prediction just yet I do think that this will be a very competitive affair and I cannot wait to see how this tie unfolds.

Hellas Football

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