Arsenal vs Olympiakos: UEFA Champions League Matchday Two preview

 

Arsenal vs Olympiakos: 

UEFA Champions League Matchday Two preview

By Stephen Kountourou

UEFA Champions League League Phase Matchday Two

Kick-off Time: 22:00 Greek Time

Venue: Emirates Stadium, London

Where to Watch: Cosmote Sport 2 HD

Some things in life are guaranteed. Death, taxes and Olympiakos drawing Premier League side Arsenal in Europe. 

Over the last 15 years, Thrylos have had many memorable matches against the Gunners. Mitroglou’s curling effort in Karaiskaki, the first ever win away against a Premier League side, Giroud's hat-trick, and of course the last-minute winner from Yuessef El Arabi, just to name a few.  

Both sides currently have an even win-to-loss record against each other at the time of writing. But due to the format change from the group stages to the league phase, where two teams only play each other once before the knockout stages, that record, unless the full-time result is a draw, could very likely come to an end.

After a disappointing opening match for the Greek champions a couple of weeks ago, can they continue their surprisingly good record in North London in recent times and surprise everyone again?

  

Last time in the UCL

As insinuated, it was not a positive return to the Champions League for Olympiakos on matchday one when they played debutants Pafos FC. In a fixture that many, myself included, earmarked as a must-win game for Mendilibar and his players, they could only draw 0-0 in front of a packed Georgios Karaiskakis Stadium.

Thrylos, for the vast majority of the game, dominated possession and chances created, but the Cypriot champions had come to Piraeus with a clear plan and credit to them, it worked.

Sitting back and inviting pressure from the hosts, they forced Olympiakos to take a lot of shots from outside the box, and any clear chances the Greek champions did create were stopped by the heroics of Cypriot international keeper Neofytos Michail. 

Even after going down to ten men in the first half, with former Thrylos player Bruno being sent off, this only intensified Pafos's plan. The match ended in a stalemate, with Olympiakos left to rue the missed opportunity of getting three points on the board in what will inevitably be a very tough Champions League ahead of them.

The Gunners, by contrast, had a very solid start to their League Phase campaign as they came away with a 0-2 victory against legendary former Olympiakos manager Ernesto Valverde's Athletic Bilbao. In a packed Estadio San Mamés, Michel Arteta's substitutions and great reading of the game during active play are what won Arsenal the game in the second half.

Brazilian forward Gabriel Martinelli broke the deadlock, running the length of the pitch, with his burst of pace and beyond the Athletic Bilbao defenders to slot home in the 72nd minute past Spain's starting goalkeeper Unai Simón to make it 0-1. 

With minutes left before added time, the away side sealed the victory as Martinelli went from goal scorer to assist provider, finding Leondro Trossard inside the box, whose deflected shot found its way into the back of the net to make it 0-2 and kick-start their Champions League campaign in the right way. 

Weekend results

Following on from the disappointing draw against Pafos FC, Olympiakos drew 1-1 with arch rivals Panathinaikos at Leoforos and defeated Asteras Tripolis 1-2 away in the Greek Cup. Thrylos's most recent fixture, with the trip to the UK just around the corner, was a tough test against a high-flying Levadiakos back in Piraeus. 

Unsurprisingly, the team managed by Nikos Papadopoulos gave the Greek champions a very good game, but Mendilibar and his players prevailed to win 3-2, in what turned out to be a thrilling encounter. 

In an end-to-end first half with chances from both sides to open the scoring, and the best of them being Daniel Podence’s free-kick, which cannoned off the crossbar, it was the hosts that went ahead, after captain Panagiotis Retsos took matters into his own hands and scored a header to make it 1-0 just before half-time. 

Just before the hour mark, Levadiakos’s mounting pressure paid off, as a poor touch from Fransisco Ortega led to the away side countering and former Panathinaikos player, Sebastian Palacios, equalised with a well-taken strike. 

The Greek champions instantly replied, however, as a second shot, this time from Christos Mouzakitis, hit the crossbar, Chiqunho was there to meet the rebound and make it 2-1. 

Levadiakos equalised again late, but due to technical issues with VAR and semi-automated offside, the decision to give the goal took over ten minutes. But once again, it was Chiquinho to the rescue, this time with a great run into the box, jinking past multiple players and finessing past Yuri Lodygin to win it 3-2 in added time.

Arsenal also had a positive result on the weekend with a comeback 1-2 win against Newcastle at St James Park, as they continue their aim of challenging Liverpool for the Premier League title. 

After a penalty, which was initially awarded to Arsenal, was correctly overturned by VAR, the Gunners went behind midway through the first half, as Newcastle striker Nick Wolemade headed home from a well-worked corner routine to make it 1-0.

The return from the break saw the away side on the pressure but were constantly stopped by the heroics of Nick Pope in goal. Unlike previous seasons, where Arsenal would perhaps go on to drop points in this kind of fixture and fall further away in the title race, they found a way. 

Late in the game, a cross from Declan Rice found Mikel Merino, whose header curled into Newcastle's mouth to equalise. Just before full time, a corner from Martin Odegaard was pounced on by Gabriel as the Brazilian centre-back headed in a late winner for his team to wild celebrations from the players and their travelling supporters.

Interesting record

As said before during the intro, Olympiakos and Arsenal’s record is something I personally find fascinating. In the 12 encounters between the two clubs, the current record stands at six victories and six defeats. 

They also have an even home and away record with the first six times both clubs played each other ended in victory for Olympiakos in Piraeus, but defeat in North London. From the 2015/16 season onwards, however, that trend was flipped on its head. 

Thrylos won 2-3, 1-2 (in extra time) and 0-1 at the Emirates Stadium, meaning they actually have a very good recent record when facing the Gunners on the road. 

The context for all three of the Greek champions' most recent away wins is of course that they first faced a declining Gunners side under Arsene Wenger, a team in transition under recently appointed Michel Arteta, and again against the Spaniard as manager, when Arsenal had already won the first leg of their Europa League tie in Greece 1-3, which meant that Olympiakos winning the second leg away was a bitter sweet victory at best.

While they have also lost their last three matches in the Karaiskakis Stadium to Arsenal, due to the change in format in UEFA competitions, this is the first time that both sides will play each other without a reverse fixture. This means, to a certain point of view, Olympiakos’s recent away record can be seen as a positive going into this game. 

But this is also a very different beast from the Arsenal side Thrylos has faced before. Now the Gunners are Premier League title contenders, UEFA Champions League semi-finalists last season and have a far more talented and far deeper squad than previous iterations of the North London side.

I spoke with Phil Costa, Co-founder and host of the FootballVision Podcast, about the upcoming matches between Arsenal and Olympiakos.

Having played each other so many times in the last 15 years, what was the reaction from Arsenal fans when they drew Olympiakos again?

“I think what this new Champions League group phase has done is offer us some variety, some different away days, some different visitors - but Arsenal seem bound to Olympiakos by the football gods!“

“I quite like coming up against them because their fans are amazing and North London has no shortage of Greeks anyway, but they're always surprisingly competitive despite their standing in European football. They shouldn't be taken lightly - especially having won the Conference League recently too.”

With other important matches in the Premier League and Champions League coming up, could Michel Arteta rotate for this game or stick with his strongest 11?

I think we'll see maybe one or two changes after a hard-fought (yet incredibly rewarding) win over Newcastle on Sunday, but not too much rotation because it's an important game. It's our first home game of this year's group phase, and after a good three points away in Bilbao, we'll want to keep that momentum going. I would imagine Martin Odegaard and William Saliba coming into the side - from the start - but beyond that, I don't see much need for change.

How confident are you going into the game against Olympiakos, given your past meetings in Europe, and especially having lost the last three matches at home to them?

Naturally, at home, we'll be confident. As I said earlier, though, we've had some trouble against Olympiakos in recent seasons, and they shouldn't be taken lightly, but Arsenal are a different team now.” 

“Strong, well-equipped for different challenges and playing with a seriousness under Mikel Arteta that will hopefully lead to silverware soon after some close calls." 

"Some of the results against Olympiakos have been skewed in recent history due to who we've selected and at what point in the group stage we played them - but certainly there has been some heartbreak. I'm expecting Arsenal to win the game and would be disappointed if we don't, although it won't be a battering.”

Still getting into gear

This is a pattern Olympiakos are used to at this point. Thrylos, even under managers who bring stability, like Jose Luis Mendilibar, have historically started slower in the first couple of months of the season. 

Players aren’t performing to quite the level we saw, especially from the new year until the Greek Cup final, and the style of play, while far from unwatchable, is not at the same pace and aggression. This is not a huge worry yet, but it does need to be addressed if the Greek champions have any hope of fighting on all fronts domestically and in the Champions League. 

Arsenal, as stated before, are absolutely the strongest iteration that the Piraeus side has ever faced on paper, with individual quality that can hurt teams in all areas of the pitch, and so getting a result in North London on Wednesday night will be anything but easy.

This can also play into the hands of Mendilibar and his players. Olympiakos have also played their best football under the Basque coach in Europe when they were the underdogs. 

Maybe if fortune favours the travelling side, and Arteta does not prioritise this game, it could open up an opportunity for the Greek champions to replicate that famous night in the Europa League in 2020 and shock the Gunners again.

@SteveKountourou

Hellas Football