Arsenal will play Greek champions Olympiacos on Wednesday night at the Emirates Stadium. The Gunners will be expected to beat Olympiacos, but Arsene Wenger knows it will not be easy. Mikel Arteta is anxious to make his Champions League debut in front of the Arsenal supporters.
Injury News: Theo Walcott, Gervinho, and Laurent Koscielny will miss the match due to injury. Wenger said that all three “have a chance” to recover in time to play Spurs on Sunday. Regarding Theo, Wenger said that he has “more than a 50-50 chance” of playing at White Hart Lane.
Mikel Arteta against Dortmund
Arsene’s mood at the pre-match press conference was much more pleasant than we have been seeing. He looked very positive and even snapped off a few jokes along the way. When a reporter asked Mikel Arteta if Wenger was a different manager than his reputation around football, Wenger said, “Don’t talk too much Mikel.”
Looking at the group (Marseille, Dortmund, Olympiacos), this match at the Emirates is the easiest fixture on paper. But Arsene Wenger said he is not taking this game lightly (from Arsenal.com): “For me, it is difficult to beat anybody. We have a lot of respect for Olympiacos. I have seen their game against Marseille and they played well.
“You never win easy in the Champions League – when you give absolutely everything, you have a chance to win. If we have not learned that from 14 consecutive years in the Champions League, then we are really stupid. If you do not prepare properly, then you have no chance.”
For Arsenal, it has been difficult to beat any team this season. Our most convincing win this season was the 3-0 at home against struggling Bolton, and two of the goals came after the Wanderers went down to ten men. But a victory is three points, and results are all Arsenal need right now.
When he first signed for the Gunners on transfer deadline day, Mikel Arteta said that the allure of the Champions League helped bring him to the Emirates. On Wednesday night, the Spanish midfielder will make his Ashburton Grove European debut. Arteta said that Champions League nights present a different atmosphere (from Arsenal.com):
“Playing Champions League football is one of my biggest challenges. It is hard to explain what it is about the Champions League, the atmosphere is different and you are playing against the best teams in Europe every time. All players want to win the Champions League, and I am no different.
“Everybody says the atmosphere at the Emirates is really nice for the games in the Champions League. Hopefully it is going to be like that on Wednesday, and we can give something good for the fans to support us.”
The atmosphere was electric at the Emirates during the Barcelona victory last season. While Olympiacos are not the most prestigious opposition, I fully expect the Gooners to get behind the team from the beginning.
Why I am not talking in depth about Olympiacos? To be honest, I do not know much about the Greek side. I do know that they have only played two league matches so far this season. Manager Ernesto Valverde said that Olympiacos will not change their tactics at the Emirates (from Arsenal.com):
“Every time we have clubs playing against each other the one that will win is the one which imposes its own style of play and who will do it better. Usually the team that has to change its style for the other is the one that will lose.
“We have to face an opponent who is probably one of the toughest we could find ourselves against. They are a great team, we know that we are the underdogs but we are here to give a good impression and why not take something out of this game.”
Many Gooners are already looking ahead to the North London derby at the weekend, but we should not take this game as a guaranteed victory. We know that this Arsenal squad are vulnerable to surprising results. Olympiacos beat Arsenal 1-0 in Greece a couple of seasons ago. Arsene Wenger, who will watch from the stands, and his players, who will presumably be on the pitch, had better be wary against Olympiacos.
Match: Arsenal v Olympiacos
Location: Emirates Stadium
Kickoff: 19:45 BST
Television: Sky Sports
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