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Football London
Football London
Sport
Joe Doyle

Arsenal news: Van Persie's Saka comparison to delight fans, Arteta's verdict on Olympiacos win

After two weeks without a game, Arsenal have been in action twice in the space of three days this week.

Last night saw the return of the Europa League knockout phase and the Gunners facing a difficult round of 32 tie against Olympiacos, with the first-leg taking place away from home.

The Gunners came away with a 1-0 win thanks to a late goal from Alexandre Lacazette, with standout performances from Bukayo Saka and Bernd Leno.

Up next is the return to North London of Alex Iwobi and Theo Walcott, as Everton take to the carpet on Sunday afternoon.

With that said, here's all the news from around the Emirates Stadium over the past 24 hours.

Mikel Arteta on Pablo Mari's progress

Olympiacos win

Alexandre Lacazette celebrates with Bukayo Saka, Dani Ceballos and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang after scoring against Olympiacos (Richard Heathcote/Getty Images)

A fantastic result for the Gunners - a win and an away goal in a difficult stadium.

Here's what Mikel Arteta had to say about the win, and how we rated the players.

Bukayo Saka

Bukayo Saka in action during the UEFA Europa League (Dean Mouhtaropoulos/Getty Images)

The Arsenal star has made a habit of creating goals this season, grabbing three more assists than any other Arsenal player, including the crucial pass for Lacazette's strike.

Feel-good evening

That winning feeling is always nice to have, and with former Arsenal star Ian Wright in attendance, the fans in Greece were treated to some post-game enjoyment.

And there was also the small matter of the pre-game heartwarming moment featuring the Gunners starting XI.

Mustafi's message

Shkodran Mustafi during the UEFA Europa League round of 32 first leg match between Olympiacos FC and Arsenal FC at Karaiskakis Stadium (Photo by) (David Price/Arsenal FC via Getty Images)

Arsenal defender Shkodran Mustafi has taken to social media to send a message following Arsenal's 1-0 Europa League against Olympiacos.

The Gunners come away with the slim advantage after Alexandre Lacazette netted the only goal of the game in the 81st minute to put Arsenal in the driving seat ahead of the second leg at the Emirates Stadium.

Mikel Arteta's men now know that keeping a clean sheet during that game will see them through to the round of 16 stage of the competition.

Mustafi found himself frozen out of the team at the start of the season, but has started the last six games in all competitions under Arteta, being part of a defence that has now kept three clean sheets in a row.

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