Arsenal won their second Champions League game of the season on Wednesday night beating Olympiacos 2–0 at the Emirates Stadium.
The Gunners opened their European campaign with a victory against Athletic Club and added another three points to their tally courtesy of efforts from Gabriel Martinelli and Bukayo Saka. They were offered the odd fright by their visitors, but were worthy winners in a third successive victory in all competitions.
Arsenal were riding a wave of confidence instilled by the weekend’s dramatic late victory over Newcastle United and should have been ahead within just two minutes. Martinelli was gifted an opportunity to continue his goalscoring form, but inexplicably placed his uncontested header wide from just eight yards out.
Martinelli soon made amends, however, netting his third goal in his last five appearances. The Brazilian was presented with a tap-in to open the scoring and hammer home Arsenal’s unquestionable superiority, reacting quickest to Viktor Gyökeres’s shot off the post after the Swedish striker had outmuscled both Olympiacos centre backs.
Arsenal enjoyed unrelenting dominance during the early exchanges, but required a wonder save from David Raya to keep them in front. Former Wolverhampton Wanderers forward Daniel Podence fired towards the top corner from Chiquinho’s cross, but his effort was matched by the swift reflexes of the Spanish goalkeeper.
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Arsenal continued to control proceedings after their brief scare and should have boasted a larger advantage heading into the break, with Olympiacos still holding faint hope of another positive result at the Emirates Stadium after three successive wins at the north London venue over the past decade.
The Greek visitors offered glimpses of their counter-attacking potential after the restart and continued to restrict clear-cut openings for their hosts. Ayoub El Kaabi’s offside goal shortly after the hour mark served as a significant warning sign for the Gunners, who knew they needed a nerve-easing second to put the result beyond doubt.
Mikel Arteta, who had made six changes from the win over Newcastle, called on his cavalry in the closing stages, utilising Bukayo Saka and Eberechi Eze from the bench. The duo combined as Arsenal came close to doubling their lead with eight minutes to spare, but Ødegaard’s effort from Saka’s cross was spectacularly saved by Konstantinos Tzolakis.
Despite some late nerves as Olympiacos grew in confidence, Arsenal did eventually put the match to bed in stoppage time. Another defence-splitting pass from Ødegaard teed up Saka inside the penalty area, whose powerful strike squirmed through the goalkeeper’s legs to ensure another Champions League victory for the Gunners.
Arsenal player ratings below.
Arsenal Player Ratings (4-3-3)
Subs not used: Kepa Arrizabalaga (GK), Tommy Setford (GK), Riccardo Calafiori, Christian Nørgaard, Max Dowman, Ethan Nwaneri.
Player of the Match: Martin Ødegaard
Olympiacos (4-2-3-1): Konstantikos Tzolakis; Costinha, Panagiotis Retsos, Lorenzo Pirola, Francisco Ortega; Dani García, Santiago Hezze; Gelson Martins, Chiquinho, Daniel Podence; Ayoub El Kaabi.
Subs: Giulian Biancone, Christos Mouzakitis, Lorenzo Scipioni, Gabriel Strefezza, Mehdi Taremi
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Arsenal Player Ratings vs. Olympiacos: Gunners Secure Hard-Fought 2–0 Victory.
