Arsenal have discovered their fate in the next round of the Europa League and will tackle Greek outfit Olympiacos, which could be a stern test for the under performing Gunners.
The North London side made a meal of their progression to the knockout stages following sub-par displays in their final two group games, losing to Eintracht Frankfurt and fighting back from 2-0 down to draw with Standard Liege.
While Arsenal did manage to finish top of the group, which gives them home-field advantage for the second leg of the clash with Olympiacos, there could be cause for concern.
As former Manchester City defender Joleon Lescott explained, their opponents will be full of confidence and Arsenal's defence has many issues to resolve.
“It will be a difficult tie for Arsenal. Going away to Olympiacos, having played there, is quite intimidating against a hostile crowd and they will be confident as they are usually at the top of their league," he told BT Sport.
“Hopefully by then they will have a manager in place and there will be a bit more stability about them.”
Former Manchester United midfielder Owen Hargreaves echoed those comments, adding: “If you’re top of the division you can score goals and Arsenal, for the best part of a decade, their weakness has been in defence. Some of the young guns have been terrific, Martinelli I think is great, but defensively there is so many issues with this Arsenal side.
“They have to find a way to address it and get the balance right, maybe signing someone in January just to support their defence. Going forward they’re terrific but defensively there are issues.”
