Arsenal 2-0 Olympiacos: Arsenal maintain perfect Champion’s League streak. | OneFootball

Arsenal extended their perfect start to the Champions League with a 2-0 win over Olympiacos at the Emirates Stadium.

The Gunners took the lead early through Gabriel Martinelli, and doubled it right at the end through Bukayo Saka to secure a second win in as many games in Europe’s premier club competition this season.

As it happened

Arsenal came into the first half swinging. Just two minutes in, Martinelli narrowly missed the goal, leaving head coach Mikel Arteta with his head in his hands.

Olympiacos started this match with a fierce aggression, committing three fouls in the first 10 minutes. This peaked after Martinelli scored their first goal in the 12th minute. The Brazilian once again managed to get hold of the ball in the centre of the box before striking it into the bottom left corner.

The visitors responded boldly to Martinelli’s goal, amping up their combative style of play and collecting even more fouls. In the 20th minute, Daniel Podence showed that the Greek side were not ready to give up, seeing an effort denied by David Raya.

Possession through the first half was almost entirely controlled by Arsenal. They enjoyed an 64% of the ball, leaving Olympiacos struggling to create many strong chances of equalising. However, their visitors did have several major chances at equalising. In the 32nd minute, Podence swiped Santiago Hezze’s cross directly towards the goal, only for Raya to snatch it away at the last second.

The second half demonstrated a slightly different game. Olympiacos were stronger and able to keep hold of the ball better, particularly when driving further towards Raya’s goal. In response, Arteta put Declan Rice and Eberechi Eze onto the pitch to strengthen their defence and help regain control of possession.

Arsenal continued to face pressure from José Luis Mendilibar’s side, who were determined to score an equaliser mid way through the second half. Podence was once again in control as he volleyed the ball perfectly towards Ayoub El Kaabi who headed the ball straight towards the goal, only to be denied once again by Raya.

Arteta once again responded by making changes amongst his squad, letting Saka on. Despite his recent challenges with a hamstring injury, the winger came onto the pitch spectacularly, combining with another Arsenal star – Martin Ødegaard – to find the goal which secured victory.

In extra-time, Ødegaard delivered a sensational cross to Saka who shot the ball narrowly through the legs of Olympiacos goalkeeper Konstantinos Tzolakis. If anything, the Norwegian was unlucky not to have picked up a couple more assists over the course of the match.

Though they won by two, Arsenal faced some issues with defensive cohesion, allowing Olympiacos chances on goal. It’s something Arteta may look to work on going forwards, but for now, three more points have been secured for his Gunners.

The lineups

ARS: Raya; Lewis-Skelly, Gabriel, Saliba, White; Merino, Zubimendi, Ødegaard; Trossard, Gyökeres; Martinelli

OLY: Tzolakis; Ortega, Pirola, Retsos, Costinha; García, Hezze; Podence, Chiquinho, Martins; El Kaabi.