Report: Olympiacos 0-3 Arsenal (inc. highlights)

Arsenal: Cech, Bellerin, Mertesacker, Koscielny, Monreal, Flamini, Ramsey, Campbell, Walcott, Ozil, Giroud

Subs: Ospina, Gibbs, Chambers, Debuchy, Gabriel, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Iwobi

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Olivier Giroud’s first Arsenal hat-trick saw Olympiacos defeated 3-0 in Athens as the Gunners secured safe passage from the Champions League group stage for a 16^th consecutive season.

After a rocky European campaign Arsene Wenger’s men knew they had to win in Greece and delivered a pitch-perfect performance against the dirge of the enthusiastic home support. Giroud netted with his head to give the visitors a first half lead then polished off fine work by Joel Campbell to double Arsenal’s advantage just after the break. The Frenchman then completed a memorable night from the spot sending keeper Ricardo the wrong way and the Gunners into Monday’s knockout round draw.

Pre-game

Having given Theo Walcott a half hour run out against Sunderland, Arsene Wenger opted to start the England international at the expense of Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain. The boss noted before kick-off that neither player currently has 90-minutes in their legs. The rest of the team was made up by those who featured on Saturday, although there was a small doubt about Mesut Ozil. Jeff Reine-Adelaide, who travelled with the first team squad, had been expected to be on the bench only for Alex Iwobi to take his place.

First half

Arsenal had been expected to burst out of the blocks in search of an early goal but it was Olympiakos who looked the more dangerous in the opening stages.

The Greeks mounted repeated attacks on Hector Bellerin’s flank as they looked to get behind the defence with pace, however, it wasn’t until the 19^th minute that they mustered a shot at goal; Pardo firing high and wide from the edge of the area.

Having done little in the Olympiakos half Arsenal had two chances to break the deadlock in the space of a minute. First Flamini had an effort deflected on to the bar after great work down the right by Campbell, then Giroud tested keeper Ricardo with a close range header.

Four minutes later the Gunners did get their goal. An unbelievably good pass by Ozil took out four men to find Ramsey inside the left channel and with his left foot the Welshman delivered a perfect cross that Giroud headed just inside Ricardo’s near post. The replay suggests the keeper probably should have done better – the ball appeared to come off his head on the way in – but our handsome Frenchman didn’t care as he wheeled away to celebrate his third in this season’s competition. (1-0)

Arsenal continued to grow in confidence in the aftermath of their opener with Theo Walcott coming to the fore. Not only did he put a shift in at the back he was also quick to burst forward to provide support for Giroud. One such break on 37 minutes saw the England striker fire just wide from the edge of the box after a good run.

Against the backdrop of incessant enthusiasm from the home crowd Olympiacos looked to regain momentum. Laurent Koscielny did well to clear a dangerous cross just over the bar and Cech dealt with a couple of speculative efforts.

Second half

Within a minute of the restart it looked as though Arsenal’s injury crisis was about to worsen. Having lost his footing making a clearance Olivier Giroud went down in real pain clutching his ankle. The striker looked a certainty to go off as Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain was called from the bench, however, after limping to the touchline he decided he was fit to continue.

Amazingly, within 30 seconds Giroud had bagged his second of the night. The plaudits though belong to Joel Campbell for his fantastic assist. It wasn’t quite Bergkamp vs Juventus, but it wasn’t far off.

Controlling a lofted Ozil ball with aplomb the Costa Rican twisted around his marker in the box, took a moment to reflect with a drag back, then flicked the ball inside three defenders for Giroud who calmly finished first time with his left foot. It was the perfect start to the second half. (2-0)

It was far from plain sailing though for the Gunners. After Walcott squandered a chance to grab a vital third, Cech had to parry a decent effort over the bar from Fortounis and get down low to deny Pajtim Kasami. In between, Per Mertesacker made a fantastic last-ditch challenge to deny a certain a certain goal.

There was a real grit and determination about the Gunners who looked hell bent on getting the win that would secure safe passage to the knockout stages at the expense of their hosts.

That feat was all but sealed on 66 minutes as Giroud completed his first Arsenal hat-trick from the spot. Nacho Monreal’s low shot was blocked by the hand of Omar Elabdellaoui and after the ref pointed for a penalty the Frenchman calmly sent Ricardo the wrong way. Finally, the home support was dampened. (3-0)

The Gunners coasted through the final third of the game with Flamini and Ramsey sponging the tentative forays of their Olympiacos peers and Campbell and Ozil combining well to mount the occasional attack. Gibbs, Chambers and Oxlade-Chamberlain replaced Walcott, Giroud and Campbell in the closing stages; the latter receiving a standing ovation from both sets of supporters after a great showing.

It was a tremendous performance from the boys who’ve really defied the odds to qualify after those horrendous earlier defeats to Olympiacos and Dinamo Zagreb. Plaudits all round.