Arsenal Advance In Europa League Despite Losing Second Leg To Olympiacos

Arsenal confirmed their place in the Europa League quarter-finals despite losing the second leg of their Round of 16 tie with Olympiacos 1-0.

Arsenal headed into the game with a 3-1 advantage from the first leg. Olympiacos would need to match their three away goals to stand any chance of overturning the tie.

The Greek side did get the better of the Gunners on the night, but not by a big enough margin. Arsenal progressed with a 3-2 aggregate win.

Olympiacos sent Arsenal a signal of intent early on, when Youssef El-Arabi got in behind the defence and forced a save out of Bernd Leno.

At the other end, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang – restored to the starting lineup after his disciplinary issue at the weekend – got a sight of goal, but toe-poked the ball over the bar.

Towards the end of the half, there was a chance for Emile Smith Rowe. However, his curled effort was at a comfortable range for Jose Sa.

There was a wake-up call for the Gunners soon after the break. El-Arabi picked out the bottom corner to give Olympiacos the lead on the night.

The Olympiacos attacker thus ensured he had scored in both legs of the tie, as well as in the same fixture last season.

The away side still had a mountain to climb, but they were giving Arsenal more to think about than the hosts would have liked.

The Gunners could have put themselves back in a more comfortable position when Aubameyang raced through one-on-one with Sa. However, as he tried to dink the Olympiacos keeper, his effort sailed wide.