Arsenal lost 1-0 to ten-man Olympiacos on Thursday night in the Europa League. It was a disappointing display for the Gunners but they were still able to progress to the Europa League quarterfinals on a 3-2 aggregate score.
After a comfortable 3-1 victory in Athens, Arsenal looked comfortable coming into the second leg at the Emirates.
Brazilian duo David Luiz and Gabriel Magalhaes started in defence for Mikel Arteta’s side.
But Youssef El Arabi’s deflected effort in the second half added a little bit of hope for the visitors and increased the heat for the hosts.
Arsenal were wasteful in front of goal, becoming their own enemy as Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, who was left out of the starting line-up against their North London rivals Tottenham over the weekend in the Premier League, was guilty of several wasted chances.
Olympiakos had Ousseynou Ba sent off late on in the game, giving the home side better odds in winning the match. Even so, Arsenal still looked like their own enemy, missing several shots and couldn’t find the back of the net to ease the tension of the night.
Olympiakos will take all the credit for winning their third successive away game against Arsenal, but the Gunners got the last laugh as they progressed into the quarter finals having defeated them at 3-1 at home in Athens. On the path of Arsenal, it was a woeful performance and their first defeat in the Europa League this term.
For their quarter-final clash, the Gunners are in line to face Czech outfit Slavia Prague and the North London side will fancy their chances of progressing further in the competition.
