Arsenal 2-0 Olympiacos: Gabriel Martinelli’s early goal and Bucayo Saka’s late strike look at the gunners to win a back-to-back victory and clean sheet at the start of the Champions League campaign
Arsenal continued the perfect start to their Champions League campaign, and they managed to get a worthy victory for the Olympiacos as Mikel Arteta’s spinning side got the job done.
Gabriel Martinelli sent out a free header just 90 seconds later, but he didn’t have to wait long to make up for it. The Brazilian forward opened the score when Viktor Gyokeres shot stopped on the post by the Olympiacos goalkeeper.
David Raya created a spectacular save to eliminate Daniel Poudence’s volley as Olympiacos threatened. To show how uneasy the Greeks were with a 1-0 lead, the Greeks wasted their chances before the Greeks eliminated goals offside.
The outstanding Martin Odegard should have gone 2-0, but Bukayo Saka’s efforts from the cross were beautifully saved, and his follow-up efforts were brought to the back. However, Saka blows up the goalkeeper’s legs during the injury period, ensuring that their missed chances don’t cost them. This is the topic of conversation.
1. Odegard returns to his best
Arsenal had no captain in the starting lineup for the last four games due to a shoulder injury. He turned the corner at St James Park over the weekend and shook at the corner where Gabriel Magalhais scored a 96th minute winner.
Norwegian popularity among Arsenal fans declined somewhat later in the last season as his form disappeared. But what matters to Arteta’s part should not be underestimated. His ability to drift between the lines, knit possessions, and play sharp passes behind the defense is almost unparalleled.
Odegaard’s pass cleared Gyoker, so it was just that skill that unlocked the opening goal of the Olympiacos defense. Half an hour later there was another perfect curling pass for the Swedes. He finished the night with an assist after setting Saka’s goal at the time of injury.
2. Martinelli proves his point
Martinelli appears to be one of the most obvious players affected by a summer recruiting drive at Arsenal, with the addition of Ebebeki Eze and Noni Madueke pushing him down into the pecking order. Thankfully, I thanked Arsenal and Arteta, and the Brazilians responded in the perfect way.
The competition for locations is what managers want, and now you don’t have to start every game. Martinelli appears to be suddenly activated. After getting off the bench and supporting him with a 2-0 victory at the Athletic Club and netting the Equalizer vs Manchester City, he was in the right place at the right time to open up a score against the Olympiacos.
3. Everything except Gyoker’s goal
It was undoubtedly the enormous weight of the goals Gyoker scored in Sporting Lisbon (not when he managed 97 in 102 games), but there’s more to his game. In fact, for Olympiacos, that was everything but the goal.
His willingness to run behind the Olympiacos defense led to Martinelli’s opening goal, which was supposed to mean seconds for the Brazilians, but Gyoker’s shot was blocked. Swedish hold-up play was also evident in the layoffs to Torosad.
4. Serious Depth
Arsenal fans may have wanted to see Max Douman become the youngest player in Champions League history, but Arteta had other ideas, bringing Ez, Bucayo Saka, Declan Rice, Juliantimber and the French mosquera. It’s some serious firepower and shows just how impressive their team is now.
Torosad did little to show he should start before Eze, but Ben White was on the receiver of an oral volley from Arteta in the first half after losing podence for his best chance.
As the season progresses, Arteta should have no excuse as the season progresses, as Douman, Ethan Nuwaneri and Christian Norgaard are among the rare alternatives, and Madueke, Piero Hincapie, Gabriel Jesus and Kai Herberts are injured.
5. There’s no chance you missed it
Their defensive solidity deserves a lot of praise, and Raya was particularly impressive – but Arsenal’s inability to close out their presentationable chances could have easily been costly at Emirates Stadium.
Gyoker, Trossard and Odegaard could not have scored a rich opening and a lack of scores, so they could not have set up a nervous finish until Saka squeezed the shots on the goalkeeper’s feet to make the points safe.
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