Arsenal advanced to the Europa League quarter-finals with a 3-2 aggregate win over Olympiacos, despite being beaten by the Greek side 1-0 on the night at the Emirates.
Youssef El-Arabi continued his good run against the Gunners and scored the only goal of the game in the 51st minute, however it weren’t enough to overturn the 3-1 defeat they suffered a week prior.
The visitors hopes of reaching the next round were dashed with 10 minutes to go, when defender Ousseynou Ba was sent off for two bookings within a matter of moments, punching the ball in frustration after blocking Gabriel Martinelli off in the face.
Arsenal’s star striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang missed a number of guilt edge opportunities, which only signified his struggles this season, as his side failed to build on their accomplished performance in the North London Derby at the weekend.
Mikel Arteta’s men came into the fixture looking to get revenge on Olympiacos, after they knocked them out in this competition last season, and consolidate their two-goal advantage.
They nearly did so early on, when some fluid link-up between Hector Bellerin and Dani Ceballos allowed the Spaniard to release Nicolas Pepe down the right.
Pepe latched onto the ball, with his first touch taking it around the keeper, however he was unable to squeeze his shot past Sokratis and into the empty net.
Just moments later, El-Arabi found himself in behind the Arsenal defence, following a long kick from goalkeeper Jose Sa. Although on this occasion the Moroccan international’s effort was well saved by Bernd Leno.
With the tie still in the balance, Aubameyang was slipped through with a cute pass from Ceballos, gifting him the chance to fire towards goal from just inside the box.
However, the 31-year-old’s first touch wasn’t up to it’s usual standards, meaning he was unable to set himself and dig the ball out in order to find the target.
Olympiacos came out for the second half rejuvenated and made their early pressure count when a quick break led to El-Arabi picking up the ball on the left to cut inside on his stronger right foot. The veteran striker took full advantage after a fortuitous deflection off Gabriel took the ball past Leno and into the back of the net.
The hosts introduced Thomas Partey and Martin Ødegaard just after the hour mark, in the hope of getting them back into the game, and the decision nearly paid off when the latter fed Aubameyang through on goal.
With his run starting in his own half, Aubameyang raced away from the defence and bared down on the onrushing goalkeeper, but got his chipped effort all wrong as he watched it trickle past the post.
Despite falling short on the night, it’s Arsenal who find themselves in the draw for the quarter-finals of the Europa League, after claiming a 3-2 aggregate victory over Olympiacos.
