Arsenal play hosts to Greek champions Olympiacos tonight after Gabriels dramatic 96th minute header secured all 3pts for the Gunners on Sunday. Mikel Arteta and his side had faced a heavy media backlash last week after tepid displays against title rivals Manchester City and Liverpool, taking just one point from a possible six.
Arteta hit back hard in his defence of his team; describing David Raya as ‘a very attacking goalkeeper, his defenders as the most attacking in the league, and siting ‘midfielder Merino playing as a number 9, as something he’s never seen before’.
Sunday’s win over Newcastle has eased some of the pressure, but the question remains: does Arteta have the courage required to deliver one of the big prizes, the Premier League or Champions League?
Right now, the Champions League looks a long shot. With the Spanish giants purring again and Bayern Munich starting in formidable fashion, English clubs have work to do to stay in the reckoning. However, with Liverpool’s defence looking disorganised and Salah starting slow, Slot’s side do not look to be the unstoppable force so many had predicted. Maybe this season the Premier League is Arsenal’s most realistic target.
Olympiacos look to be the perfect opponent for Arsenal this midweek. Although a regular feature of the competition, the Greek side have lost 67% of all away fixtures in the competition across 93 games. It is their form at home which will pose foreign sides a bigger challenge in the competition.
Our Prediction:
1u: Arsenal & Man City ML (-150)
The bookmakers have almost all angles covered off on this fixture, an easy win expected for the Gunners.
With Man City facing a tougher test away to Monaco, it would be sensible to pair both English sides on the ML in a double.