Olympiacos have missed out on the Europa League on a 3-2 aggregate despite beating Arsenal 1-0 at Emirates Stadium in the United Kingdom.
Mikel Arteta’s front were sent into a tizzy thanks to a goal in the 51st minute by superstar striker Youssef El‑Arabi.
The Red and Whites were able to apply enough pressure as they continued on to prevent the Gunners from playing comfortably.
This was a big turnaround from last week’s game in Athens where Arsenal had a far smoother run coming back home with a 3-1 victory over the Greek front.
READ MORE: Olympiacos have it all to do after falling 3-1 to Arsenal in Europa League first-leg tie
Arsenal made it to half time mostly unscathed, although an early attempt by El-Arabi forced Arsenal goalkeeper Bernd Leno to kick it up a notch to make the save. Olympiacos required three goals to make it through to the next round, so its hosts seemed to be cruising through the match.
Things took a turn in the second half, as the English front started off on the wrong foot letting their guard down. El-Arabi swept through the competition thanks to a loose ball by Dani Ceballos, giving Olympiacos some hope. Arsenal missed many late chances to bring the team some peace of mind.
READ MORE: Olympiacos scrape through to Greek Cup semi finals
Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta noted the English side could have been better prepared.
“Really happy to be through. We had a tough opponent, so happy to be through. Sometimes we have to be fair with ourselves — we were nowhere near the levels we could be,” he told BT Sport after the match.
“We were unstable with the ball and we gave it away. It’s impossible when you give the ball away to have any structure. We created enough chances to win but were nowhere near the levels in which we can perform.”
Pedro Martins’ men will be returning to Athens for a Greek Super League play-off match against Aris on Sunday.
You can watch the match in Australia on Monday 22 March at 2:15am AEDST.