{"id":2541,"date":"2021-03-12T05:28:57","date_gmt":"2021-03-12T05:28:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/?p=2541"},"modified":"2021-03-13T13:38:28","modified_gmt":"2021-03-13T13:38:28","slug":"just-the-way-arteta-planned-it","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/?p=2541","title":{"rendered":"Just the way Arteta planned it?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<center><a id=\"HJ0qUtbATRd01RTT3JIYyA\" class=\"gie-single\" href=\"http:\/\/www.gettyimages.com\/detail\/1306574406\" target=\"_blank\" style=\"color:#a7a7a7;text-decoration:none;font-weight:normal !important;border:none;display:inline-block;\" rel=\"noopener\">Embed from Getty Images<\/a><script>window.gie=window.gie||function(c){(gie.q=gie.q||[]).push(c)};gie(function(){gie.widgets.load({id:'HJ0qUtbATRd01RTT3JIYyA',sig:'kJYO0-_HNuz3seB8kdowk-GlS84G8WgWTWayBTtzNug=',w:'543px',h:'594px',items:'1306574406',caption: true ,tld:'com',is360: false })});<\/script><script src=\"\/\/embed-cdn.gettyimages.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\" async=\"\"><\/script><\/center><p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Well, it was quite definitely not <em>exactly<\/em> the way Mikel planned it, but I\u2019m sure there were elements of his plan here and there in Arsenal\u2019s exciting win at Olympiakos in the first leg of the Europa League Round of 16.&nbsp; Yes, there were several gaffes to be seen but also lots of positives and hey, we won to set up the second leg to our advantage, and that\u2019s surely all that really matters tonight.&nbsp; Fortune seemed to favor us though, and at least two moments could have completely changed the game if they hadn\u2019t gone Arsenal\u2019s way including Beller\u00edn\u2019s goal-saving deflection when El-Arabi seemed destined to put Olympiacos into a second half lead, and the correct VAR decision (credit to the UEFA referee) allowing Gabriel\u2019s great goal&nbsp;to stand, but the game could have gone either way despite lengthy spells of Arsenal domination, and speaking after the game Arteta seemed to agree: \u201cI am happy with the result, but I am not satisfied with how we controlled the game through 95 minutes.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>No doubt we all felt a modicum of d\u00e9j\u00e0 vu watching this away leg, remembering that these clubs were paired six times since 2009\/10 including last season\u2019s Europa League Round of 32 when Olympiacos eliminated the Gunners with the winning goal in London in the dying minutes of extra time. For the sake of comparison with tonight\u2019s team I looked back at Osaka Matt\u2019s fine match report on last year\u2019s away leg &nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/?p=322\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/?p=322<\/a>&nbsp;and noted numerous changes in Mikel Arteta\u2019s team selection (six different players and one or two positional shifts). &nbsp;Among the Arsenal starters last time around, several players have been off-loaded while others were unavailable for this evening\u2019s game: Guendouzi and Willock being on loan, Sokratis and Mustafi sold, and Martinelli among the unused substitutes.&nbsp;&nbsp;Arteta, surely knowing Arsenal could benefit by deploying a pacy winger to tire the aging legs of Sokratis in the Olympiakos defence, (un)surprisingly called upon the aging Willian in his starting XI but was rewarded when the Brazilian sent in the corner for compatriot Gabriel\u2019s match winner.&nbsp; Knowing we face a season-defining run of games in the next week or so, this is the team the gaffer sent out:&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\">Leno<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\">Beller\u00edn &nbsp;Luiz &nbsp;Gabriel &nbsp;Tierney<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\">Thomas &nbsp;Xhaka<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\">Willian&nbsp; \u00d8degaard &nbsp;Saka<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\">Aubameyang<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-left\"><em>(contrasted to last year\u2019s team in this leg:)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\">Leno<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\">Sokratis &nbsp;Mustafi &nbsp;Luiz &nbsp;Saka<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\">Guendouzi Willock &nbsp;Xhaka<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\">Aubameyang &nbsp;Martinelli<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\">Lacazette<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Olympiakos were anchored by captain Bouchalakis in midfield but Ba, their Senegalese centre back, was withdrawn at the last minute so M\u2019Vila moved into defence alongside Sokratis, who joined Olympiacos from Arsenal in January and played on the right side without particularly distinguishing himself.&nbsp; Up front the Olympiakos attackers included the 34 year-old El-Arabi who scored the killer goal against Arsenal last year, and had scored 18 goals in 22 games this season, but after tonight that became 19 in 23 thanks to some Arsenal generosity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Arsenal controlled the opening exchanges, and with only two minutes gone \u00d8degaard missed a great chance on his preferred left foot after he was set up by a great left wing cross by Tierney.&nbsp; Three minutes later Auba, who was set up by Beller\u00edn\u2019s accurate right wing cross, hit the post after his header was deflected twice including a great save by the keeper.&nbsp; When Saka was stepped on by an Olympiakos player, the Spanish language announcer and I agreed, \u201cPara mi es tarjeta roja\u201d or \u201cThat\u2019s a red card for me\u201d but the young German referee waved play on.&nbsp; Saka just missed connecting to Tierney\u2019s left wing cross on 14 minutes, but Arsenal\u2019s opportunities were coming thick and fast, and the Olympiacos defence was being stretched.&nbsp; Willian won a central free kick outside the Olympiacos box, but Luiz\u2019 effort went straight at the keeper.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>On 19 minutes Sokratis won a free kick on the right, but Valbuena couldn\u2019t put it into the box.&nbsp;&nbsp;On the ensuing Arsenal throw in, \u00d8degaard gave it away carelessly and dangerously deep in Arsenal\u2019s half to an Olympiakos attacker who shot straight at Leno.&nbsp; A minute later Arsenal won a central free kick but Auba sent it straight at their keeper.&nbsp; Arsenal broke again, and after \u00d8degaard found Saka in space he was brought down cynically but no yellow was given.&nbsp;&nbsp;The free kick was taken by Xhaka straight into the wall.&nbsp; \u00d8degaard failed to understand Beller\u00edn\u2019s body language and the Scandinavian\u2019s ball went out of play when the Spaniard checked his run.&nbsp; On 33 minutes Auba was freed in space on the left but took a second too long and his shot was blocked.&nbsp; A minute later, seeing nobody challenging him 30 yards from goal, \u00d8degaard, who hadn\u2019t been our best player by any means, let go with a left footed screamer that must have changed direction (slow motion replay showed the ball barely rotating at all) and the announcer cried \u201cgolazo\u201d even though the keeper allowed it to fly right past his ear.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Olympiacos 0-1 Arsenal (\u00d8degaard, 34 minutes)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The referee finally consented to give Bouchalakis a caution for stepping on Saka as he was about to break on 36 minutes.&nbsp; Luiz then gave it away very sloppily in the Arsenal area on 39 minutes but Bruma shot wildly with the goal gaping.&nbsp; Gabriel was carded for a clumsy challenge in midfield on 44 minutes before Willian\u2019s short corner should at least have been sent into the box, but first half time elapsed with Arsenal leading 1-0 and having enjoyed the great majority of possession and the better chances.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The second half began much as the first had ended, with Arsenal in the ascendancy.&nbsp; On 55 minutes Arteta made the first change, replacing Thomas in midfield with Dani Ceballos.&nbsp; Three minutes later, and I can\u2019t tell you if Ceballos had even made his first touch, Leno and Arsenal repeated their collective error at Burnley.&nbsp; This time the keeper, having received a back pass from Gabriel out of his area, passed to Ceballos in a dangerous central situation instead of Xhaka.&nbsp;&nbsp;Olympiacos\u2019 pressing attackers undoubtedly having watched the Burnley footage, El-Arabi took advantage and pounced to relieve Dani of the ball and slot it into the corner as an out-of-position Leno retreated and a chorus of Arsenal fans wondered \u201cNot again?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Olympiacos 1-1 Arsenal (El-Arabi, 58 minutes)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Arsenal let the game drift over the next ten minutes with the shock of conceding and on 66 minutes nearly conceded again after a nice right wing move by Olympiacos set up El-Arabi for a great chance that seemed destined to put his side into the lead but Hector\u2019s sliding tackle deflected it wide for a corner.&nbsp; Arsenal\u2019s attacking in the next 15 minutes was too slow and featured too many sideways passes, and I feared Arsenal might get careless again.&nbsp;&nbsp;But on 79 minutes, just as Nicolas P\u00e9p\u00e9 was waiting on the touch line, presumably to replace Willian, the Brazilian sent in a great corner that a leaping Gabriel reached majestically, and sent a peach of a looping header into the far corner turning the game on its head.&nbsp; There was no doubt about it being a goal in my mind but the VAR intervened delaying the game longer than it should have, but the referees came up with the right decision in the end and the goal stood.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Olympiacos 1-2 Arsenal (Gabriel, 79 minutes)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>On 82 minutes Arteta made a double change replacing Saka with P\u00e9p\u00e9, and \u00d8degaard with Smith Rowe, a move that re-energized the Gunners in the closing minutes, and seemed to stabilize some shaky nerves.&nbsp;&nbsp;After Beller\u00edn\u2019s cross went tantalizingly all the way along the Olympiacos goal line without going in, out of nearly nowhere Elneny did his own version of what \u00d8degaard did in the first half, giving Arsenal a 3-1 advantage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Olympiacos 1-3 Arsenal (Elneny, 85 minutes)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>On 88 minutes Lacazette replaced Auba and almost set up P\u00e9p\u00e9 for a fourth goal two minutes later.&nbsp; Five minutes of added time played out relatively uneventfully putting Arsenal into good position for the return leg.&nbsp; Arteta\u2019s five substitutes (Ceballos, Elneny, Lacazette but especially P\u00e9p\u00e9 and Smith Rowe) gave Arsenal renewed energy and initiative after the setback of conceding threatened to stall our forward motion and bring a repeat of the Burnley disappointment.&nbsp;&nbsp;Elneny might just have given us the crucial third away goal that could seal the deal, but let\u2019s not say so until the team has truly earned it.&nbsp; There were many good performances in the Arsenal side, notably Gabriel, Tierney and Beller\u00edn whose work was not only beneficial but even belletristic at times.&nbsp; Putting it in a nutshell, Arsenal repeated their win at Olympiacos of last season and went a step better scoring three away goals not just the one.&nbsp;&nbsp;Now the small matter of the North London Derby will take all of Arsenal\u2019s attention but in one week\u2019s time at the Emirates the Gunners will be well positioned to take revenge for the reversal suffered at the hands of Olympiacos 13 months ago.&nbsp;&nbsp;A momentous week lies ahead but fortune could be with us if&nbsp;our last two Europa League games are any indication.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Embed from Getty Images Well, it was quite definitely not exactly the way Mikel planned it, but I\u2019m sure there were elements of his plan here and there in Arsenal\u2019s exciting win at Olympiakos in the first leg of the Europa League Round of 16.&nbsp; Yes, there were several gaffes to be seen but also [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[6],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2541"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/12"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2541"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2541\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2551,"href":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2541\/revisions\/2551"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2541"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2541"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2541"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}