Arsenal 2-0 Olympiakos
Van Persie was the match-winner for the second successive match
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By Will Haine. |  |
Tuesday, 29, Sep 2009 09:33
By Matt Fortune.
Late goals from Robin van Persie and Andrey Arshavin capped a thoroughly dominant Arsenal display over Greek champions Olympiakos and maintained the Londoners' 100 per cent start to the Champions League campaign.
The Gunners were at the irresistible best creating a whopping 23 chances in a match spent mostly in the opposition's half. Cesc Fabregas rattled the crossbar in a patience-testing first period and nearly every player was at some point thwarted by 'keeper Antonios Nikopolidis. When the breakthrough finally arrived 11 minutes from time, the relief around the stadium was palpable.
The match was the first in the Champions League proper at Emirates since last season's semi-final humiliation at the hands of Manchester United. And the contrast in emotions at full-time couldn't be starker. Of course, neither could the gulf in class between the opponents that night and this. But, you can only beat what is put in front of you and Arsenal did that with ease.
Tomas Rosicky and Emmanuel Eboue came into the side in place of Bacary Sagna and Nicklas Bendtner, while Vito Mannone remained in goal as Manuel Almunia continued his recovery from a virus.
For the visitors Olof Mellberg, scorer of the first competitive goal at Emirates Stadium in his days with Aston Villa, started at the back but Matt Derbyshire who left Blackburn in the summer missed out through injury. Raul Bravo was another familiar face after his brief spell on loan at Leeds United several years ago.
Prior to tonight Olympiakos had visited these shores on eight previous Champions League occasions; they had lost every time, scoring once and conceding 27. On this evidence it will be sometime before they stop the rot.
Arsenal started with an intensity lacking from their performances since the crushing back-to-back defeats in Manchester three weeks ago. Their pressing was so effective that Mannone, who had worked overtime at Craven Cottage on Saturday, was redundant until the 33rd minute. Even then, the save he made from Jaouad Zairi's header was routine.
It was Andrey Arshavin who set the tone for a torrent of first-half chances that would ultimately leave the Gunners feeling frustrated at the interval. The little Russian had been off-colour in the weekend victory over Fulham but was irrepressible all evening. Fabregas, too, seemed to throw off the shackles that had suppressed him for much of Saturday and together with Rosicky, Abou Diaby and Van Persie, they lay siege to the visitors' goal throughout.
And it was the Spaniard who went closest of all when he came within the width of the crossbar to putting the piece de resistance on a vintage Arsenal move. Van Persie begun it with a smart swivel away from Mellberg and fed Arshavin who in turn threaded the ball along a line of black shirts for Fabregas. His first touch set the ball perfectly and he unleashed a rasping drive that beat everyone but the bar.
Less than 10 seconds later Arshavin was poking the ball clear near the edge of his own box; his tracking back was typical of the Gunners' commitment.
The Russian again had Greek hearts-in-mouths with a soft shoe shuffle and a shot between two defenders that was pawed away at the near post. Van Persie was next but found only the cool night air above the cross bar. The Dutchman, though, is proving his worth in the lone-striker role, a task no doubt made easier by the beautiful functionality of the midfield-five behind him.
Fabregas then should have done better when well placed at the top of the box and Van Persie, too, was wasteful after creating an opening with successive 'cryuff turns' that left Raul Bravo on the seat of his pants.
Arsenal were simply trying to pummel their opponents into submission. Yet the more they became agitated by the shutout, the more they poured bodies forward and inevitably space begun to appear at the back. Sure enough as stoppage time approached Olympiakos had their best moment when Zairi got behind the defence only to fizz a cross too ferociously across the area for Diogo.
Things seemed to have taken a turn early in the second half as Mannone was forced into his first meaningful piece of action. His scrambling save from Mellberg's header was as impressive as any he had made against Fulham.
Normal service was soon resumed, though. Eboue's reverse flick opened the door for Van Persie but, once again, Nikopolidis came to the rescue of his team.
Van Persie, Arshavin, Diaby, twice, and even William Gallas might have all broken of the deadlock but as the shots became more frantic their accuracy dwindled. That's perhaps why when the goal eventually did come in the 79th minute it came from inside the six-yard box.
Eduardo and Carlos Vela had come on as Wenger went for broke forcing Fabregas' to sit a little deeper and adapt a more measured approach. It was his slide rule pass that allowed Eduardo to burst behind a static back line and find Van Persie to convert unchallenged a couple of feet from the line. It had been the least the hosts deserved.
The second followed eight minutes later through man-of-the-match Arshavin. The Russian finished cleverly between his own legs, albeit from an offside position, from Fabregas' centre.
Further chances came and went, most notably when Vela broke with pace and fed his captain only for Fabregas to drag a shot wide of the far upright. Few would have begrudged Arsenal at least a third.