Olympiakos 1-0 Arsenal
Aaron Ramsey: Arsenal's man of the match
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By Adam Leveridge. |  |
Wednesday, 09, Dec 2009 09:36
By James Christie
Arsenal ended their Group H qualifying campaign with a 1-0 defeat at Olympiakos after Arsene Wenger fielded the youngest-ever side in Champions League.
Wenger chose to select virtually a reserve side, giving a debut to a left-back called Tom Cruise. With Alex Song being the only Arsenal regular making an appearance in a side with an average age of 20, hopes of an away victory seemed like mission impossible.
But the young Gunners, despite already being assured of qualification to the knock-out stages, started brightly; showing adhesive control while passing at pace.
Olympiakos, needing a point to ensure a place in the last 16, initially struggled to find their rhythm. When they did they showed a willingness to shoot from distance, finishing the half more strongly than their opponents.
Playmaker Aaron Ramsey was far and away Arsenal's most creative player throughout the game with Theo Walcott offering their best chance of scoring.
But Walcott's fine running with and without the ball is not matched by his finishing power, his final touches reminiscent of Michael Owen when the Manchester United player was struggling for form earlier in the season.
There were no such finishing problems for Olympiakos when they opened the scoring early in the second half after a slick move which started in the centre circle.
A fine pass released the Brazilian Leonardo who needed just one touch before he fired a left-footed shot past the advancing Fabianski from the corner of the six-yard box.
Arsenal nearly equalised with a counter-attack of their own, Ramsey bursting into the penalty box and passing to Carlos Vela only for the Mexican's shot to hit the legs of the grey-haired Olympiakos goalkeeper Nikopolidis.
The same striker had another chance in the 70th minute, toe-poking a chipped shot over the bar after another fine Ramsey pass.
Olympiakos responded quickly, Leonardo getting behind the Arsenal defence to shoot from the same spot where he had scored from earlier. This time the impressive Fabianski pulled off a fine save.
The Gunners' goalie also came to the rescue a few minutes later after another quick Olympiakos break left him as the last line of the defence.
Arsenal might have snatched a slightly-undeserved draw had Olympiakos goal scorer Leonardo not made a reflex goal-line clearance from a Ramsey shot in the last minutes of normal time.