Four year on, wholesale changes found in Olympiacos and Arsenal squads 

Olympiacos face off against Arsenal this week in the first leg of the two teams’ Europa League Round of 32 match-up. The two sides are no strangers in playing each other in European competition. There have been eight matches played between the two clubs since 2009 with each side having won on four occasions. 

Watch LIVE GREEK TV including full GREEK SPORTS coverage with Go Greek TV! 

The last time the two teams squared off was over four years ago. In December 2015, the Erythrolefki hosted the Gunners in a crucial Champions’ League Group Stage finale. Olympiacos were in essence playing for three results. A win or a draw would have put them through to the Round of 16 of the competition, but so wouldn have a loss of 1-0 or 2-1. The head-to-head advantage was in Olympiacos’ favor after a dramatic 3-2 win in London earlier in the campaign. 

Olympiacos began the tie confidently and were completely on top for the first 29 minutes. However, a goal against the run of play saw Arsenal take the lead. The English side never relented and added two more as an Olivier Giroud hat-trick saw Arsenal advance to the knockout round of the Champions’ League. Olympiacos had to be content with a spot in the Europa League.

Four years on, the two teams will feature lineups seemingly unrecognizable compared to the ones that battled at the Karaiskakis Stadium in 2015. For Olympiacos, only two players who were on the pitch for that match are on the current roster. They are Kostas Fortounis and Omar Elabdellaoui. Arsenal’s squad is also vastly different with only three players from four years ago still at the club including Mesut Ozil, Hector Bellerin, and Callum Chambers. 

Both teams also have new managers at the helm. Four years ago, former Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger was at the tail end of his 22-year reign with the North London side while Olympiacos’ Marco Silva was halfway through his one season in Piraeus. Arsenal’s current manager is former player Mikel Arteta who will manage his first European encounter while Olympiacos’ Pedro Martins has been in the job for nearly two years. 

Below are the lineups and squads of the last meeting between the two teams:

Olympiacos-Arsenal 0-3

Champions’ League Group Stage

Group F - Matchday 6

12/9/15

Olympiacos

Starting Line-up: Roberto, Elabdellaoui, da Costa, Siovas, Masuaku, Milivojevic, Kasami, Pardo, Fortounis, Seba, Ideye

Bench: Kapino, Botia, Salino, Cambiasso, Dominguez, Hernani, Finnbogason

Manager: Marco Silva

Arsenal

Starting Line-up: Cech, Bellerin, Koscielny, Mertesacker, Monreal, Ramsey, Flamini, Campbell, Ozil, Walcott, Giroud

Bench: Ospina, Chambers, Debuchy, Gabriel Paulista, Gibbs, Chamberlain. Iwobi

Manager: Arsene Wenger

Thank you for visiting AGONAsport.com, the only English based website for Greek sports fans across the world! Like us on Facebook, follow us on Instagram, and Twitter for all the latest news in Greek Sports!