Martins: “We want to continue playing in Europe”
The two respective head coaches, Mikel Arteta and Pedro Martins, shared their expectations for the UEFA Europa League duel between Arsenal and Olympiacos.
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Last week, Arsenal earned a slender advantage in the Last 32 tie, with Alexandre Lacazette scoring a late goal at the Karaiskakis Stadium to defeat Olympiacos 1-0. Nevertheless, despite their disappointing loss in Piraeus, Olympiacos are still in the running for qualification to the next round of the Europa League, with the Greeks looking to pick holes in the Arsenal defence.
Mikel Arteta shares his expectations for the return leg:
Thoughts on the first leg in Piraeus: “I was very pleased with the performance in general, apart from the first 10 minutes when we had some issues to control - defensively, in the final third - some situations and as well, when we gave the ball away in difficult areas when we could've progressed our play. But apart from that, the team played with a lot of personality in a very difficult stadium.”
Injury situation of Sead Kolasinac: “Hopefully, yes. But I don't know. It's depending on whether he's dislocated it and if he needs surgery or not. We will know more this afternoon.”
Potential prioritising of competitions: “The team selection is based on what I see in training, the load of the players and what we want to do against the opponent. We have three different routes to Europe. We have to try to maximise all of them. That's all we can do at the moment.”
Improvement of Arsenal: “Well, a lot of things happen in two months obviously, in all different areas of the club. I think the team is progressing well, we’re in a better place. I think we are getting much more unity in the sections of the club and we are getting a great energy back from the fans. Nevertheless, we still have a lot of things to improve, individually, collectively and as a club and we are in that process at the moment.”
Pedro Martins is full of belief in his Olympiacos team:
Playing in London after previously losing to Tottenham: “This is a very important match. We want to show plenty of enthusiasm and desire. However, in order to qualify, we have to win - a good performance isn’t enough.”
Ruben Semedo, Hillal Soudani and Kostas Fortounis unavailable: “Yes, it’s true, these three players cannot compete in London. Nevertheless, we are capable of rising above these complications. We have faith in all of our players in the squad.”
Positive momentum after defeating PAOK in Thessaloniki: “We already had enough motivation to defeat Arsenal, they are one of the best European sides. The victory in Thessaloniki has strengthened our self-belief. That victory against PAOK has given us confidence.”
Impressions of Arsenal: “They have greatly improved in attack. Arsenal have a strong team which can hurt any opponent. On the other hand, in Piraeus, we outplayed them during long periods. We must use our own strengths.”
No Kostas Fortounis: “No one is above Olympiacos. Tomorrow, Olympiacos have a very important match against a big European club. We have already achieved a lot of things this season. Our fans deserve the best, we know that a lot of them will be inside the stadium tomorrow, so we have to give everything for them! We want to continue our continental campaign.”
