Martins: “This is an historic night for Olympiacos”

Following the memorable triumph over Arsenal in the UEFA Europa League, Olympiacos boss Pedro Martins expressed his sheer delight, while Mikel Arteta felt the hosts should have won comfortably.

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Against all odds, Olympiacos progressed to the Last 16 of the Europa League on Thursday evening, famously defeating Arsenal 2-1 in extra time at the Emirates Stadium thanks to a last-gasp goal from the prolific Youssef El Arabi. Pierre Emerick Aubameyang had not long equalised after Pape Abou Cisse forced an extra 30 minutes at the Emirates Stadium with a superb headed goal during the second half.

Olympiacos had initially lost the first leg 1-0 in Piraeus.

“It’s a historic night for Olympiacos,” beamed Martins. “We deserved this qualification, not only for these two games against Arsenal but also for our spirited performances in Europe throughout the season regardless of the results. We were determined, we believed we could qualify and we made it. Congratulations to my team for the spirit and their tactical discipline. It's normal that we were tired in extra time. Arsenal obliged us to work hard but we never lost our shape and played intelligently. The aim is just to carry on in this competition."

“It hurts a lot, because we really wanted to perform successfully in the Europa League,” stated Arsenal manager Arteta. “We were in control after equalising in extra time, but we then conceded a set piece which put us in a dangerous position. We created a lot of chances and eventually managed to score. If you concede four goals from set pieces in two games, you will find it tough to win. Nevertheless, despite that fact, we created enough chances to win the game comfortably.”

“This is an amazing, historic moment for the club,” said Mathieu Valbuena, who provided the assist for the first Olympiacos goal. “Taking into account the situation, having lost 1-0 at home, it was always going to be a challenge for us, and we needed to achieve something major. Thankfully, we managed to do just that.”

Youssef El Arabi, the Olympiacos hero, praised Giorgos Masouras for providing the vital cross in the 119th minute: “Masouras gave me a great cross, our efforts throughout the game were rewarded by that moment. I am so happy that we gave our wonderful fans such joy! We never stopped believing in achieving a fantastic result here against Arsenal. However, we don’t have time to rest, and plenty of important matches are just around the corner.”

“I have never experienced something like this before!” exclaimed Brazilian midfielder Guilherme. “This is even bigger than when we defeated AC Milan in Piraeus last season. We always had belief in winning, this is an amazing night for us and a superb qualification. Thank you to God and all of my teammates. Moving forward, we have to respect all opponents while playing with such confidence.”

In the dying seconds of play, Aubameyang had a glorious opportunity to save Arsenal from defeat in the English capital, but he contrived to somehow miss the target with the goal gaping: “I’m very disappointed. We missed some pace in the game; that cost us a bit today. The last-minute goal was unlucky for us. I feel very bad, but that can happen. I don’t know how I missed that chance at the end. It was tough because they played very deep and it was hard to find solutions in the final third.”

By: Shaun Nicolaides

Image source: sport-fm.gr

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