By Arsenal continued their perfect start to the Champions League campaign with a 2-0 victory over Olympiakos at the Emirates Stadium, making it two wins from two in the group stage.
Gabriel Martinelli opened the scoring early on, reacting quickest to turn home after Viktor Gyökeres’ effort came back off the post. The Gunners controlled much of the game but were made to wait until stoppage time to make the result safe.
Substitute Bukayo Saka, introduced in the second half, provided the decisive moment, latching onto Martin Ødegaard’s precise pass, he coolly slotted the ball through goalkeeper Kostas Tzolakis’ legs to seal the points and underline Arsenal’s growing European momentum, the victory keeps Mikel Arteta’s side firmly on course in their group and extends their unbeaten run at home in continental competition.
The Gunners looked set for a comfortable evening at the time of Martinelli’s goal but were made to work for the win by Olympiakos, who threatened an equaliser in a sometimes nervy second half.
David Raya was called upon several times in the second half to protect Arsenal’s lead, most notably producing a superb one-handed stop to deny Daniel Podence. That moment of brilliance underlined his growing importance in a game where Olympiakos gradually grew into the contest, despite Arsenal’s dominance in the opening 45 minutes.
Mikel Arteta made six changes from the side that edged Newcastle at the weekend, but the rotation had little impact on Arsenal’s early fluency, Viktor Gyökeres and Leandro Trossard both had opportunities to extend the advantage after Gabriel Martinelli’s opener, yet they failed to make them count.
Those missed chances gave Olympiakos encouragement, and they began to test Arsenal after the interval. Martin Ødegaard, influential throughout, saw a powerful effort turned away by goalkeeper Kostas Tzolakis, while Panagiotis Retsos produced a heroic block to frustrate the hosts further.
It wasn’t until stoppage time that Arsenal finally secured the result, Bukayo Saka, introduced as a second-half substitute, latched onto Ødegaard’s incisive pass and finished clinically through Tzolakis’ legs to make it 2-0.
The result, following a 2-0 win over Athletic Club in their opening group match, keeps Arsenal’s perfect Champions League record intact. Arteta’s side now sit fifth in the league phase standings, well inside the crucial top-eight qualification places, and look to be building real European momentum.
