Arsenal vs. Olympiacos: a Herculean task

Arsenal resumes its Europa League campaign today with a trip to Athens to take on Olympiacos in the Round of 32. The Greek side has a slim lead in the Super League, powered by a stingy defense that has only conceded 9 times in 24 matches. That the Gunners scored four at the weekend makes me feel slightly better heading into today, but I’m concerned that Arsenal will have trouble generating offense.

Mesut Ozil’s absence doesn’t help things; he did not travel with the team because his wife is giving birth soon. It does not appear that Lucas Torreira has made a miracle recovery and taken a last-minute flight to Athens, so the midfielder will miss out. Matteo Guendouzi, however, did travel with the team, and I expect him to play. Pablo Mari is available for selection as well.

Olympiacos is a tough place to play. The good old “draw away, win home” strategy would more than suffice for the Gunners. And feel free to suggest some other mythology references I could have used in the headline. Hercules was the only one that came to mind on short notice.

Arsenal - Leno, Mustafi, Sokratis, David Luiz, Saka, Guendouzi, Xhaka, Martinelli, Willock, Aubameyang, Lacazette

Olympiacos - Sa, Ba, Semedo, Tsimikas, Elabdellaoui, Bouchalakis, Camara, Guilherme, Valbuena, Masouras, El Arabi

WHAT: Arsenal at Olympiacos
WHERE: Karaiskakis Stadium, Piraeus, Greece
WHEN: Thursday, February 20th 12 PM PT | 3 PM ET | 8 PM BST
US TV: Galavision (SP). Streaming on B/R Live ($$$).

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