Preview: Arsenal v Olympiacos

Champions League football returns to Emirates Stadium on Wednesday (8pm UK) when a familiar foe in Olympiacos return to north London - the 13th meeting between the sides in the last 16 years.

After recording a fine 2-0 win in Bilbao on matchday one, we go searching for back-to-back victories to kick off the eight-game league phase in style, and we tend to rise for the occasion on big European nights like this in N5, winning 14 of our previous 15 home Champions League openers.

However that lone defeat did come against the Greek giants in 2015, who have triumphed in N5 on each of their last three visits, our longest losing run against a specific opponent on home soil in major European competition. Mikel Arteta will be hoping to change that narrative as we look to ride the momentum gained from Sunday’s late win at Newcastle United.

Back on top

A 19th league and cup double last term saw the Greek giants qualify for the Champions League for the first time since 2020/21, and their first match back saw them play out a 0-0 at home to competition debutants Pafos, despite the Cypriot side being forced to play the majority of the game with 10 men.

Domestically, Olympiacos are unbeaten and back in the familiar territory of first place in the Super League. The Greek side have won four of the first five games, with a 1-1 draw against rivals Panathinaikos the only blemish on an otherwise perfect start, although they needed a 96th-minute winner to beat Levadiakos at home on their last outing, with Chiquinho grabbing the last-gasp goal.

While they are traditionally poor travellers in the Champions League, the Red and Whites have won two of their last three away games against English sides - against us at in March 2021 and a 4-2 win at Aston Villa in May 2024 - as many as they managed in their first 17 games in England.

What the managers say

Arteta: "We have the same ambition which is to go game by game and try to be better than the opponent, which is very difficult in this competition, and win as many games as we can. Tomorrow we're going to have a really difficult one, we know how important the home form is going to be to reach where we want, and tomorrow we have the opportunity to start well.

"They have a really good side, and they have a really, really good manager, which I know since I was 13 because he was my coach at that period, and I know how he works, I know how efficient he is in what he does. That's why I'm saying that tomorrow is going to be a really tough match." - every word from Mikel’s pre-match press conference

Mendilibar: "We must be courageous against such a strong opponent. Even when you’re well prepared, sometimes the pressure makes it difficult to respond. But there’s a difference between Arsenal pushing us back and us not even trying to play our game. I hope it won’t be the latter – we need to play with bravery and keep doing what Olympiacos have done since I’ve been here.

"We can’t lose our heads. We need to stay calm. If all we do is focus on how good the opponent is, then we might as well have stayed in Piraeus. It would be risky to change our style because we wouldn’t know how to do it properly. So, we’ll stick to what we know best."

Team news

Martin Odegaard returned to action at Newcastle on Sunday and laid on both our goals, so could be fit enough to feature again.

Summer signings Piero Hincapie and Noni Madueke remain out, while Kai Havertz and Gabriel Jesus continue to be sidelined with their knee injuries.

First-choice goalkeeper Konstantinos Tzolakis is available again for Olympiacos as he was suspended for the Pafos match after being dismissed in their last Europa League match of 2024/25, while midfielder Santiago Hezze, who had missed the past two games, has also travelled.

Ukrainian striker Roman Yaremchuk, who chipped in with 10 goals last term, has been out all season so far with a calf issue, and right-back Rodinei is also unavailable having struggled with injury of late.

Talking tactics

Adrian Clarke, writing in the official matchday programme: The Greek champions usually line up in a traditional 4-2-3-1, while out of possession they will slip back into a compact 4-5-1 that’s hard to break down.

Their full-backs are instructed to advance on the overlap and when Olympiacos do fly forward, they use the full width to create 2v1 overloads on the flanks before whipping crosses into the box, with Francisco Ortega [above] and ex-Wolves man Daniel Podence usually combining well together on the left.

This squad is packed with experienced players - five of their starting XI against Pafos were over 30, in a squad containing 10 players who are at least that age. Despite this, Olympiacos are exceptionally strong late on in matches - all 10 of their league goals this term have come in the second half, and seven in the final 15 minutes.

They did labour a little against Pafos, registering just three shots on target despite playing against 10 men for over 65 minutes. They are a strong outfit but sometimes lack guile and creativity.

Facts and stats

We have kept a clean sheet in nine of our last 12 home matches in the Champions League. Indeed, since the start of the 2023/24 campaign, we have the most shutouts in home games of any side in the competition (9).

Olympiacos have lost their last 10 away games in the Champions League by an aggregate score of 28-6. They have won just 11% of their away matches in competition, the worst win percentage of any side with 50+ away games

Olympiacos have won four of their last five games against English sides in Europe (L1), beating us, West Ham United and Aston Villa (twice) in this run.

We have won each of our last five games in the group/league phase of the Champions League, our longest such run since winning six in a row between December 2004 and November 2005.

Olympiacos have only scored one goal in their last six Champions League matches, despite attempting 51 shots across those outings and hitting the target 11 times.

Among teams that have been involved in the last two editions of the Champions League, we have conceded fewer goals per game than any other team (0.72 – 18 in 25 games). Indeed, we also have the lowest average expected goals conceded (0.9).

Ayoub El Kaabi has scored 21 goals in 24 appearances in major European competition for Olympiacos, including six in his last seven away games and a hat-trick at Aston Villa in May 2024 in the Conference League.

Match officials

Frenchman Francois Letexier makes his Emirates Stadium bow, having previously refereed our victory against Real Madrid at the Bernabeu back in April. His first Champions League match this season saw him oversee Juventus’ dramatic 4-4 draw with Borussia Dortmund, when he awarded one penalty.

He has been overseeing top-flight matches in his homeland since 2016 before being added to the FIFA list a year later. He has presided over plenty of big matches, including the final of Euro 2024 when Spain beat England.

Referee: Francois Letexier (FRA)

Assistants: Cyril Mugnier, Mehdi Rahmouni (FRA)

Fourth official: Eric Wattellier (FRA)

VAR: Soren Storks (GER)

Assistant VAR: Ivan Bebek (CRO)

Previous meetings

We need no introduction to our Greek opponents, having faced Thrylos 12 times down the years, and both sides have six wins apiece. We were first paired in the Champions League group stages in 2009/10, while we last met in the competition in 2015/16 on a memorable night.

Having lost 3-2 in the home fixture, only a win by two clear goals in the away match would send us through to the round of 16. Up stepped Olivier Giroud, whose stunning hat-trick gave us a famous 3-0 win in Athens.

Under Arteta, the Greek side knocked us out of the Europa League in 2019/20 before we exacted revenge a season later. The first leg of our round of 16 clash in 2021 was a significant one for Odegaard, who lashed in his maiden goal in Arsenal red before Gabriel's towering header and a piledriver from Mohamed Elneny gave us a 3-1 first-leg lead, enough to steer us into the quarter-finals.

Live coverage

Get ready for another big European game by logging onto Arsenal.com and the official app for Live From N5, starting from 75 minutes before kick-off in north London.

Nicole Holliday and Jeremie Aliadiere will be joined by Gunners legend Nigel Winterburn and Love Island's Gio Russo, brother of our very own Alessia, while Frimmy and Adrian Clarke will pitchside, looking back at Sunday's big win and breaking down everything you need to know about Olympiacos

Our latest Hero of the Week will be picked while Nicole and Jeremie battle it out to have their Emirates moment inducted to the Live from N5 Hall of Fame, and when the action gets underway, Adrian will be assisting Dan Roebuck on commentary duties.

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