Arsenal flattered to deceive against Olympiakos, but got three important points anyway at the Emirates despite fielding a team which half of the people reading this article could have cracked. Robin van Persie and Aaron Ramsey were rested, going along with a slate of injuries throughout important areas of the pitch, leaving the Gunners shorthanded more or less everwhere.
Arsenal Vs. Olympiakos, 2011 UEFA Champions League: Gunners Unconvincing In 2-1 Win
That didn't make much of a difference in the early going - Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain got the hosts off to a great start when he fizzed the ball past Franco Costanzo following a jaunty run through the Greek defence to put them 1-0 up, and then Andre Santos added another when he picked up a rebounded shot and buried it for Arsenal's second. The Santos goal came mere moments after Mikel Arteta was forced into a goalline clearance, and it was probably against the run of play to boot.
Olympiakos were menacing throughout and finally got the goal their play deserved when Arsenal went to sleep and David Fuster was able to nod in following a corner, and the rest of the match was more of the same. The Greeks came very close to evening up the scores in the second half when Vasilis Torosidis hammered a shot against the crossbar, but despite an enterprising display, the visitors couldn't beat Wojciech Szczesny again and ended up suffering a 2-1 loss.
It’s good news for Arsenal, who find themselves in second place in Group F following Borussia Dortmund’s surprise demolition at the hands of Marseille. It’s difficult to draw any conclusions about their play going forward in a match that featured about half a starting player - they’re not going to win anything playing like they did today, but they’lre also not going to field the same team as they did today, so hey.
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