Arsenal are either extremely confident in their fringe players' ability to defeat Olympiakos, or they're not terribly concerned about the difference between a first or second seed in the Champions League knockout stage. A few choice starters are in their team -- Thomas Vermaelen is the most notable -- but this is more or less a classic Arsene Wenger League Cup side. Olympiakos are taking the game slightly more, but not much more seriously.
Olympiakos vs. Arsenal: Lineups
Olympiakos starting lineup (4-3-3): Roy Carroll; Francois Modesto, Pablo Contreras, Kostas Manolas, Vasilis Torosidis; Drissa Diakite, Ljubomir Fesja, Leandro Greco; Pablo Machado, Rafik Djebbour, Djamel Abdoun
Arsenal starting lineup (4-2-3-1): Wojciech Szczesny; Jernade Meade, Thomas Vermaelen, Sebastian Squillaci, Carl Jenkinson; Francis Coquelin, Aaron Ramsey; Gervinho, Tomas Rosicky, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain; Marouane Chamakh
That is a less than inspiring Arsenal team. But, hey, maybe 20-year-old debutant Jernane Meade is a superstar in the making! Because guys who don’t make their pro debuts until they’re 20 are always going to be amazing!
In five years, when Jernade Meade is the English Roberto Carlos, someone is going to pull this post up and mock me.
See More:
