The Champions League has been a brutally bumpy ride for Arsenal this year. Despite the high of their victory over Bayern at home early on in the group stage, the gut-wrenching lows of their losses at home to Olympiacos and away to Dinamo Zagreb have left them in a precarious situation. They're in third place in their group heading into this last match, an away tilt with Olympiacos in Greece, and a win might not be enough to see them through to the Champions League knockout rounds — only fairly specific wins will do.
Arsenal vs. Olympiacos, Champions League 2015: Time, TV schedule and team news
Arsenal are in a desperate situation in their attempt to qualify for the Champions League knockout rounds, as not even a win is a guarantee of advancement.
While Olympiacos manager Marco Silva says that his team will be playing to win, the Greeks can actually afford to lose as long as the scoreline plays to their favor. Thanks to the admittedly rather convoluted UEFA tiebreaker rules, if Arsenal win 1-0 or 2-1, they’ll still be in third place, and banished to the doldrums of the Europa League. Arsenal have to win by at least two goals, or any win in which they score at least three goals. That could wind up being a tall task given Arsenal’s injury crisis, including the absence of key attacker Alexis Sanchez — especially doing so away from home, where the Gunners have failed to get even a draw in the Champions League this season.
Key player — Aaron Ramsey (Arsenal)
Ramsey has been a vital cog for Arsenal all season long, but lately he’s been more important than ever. He’s dropped into a deeper role in their midfield out of need, but his ability to support and drive the attack will be key to this match since Arsenal need to win by multiple goals. Of course, that same need means that he’s going to need to be driving back just as hard to help shield the defense — and given Ramsey’s heavy usage this season and injury history, Arsenal fans will be holding their breath every time he pulls up short or hits the turf. If he struggles under the workload or breaks down and has to leave the match, it’s going to make Arsenal’s job much harder.
Key matchup — Konstantinos Fortounis (Olympiacos) vs. Mathieu Flamini (Arsenal)
Fortounis is in a wonderful vein of goal-scoring form for Olympiacos in the Greek Superleague right now, though he has yet to break his Champions League duck. This match would be an excellent time for him to get that first European goal, as any draw or a win are the best results for his team. Arsenal’s best way of taking away Olympiacos’ biggest attacking weapon will be Flamini, but his wildly inconsistent form this season will have Arsene Wenger and Arsenal fans nervous. If he can’t shut down or at least slow down Fortounis, that may be game over for the Gunners in the Champions League.
Olympiacos injuries and suspensions
Out: Andreas Bouchalakis In doubt: Manuel Da Costa, Giannis Maniatis
Arsenal injuries and suspensions
Out: Mikel Arteta, Santi Cazorla, Francis Coquelin, Tomas Rosicky, Alexis Sanchez, Danny Welbeck, Jack Wilshere
Arsenal are in another full-blown injury crisis, this one leaving them with their midfield depth absolutely shattered. Right now their central midfield is injury-prone Aaron Ramsey, aging and inconsistent Mathieu Flamini and a very out of position Calum Chambers as their backup. That’s decidedly less than ideal.
Match Date/Time: Wednesday, 2:45 p.m. ET, 8:45 p.m. local
Venue: Stadio Georgios Karaiskáki, Pireás, Greece
TV: Fox Sports 2 (U.S.), OTE Sport 2, NERITsports (Greece), BT Sport Europe (U.K.)
Online: Fox Soccer 2 Go, Fox Sports Go (U.S.), BT Sport Live Streaming (U.K.)
See More:
