Arsenal Vs Olympiakos Full Match Highlights And Videos

Arsenal took care of business in dominating fashion in Olympiakos house. Here is a full recap of the match including videos of all the goals.

Enough hype had been spewed about this match in the pregame talk, so we will skip all of the build up and jump right into the play-by-play summary of the action.

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• 0′ – The whistle blows! Let’s do this!
• 1′ – Olympiakos on the attack but the shot is fired far too high.
• 5′ – Flamini goes down to tie his shoe.
• 7′ – Mertesacker gracefully falls down.
• 8′ – Yellow Card to Fortounis for flopping. Justice. Although the defense by Walcott begs to be questioned.
• 12′ – Olympiakos in on goal after Mertesacker’s sketchy defending. Luckily, the probing cross finds no one.
• 14′ – Olympiakos in on goal again but another cross falls harmlessly.
• 15′ – Fantastic saving tackle from Ramsey just in front of the box after Bellerin gave the ball away carelessly.
• 17′ – Ramsey undoes his fantastic tackle with an awful tackle and earns a yellow card.
• 20′ – Olympiakos attacking in force. Ball falls to Seba who tries to curl the ball into the far corner but it’s too high.
• 21′ – Kasami takes a long shot that goes so wide, it’s out for a throw. Think about that for a second.
• 24′ – Beautiful run from Campbell as the Costa Rican sends in a ball for Flamini. It hits the crossbar as well as the hearts of Arsenal fans everywhere.
• 24′ – The attack continues but Giroud’s header finds the arms of Roberto.
• 29′ – GOAL. Aaron Ramsey sends in a beautiful cross after Ozil springs his run and Giroud heads it in, near post. 1-0.
• 31′ – Clever screen play by the referee notches the Greeks a corner. That corner leads to a wide header.
• 36′ – This referee likes his whistle.
• 37′ – Theo Walcott sets himself up for a good shot but he drags it wide.
• 38′ – Cech deals with a blooper, no harm done.
• 39′ – Near disaster as Koscielny narrowly misses an own goal. Strangely enough, it saved a goal.
• 41′ – Masuaku fires from medium range but Cech has no problems tucking it away.
• 42′ – Ramsey puts an excellent tackle on Theo Walcott to stop the Arsenal attack.

HALF-TIME and Arsenal is half way to glory.

• 45′ – Here we go…
• 46′ – Olympiakos waste no time. A cross looks to cause problems but Mertesacker is there to head away.
• 47′ – Corner kick calls for a punch from Petr Cech.
• 48′ – Giroud has rolled his ankle. Has to step to the touch line. No good. The Ox is getting ready.
• 49′ – GOAL. The only thing Giroud has hurt is the pride of Greece. Another classic finish. Joel Campbell found him masterfully. 2-0.
• 51′ – Olympiakos looks to strike back as a Costa header finds its way to Cech’s arms.
• 54′ – Koscielny does his best Diego Costa impression as he tries to rip out Pardo’s eyeball. Foul on Pardo.
• 55′ – Joel Campbell continues to impress as his cross finds Walcott, who fires wide.
• 57′ – Masterful save from Cech on Fortounis to keep Arsenal where they need to be.
• 61′ – Pardo wants a foul, but the fact of the matter is that Boscielny just reminded him who the boss is.
• 62′ – Olympiakos were clear on goal but slipped all over themselves.
• 62′ – Pardo is on the ground again despite not being touched. He is writhing as if his foot was just stabbed through by a serrated spear. Giroud looks ready to actually inflict pain on him after receiving a ridiculous yellow card. Shame on you Pardo. Shame on you.
• 64′ – Kasami fires another from distance but Cech was there to stop it.
• 65′- Handball in the area. Penalty for Arsenal!
• 66′ – GOAL! The goal that secures it. Hat trick for Giroud as he puts the penalty away. 3-0.
• 80′ – Been celebrating for 15 minutes. Hopefully I did not miss much.
• 81′ – Ozil rips in a free kick off. Requires a double fist from Roberto.
• 89′ – A cute little attack by the Greeks is snuffed out by Cech, who taps it over the bar.

Arsenal came out looking quite desperate for that first goal. It left them susceptible at times but the Greeks continued to misfire and gave Cech no reason for concern. After a near goal from Arsenal that hit the post and then found Roberto’s arms, the break through came.

The goal that broke the ice for Arsenal came in the 28th minute between the trifecta that has to drive this team. Mesut Ozil found Ramsey, whose cross found Giroud’s head. It looked like this:

"Giroud’s header sneaks in at the near post, but Arsenal still with some work to do. WATCH #UCLonFOX https://t.co/UFNp5DUmq9— FOX Soccer (@FOXSoccer) December 9, 2015"

For another angle, let’s look at the goal map (via the

Daily Mail

):

Splendid. Arsenal made it to half time with half of the work done. Arsenal came out at half having to defend a fierce Greek attack, but they did that masterfully. So well in fact, that they sprung on the attack and nabbed another via the foot of Olivier Giroud in the 49th minute to push Arsenal into position to advance. Here’s how it looked.

"Joel Campbell and Giroud combine to give Arsenal a 2-0 lead at Olympiakos. WATCH: #UCLonFOX https://t.co/L1f7Hvs5TR — FOX Soccer (@FOXSoccer) December 9, 2015"

Arsenal still had work to do in order to ensure advance, but that work was made easier when Olympiakos were called for a handball in the box. Giroud stepped up to take the penalty. And then this happened:

"Giroud keeps his cool from the spot to complete his hat trick, and give Arsenal a 3-0 lead at Olympiakos. #UCLonFOX https://t.co/c5A2fIEgbe— FOX Soccer (@FOXSoccer) December 9, 2015"

Just like that, Arsenal was all but guaranteed an advance into the knockout stages. All they had to do was not give up three goals in the last twenty five minutes. A hat trick from Olivier Giroud, a brilliant display from Mesut Ozil and Aaron Ramsey and a huge statement match from Joel Campbell helped Arsenal forget that they even needed Alexis on the pitch.

Next: Why Ozil Needs Ramsey

This was not a friendly situation to play in, yet Arsenal handled it with absolute maturity and dominance. Again, backed into a corner, this team knows how to win. No Alexis, no Francis Coquelin and no Santi Cazorla was no problem. This club is still imbued with so much quality that it is near impossible to stop them when they need a result.