Pain in the Arsenal
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Arsenal Vs Olympiakos: 5 things we learned – Oh dear, oh dear

By Andrew Dowdeswell

Arsenal, Mikel Arteta (Photo by Roland Krivec/DeFodi Images via Getty Images)
Arsenal, Mikel Arteta (Photo by Roland Krivec/DeFodi Images via Getty Images) /
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LONDON, ENGLAND – FEBRUARY 27: Pape Abou Cisse of Olympiacos FC scores his team’s first goal during the UEFA Europa League round of 32 second leg match between Arsenal FC and Olympiacos FC at Emirates Stadium on February 27, 2020 in London, United Kingdom. (Photo by Julian Finney/Getty Images)
LONDON, ENGLAND – FEBRUARY 27: Pape Abou Cisse of Olympiacos FC scores his team’s first goal during the UEFA Europa League round of 32 second leg match between Arsenal FC and Olympiacos FC at Emirates Stadium on February 27, 2020 in London, United Kingdom. (Photo by Julian Finney/Getty Images) /

2. Leaky defence must be fixed

Like against Everton at the weekend, Arsenal conceded two horrendous goals. Unlike against Everton, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang could not rescue them.

The first came directly from a corner. The blame is almost entirely Mesut Ozil’s. Arsenal employ a zonal marking scheme with blockers on the penalty spot to prevent opposing players from having a free run to attack the ball. Ozil was meant to block Pape Cisse. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang was the other blocker and he does his job, slowing down the Olympiakos player. Ozil simply stands, watches, lets Cisse run free, and after a slight flick at the near post takes the ball away from Shkodran Mustafi’s head, nothing could be done.

The second goal was not much better. Arsenal cleared the initial corner relatively well, but when it came to resetting to deal with the ensuing cross, David Luiz got his bearings all wrong, letting the ball him, while Sokratis was caught daydreaming, allowing Youssef El-Arabi to sneak in front of him and prod home the finish. Like always, simple defensive errors have cost Arsenal. They will not win anything until they fix the leaky defence, and it starts with new personnel.