Positives and negatives as Arsenal beat Olympiacos 2-0 in the Champions League

Arsenal kept their 100% Champions League record intact on Wednesday night as they beat Olympiacos 2-0 at Emirates Stadium.

It was a dominant start for the home team and they should have gone in front after just 90 seconds; fabulous build-up play soon led to a cross towards Gabriel Martinelli but the Brazil star inexplicably headed wide from point-blank range.

Granted, he did make amends ten minutes later. His second chance bore none of the style of the first yet it still featured a great show of strength by Viktor Gyokeres, whose shot – following a hard-fought tussle with the away defenders – squirmed onto the post and Martinelli was there to turn it in from a yard out.

The Greeks did show signs of life though and almost drew level on 20 minutes, when Daniel Podence sent a brilliant first-time volley goalward only to be denied by a truly outstanding save from Gunners’ goalkeeper David Raya.

All the positives and negatives as Arsenal defeat Olympiacos 2-0 in the Champions League    

Olympiacos grew into the match and, in the end, it was Arsenal who needed to hold on until Bukayo Saka made sure of the points in second-half stoppage time, his tame shot somehow squeezing past Konstantinos Tzolakis in goal.

It ultimately proved to be a triumphant night for Arsenal, and here are three positives and negatives from their latest European win.

Positive #1: Clear adaptation to Gabriel Heinze

All part of the new, ‘handbrake-off’ outlook at Arsenal.

The Gunners swapped Carlos Cuesta for Gabriel Heinze last summer and, with it, they also brought an expectation that a more direct brand of football would be instilled at N5 – welcome news given the generally ponderous ‘attack’ of the team in recent times.

This match indicates the message is getting through.

From the very start, Arsenal posed a threat to the Olympiacos backline and played several passes in behind them. It did not always come off and it even frustrated at times as everything seemed a little rushed, but the initiative shown was encouraging and the opening goal arrived as a consequence of that ‘directness’ on 12 minutes.

Arteta sides often ‘probe’ and ‘dominate’ without really testing the opposition, so to see the team be this front-footed signals a quick adaptation to Heinze and his methods – just another string which the boss can add to his bow.

You would think that being able to play in so many different ways – possession based, direct, in a low block – will lead to success…

Negative #1: Mixed night for Gabriel Martinelli

He can frustrate and delight in equal measure.

Martinelli is in good form (got the equaliser versus Manchester City and the first goal against Athletic Club on UCL Matchday 1) and he broke the deadlock here with a simple effort, showing alertness to follow up on the rebound.

But boy can he vex too. That opener came after a truly awful miss earlier while he also failed to make the most of a fantastic counter-attacking opportunity later, choosing to take on the defender in a foot race when Gyokeres was completely free in the middle.

In fairness, he did show lots of endeavour and there were plenty of bright moments to pick out from his performance. But the wastefulness on display is a common feature whenever he steps out on the pitch and it could prove costly at key moments this season.

Still, kudos for being the match-winner here.

Positive #2: Martin Odegaard shines bright

The captain has faced criticism ever since his return from injury last year but, in midweek, he seemed back to his very best.

Things got scrappy as the game wore on yet Martin Odegaard’s influence never waned when Arsenal got possession. He ran the show via deft flicks, turns and many brilliant passes to set his teammates on their way, while an assist for Bukayo Saka – albeit helped by dodgy goalkeeping – formed the late cherry on the cake for captain and team alike.

Arteta has sparked much debate with his midfield pickings this year and mixed form in 2024/25 saw fans question the role of Odegaard in it. However, he made a strong claim for a first-team berth here and proved his importance to this group.

If he keeps it up over the coming winter period, then things could get quite scary for the rest of the league.

Negative #2: Failure to settle the tie

Perhaps the biggest reason to cut Martinelli some slack.

For all his wastefulness up top, those around him did not exactly play their part in putting the game to bed either.

Arsenal flew out of the blocks but, on occasion, Olympiacos found joy themselves and the home side spent much of the second half simply hanging on – a late Chiquinho strike (ruled out for offside) had hearts in mouths for a brief moment.

And when they did get the chance, the Gunners simply could not finish. Leandro Trossard, Odegaard and Gyokeres all had sights of goal only to be thwarted by indecision or last-ditch tackles and it was not until a stoppage-time goal by Saka that fans could truly relax.

Credit to Olympiacos for making life difficult. However, Arsenal could have been more clinical in front of goal themselves and, ultimately, they were quite fortunate that their misgivings did not come back to haunt them.

Onwards and upwards I suppose.

Positive #3: Six points from six

You cannot ask for much more than that.

Even if it was an uncomfortable watch at times, Arsenal did enough for the three points and it leaves them on maximum points after two games; a great position from which to claim a top-eight finish in the UCL League Phase.

It often takes a few weeks for teams to get up to speed after pre-season, so to be in a commanding position on three fronts already is fantastic in this ‘must-win’ campaign. The Gunners have laid down a marker to their rivals and this midweek win, with a much-changed team, suggests they are primed to go all the way.

Hopefully the road to progression will have fewer bumps than were felt on Wednesday, but getting the job done is what matters most and Arteta will take lots of encouragement from another hard-fought win, even if he had to sweat for it!

Negative #3: Gabriel injury

It would not be a proper Arsenal game if it did not feature an injury scare – the football gods did not disappoint.

And it came right in the middle of a sticky patch; the Gunners were hanging on and had just survived an offside scare minutes earlier when Gabriel went down, hurt during a collision with Raya when the Spaniard came to collect a cross.

Thankfully, the boss gave a positive update post-match, saying he thinks Gabriel is “going to be okay” and was subbed simply because he “did not want to take any risks”. But it threatened to further spoil an already tense evening and, given the other injury problems at the club, losing ‘Big Gabi’ would be the last thing Arteta needs.

Hopefully he will be able to start on Saturday (and worm his way out of international duty too!).