Alexandre Lacazette fired in his eighth goal of the season
Alexandre Lacazette scored what could prove to be a crucial away goal as Arsenal beat Olympiakos in the first leg of their Europa League last-32 tie.
The match was heading towards a drab goalless draw when the Frenchman tucked in Bukayo Saka's low cross from close range in the 81st minute.
Lacazette, who had struggled before the goal, missed with a shot from eight yards in the first half.
Youssef El-Arabi forced a good save from Arsenal goalkeeper Bernd Leno.
The return leg is at Emirates Stadium on Thursday, 27 February.
- Reaction to Arsenal's win
Perseverance pays off for Lacazette
Arsenal's best period of the match came after Lacazette's goal, the previous 81 minutes were largely forgettable.
It was a contest that meandered at times on a wet night in Athens. Both sides did enjoy bright spells, but they were brief and very occasional.
The Gunners without Mesut Ozil, missing because of personal reasons, lacked someone to conduct the attack, which at times played like they had met each other for the first time.
Perhaps if manager Mikel Arteta slotted Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang - the club's top scorer with 17 goals this season - in the middle of the attack instead of the right might have aided Arsenal's cause.
Instead Lacazette took up that role. The Frenchman ended a nine-game goal drought against Newcastle last weekend - but that strike came late in stoppage time after the Magpies had given up the ghost shortly after the break.
Despite scoring the winner, the 28-year-old still lacks sharpness and should have scored in the first half when he hooked a shot wide from eight yards after a brilliant cut-back from Gabriel Martinelli.
And in the second half, the France striker went down too easily in the area under the challenge of Ousseynou Ba, when 'peak Lacazette' would have taken the ball on and unleashed a shot.
But Arteta persevered with him and he persevered. With nine minutes remaining Lacazette made it two goals in two games when he tapped in a carefully weighted ball from Saka, who was one of the brighter sparks in the Arsenal attack.
Moments after the restart Lacazette, with his tail up, forced a good save from Jose Sa with a firm strike before Sokratis planted a powerful header against the bar.
If Olympiakos repeat their display at the Emirates Stadium then this one-goal aggregate lead should be enough.
More to follow.
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Line-ups
Match Stats
Live Text
Line-ups
Olympiakos
1Malheiro de Sá
14Elabdellaoui
3Borges SemedoBooked at 26mins
24BaBooked at 90mins
21Tsimikas
5BouchalakisBooked at 50minsSubstituted forFortounisat 65'minutes
8dos Santos Torres
4Camara
19MasourasSubstituted forLoveraat 75'minutes
11El-ArabiBooked at 19mins
28Valbuena
Substitutes
7Fortounis
16Allain
22Lovera
34Papadopoulos
66Cissé
76Boialvo Gaspar
97Randjelovic
Arsenal
1Leno
5PapastathopoulosSubstituted forMaitland-Nilesat 90+2'minutes
20MustafiBooked at 71mins
23David Luiz
77Saka
29Guendouzi
34XhakaBooked at 83mins
14Aubameyang
28WillockSubstituted forPépéat 75'minutes
35MartinelliSubstituted forCeballosat 58'minutes
9Lacazette
Substitutes
8Ceballos
15Maitland-Niles
16Holding
19Pépé
26Martínez
30Nketiah
31Kolasinac
Referee:
Felix Zwayer
Match Stats
Home TeamOlympiakosAway TeamArsenal
Possession
Home51%
Away49%
Shots
Home10
Away12
Shots on Target
Home2
Away3
Corners
Home6
Away3
Fouls
Home11
Away14
Live Text
Posted at
Match ends, Olympiakos 0, Arsenal 1.
Full TimePosted at 90'+6'
Second Half ends, Olympiakos 0, Arsenal 1.
Posted at 90'+6'
Foul by Nicolas Pépé (Arsenal).
Posted at 90'+6'
Konstantinos Tsimikas (Olympiakos) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
SubstitutionPosted at 90'+2'
Substitution, Arsenal. Ainsley Maitland-Niles replaces Sokratis because of an injury.
BookingPosted at 90'+1'
Ousseynou Ba (Olympiakos) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
Posted at 90'+1'
Alexandre Lacazette (Arsenal) wins a free kick on the right wing.
Posted at 90'+1'
Foul by Ousseynou Ba (Olympiakos).
Posted at 86'
Attempt missed. Shkodran Mustafi (Arsenal) header from the centre of the box is close, but misses to the right following a corner.
Posted at 86'
Sokratis (Arsenal) hits the bar with a header from the centre of the box. Assisted by Dani Ceballos with a cross following a corner.
Posted at 85'
Corner, Arsenal. Conceded by José Sá.
Posted at 85'
Attempt saved. Alexandre Lacazette (Arsenal) right footed shot from the centre of the box is saved in the bottom left corner. Assisted by Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.
Posted at 84'
Corner, Olympiakos. Conceded by Matteo Guendouzi.
BookingPosted at 83'
Granit Xhaka (Arsenal) is shown the yellow card.
Posted at 83'
Mathieu Valbuena (Olympiakos) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Posted at 83'
Foul by Granit Xhaka (Arsenal).
Goal!Posted at 81'
Goal! Olympiakos 0, Arsenal 1. Alexandre Lacazette (Arsenal) right footed shot from very close range to the bottom left corner. Assisted by Bukayo Saka.
Posted at 80'
Attempt missed. Konstantinos Fortounis (Olympiakos) left footed shot from outside the box misses to the right. Assisted by Mathieu Valbuena.
Posted at 80'
Corner, Olympiakos. Conceded by David Luiz.
Posted at 80'
Attempt blocked. Maximiliano Lovera (Olympiakos) right footed shot from outside the box is blocked. Assisted by Guilherme.
Posted at 79'
Attempt missed. Mohamed Camara (Olympiakos) right footed shot from outside the box misses to the right following a corner.
Posted at 79'
Corner, Olympiakos. Conceded by David Luiz.
Posted at 78'
Foul by Konstantinos Tsimikas (Olympiakos).
Posted at 78'
Nicolas Pépé (Arsenal) wins a free kick on the right wing.
Posted at 77'
Konstantinos Fortounis (Olympiakos) wins a free kick on the left wing.
Posted at 77'
Foul by Dani Ceballos (Arsenal).
Posted at 76'
Attempt blocked. Dani Ceballos (Arsenal) right footed shot from outside the box is blocked. Assisted by Granit Xhaka.
SubstitutionPosted at 75'
Substitution, Olympiakos. Maximiliano Lovera replaces Giorgos Masouras.
SubstitutionPosted at 75'
Substitution, Arsenal. Nicolas Pépé replaces Joseph Willock.
Posted at 74'
Foul by Youssef El-Arabi (Olympiakos).
Posted at 74'
Bernd Leno (Arsenal) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Posted at 74'
Attempt saved. Mathieu Valbuena (Olympiakos) right footed shot from outside the box is saved in the bottom left corner.
Posted at 73'
Mohamed Camara (Olympiakos) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Posted at 73'
Foul by Alexandre Lacazette (Arsenal).
Posted at 73'
Corner, Olympiakos. Conceded by Matteo Guendouzi.
Posted at 72'
Offside, Olympiakos. Mathieu Valbuena tries a through ball, but Ousseynou Ba is caught offside.
BookingPosted at 71'
Shkodran Mustafi (Arsenal) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
Posted at 71'
Youssef El-Arabi (Olympiakos) wins a free kick on the left wing.
Posted at 71'
Foul by Shkodran Mustafi (Arsenal).
Posted at 68'
Offside, Arsenal. Bernd Leno tries a through ball, but Alexandre Lacazette is caught offside.
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Source: bbc.com