Olympiakos vs. Arsenal: Key Takeaways from Arsene Wenger's Pre-Match Presser

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger was in a confident mood on Tuesday ahead of his team's all-important Champions League clash with Olympiakos on Wednesday, telling reporters he plans on attacking the Greeks early and that there will be just as much pressure on the hosts as there is on the Gunners.  

Wenger used a metaphor involving hurdles to describe why his team should only focus on the task at hand, per the Daily Mirror's Joe Mewis. The Daily Mirror's official Twitter account shared the full quote:

Arsenal have to beat Olympiakos to have any chance of advancing to the knockout stage of the UEFA Champions League, something they've managed to do in 15 consecutive years. Due to the Greeks' 3-2 win in north London, the Gunners will have to win by any score except 1-0 or 2-1.

On paper, the Gunners have the quality to pull off such a feat, although it's worth noting Olympiakos have won every match they've played in since August, except their two meetings with Bayern Munich, per WhoScored.com.

Wenger hopes their strong form and the fact the hosts are in pole position to qualify will actually work against them, per James Olley of the London Evening Standard:

The French manager praised Olympiakos, calling them a “well-organised “squad and hailing their confidence, per Mewis. But he also talked about Arsenal's wealth of experience in Europe and last year's disappointing exit at the hands of AS Monaco:

"

We have a history of positive results, we have won everywhere in Europe and we know we can do it.

We just want to focus on a top quality performance.

[on Monaco] We can learn from that. The game we played was very positive, maybe we rushed it in the last ten minutes. That’s what we can learn.

I believed we played quite well in that game.

"

The Gunners traveled to Monaco in a similar―and even worse―position last year, having lost the first leg of their match 3-1 at the Emirates. Arsenal played with confidence and few worries in Monaco and quickly took a two-goal lead, but the team ultimately fell one goal short of the mark.

A similar approach should be in store for Wednesday. Olympiakos have a very solid team and plenty of attacking talent in the form of Kostas Fortounis and Brown Ideye, but the Gunners have no choice but to attack.

If Arsenal are successful and manage to advance to the next round, Wenger warns his side will be a force to be reckoned with, per BBC Sport's Steven Canavan and Phil Dawkes:

"

If we get through we will be dangerous for sure. You only have to look at the numbers in the group stage so far. We played with 10 men against Zagreb, we scored an own goal in our first home game, we have had 70% possession in every game.

There are three super favourites. Anyone who goes through will have to chase them.

"

While Olympiakos are definitely the favourites to advance, Arsenal showed last year they can score goals in a hurry against the best defensive teams. The key on Wednesday will be to stop Olympiakos from scoring themselves, and for that, Wenger will need his midfielders to be at their best.

Dominating possession and pushing forward will be the Gunners' best chance. All they need is a two-goal win to advance.

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