This was a lesson Arsenal had to learn eventually but it could not have come at a more costly moment. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang has spent two years bailing out sluggish performances and embodying a model of consistency in a team that has shown none. He seemed to have done it yet again, with the stakes perhaps higher than ever, when he arched his back and cracked in a breathtaking overhead volley seven minutes from the end of extra time, restoring their aggregate lead with his first significant involvement of the game. But then came two stark, devastating reminders that Mikel Arteta’s rebuilding job has barely scratched the surface.
Olympiakos would, on this showing, have been unfortunate not to reach the last 16 and they received one last chance to load the Arsenal box when Bernd Leno conceded a corner under little pressure. There followed an object lesson, and not the night’s first, in how not to defend after a set piece: although the initial cross was cut out by Gabriel Martinelli, he could not get out quickly enough to prevent Giorgos Masouras having another go and from there the die was cast. (Text courtesy The Guardian)