AFTV News

Arteta admits to having concerns following slow start in West Ham draw By Peter White If Thursday night’s Europa League clash against Olympiakos had set pulses racing among Gunners fans, Sunday’s dramatic draw at West Ham back on Premier League duty saw stress levels hit a new high.   Any suggestions that Arsenal should prioritise the continental competition had appeared to have got through to the starting XI in east London, who gifted the Hammers a 3-0 lead with little over half-an-hour gone.   Manchester United loanee Jesse Lingard - fresh from his England recall - put the hosts in front after just 15 minutes, before Jarrod Bowen and Tomas Soucek goals looked to have put the game to bed.   Defeat at the London Stadium would have opened up a ten-point gap between Arsenal and the fifth-placed Irons - and all but ended the Gunners’ hopes of qualifying for Europe through a top-six finish.   But Arsenal pulled one back before the break after Alexandr...

Arsenal must grasp Europa League opportunity with both hands following Slavia Prague draw By Jacob Newbury A place in Europe’s elite is still on offer for Mikel Arteta’s men. With aspirations of reaching the top four in the Premier League all but over, the UEFA Europa League still provides Arsenal with a realistic shot at returning to the crème de la crème of club competition. A quarter-final match-up against Slavia Prague is an enticing prospect, not least because the winners will face Dinamo Zagreb or Villarreal - not the strongest sides left in the draw. But avoiding Manchester United, Ajax and Roma in the quarter-finals and potentially the last four is fortunate - and Arsenal must capitalise. Of course, Slavia Prague should not be taken lightly. The Czech side have left Leicester City and Rangers in their tracks. But for Arsenal, the draw signals a real opportunity to reach a second UEFA Europa League final in three years. Arsenal faced Slavia Prague twice in the 2007/08 UEFA Champ...

How to approach tonight’s Europa League clash with Olympiakos By Jacob Newbury Usually the week following a big win over North London rivals Tottenham would be widely celebrated, but the fall out from Mikel Arteta dropping Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang still lingers in the air.  Nevertheless, the focus should be on perhaps the Gunners’ most important game of the season so far. While it is not the biggest, the significance is monumental. With top-four aspirations appearing bleak, the UEFA Europa League should be top of the boss’ priority list.  And with a handy 3-1 advantage over Olympiakos going into the second leg at the Emirates, it should be a relatively comfortable evening for Arsenal.  But underestimate the Greek side at your peril. Pedro Martins’ men are a massive 16 points clear in their domestic league and will be expected to throw the kitchen sink at tonight’s fixture. Arteta’s pre-match comments showed he is fully aware of the threats they carry.  "From what I'...

                                          The 3-1 victory over Olympiacos suggest Arsenal have exactly what it takes to secure Europa League success this season By Adam Le Roux Arsenal fans have been biding their time for a performance like the one against Olympiacos all season, but when it came along it was well worth the wait. Every single man stood up to be counted in Thursday night’s clash in Athens, with the 3-1 first-leg victory over the Greek side paving the way towards a place in the last eight of the Europa League. The intentions of the Gunners were obvious right from the first whistle at the Georgios Karaiskakis Stadium, as they flew out the blocks and laid siege to their opponents’ goal. When the chances weren’t being converted there would have been plenty of Arsenal fans casting their minds back to Turf Moor on Saturday, when Mikel Arteta’s side were made to pay for a num...

What Mikel Arteta needs to do for Arsenal to defeat Olympiacos in the Europa League  By Adam Le Roux Here we go again then. Arsenal are back in Europe and back in Athens, where they’ll be taking on familiar foes Olympiacos on Thursday. It sees a return to the Georgios Karaiskakis Stadium, where Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang dispatched the late winner against Benfica to fire the Gunners into the last 16, and Mikel Arteta will have his team primed for more of the same this time around. The Greek side will go into the fixture full of beans, having knocked Arsenal out in the knockout stages last season, with Gooners not needing reminding of Yousef El Arabi’s late strike at the Emirates to send the visitors through. But this is a new year and a new challenge, so what can we expect when the two teams tussle in Athens this week, and after the 1-1 draw with Burnley at the weekend, who will Arteta pick to start this one? Eyes on Europe, not Spurs As timing goes, this one couldn’t have been wors...

Olympiakos again! Can Arsenal get past the Greek giants this time? By Peter White So, there we have it. Arsenal remain in the hunt for 2020/21 Europa League glory, but they will have to get the better of last year’s foes Olympiakos if they are to progress to the quarter-finals, following Friday’s draw.  Having exited the competition at the hands of the Greek giants last season, the Gunners ensured they progressed at least one stage further this time around by getting the better of Portugal’s Benfica in the last 32, albeit in dramatic style.  Following a 1-1 first-leg draw in Rome’s Stadio Olimpico, skipper Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang put the Gunners on course for victory in the ‘home’ fixture, with a 21st-minute opener in the Karaiskakis Stadium in Athens.  Diogo Goncalves’ free-kick levelled terms once again and Rafa Silva put Benfica ahead with a crucial second away goal, leaving Mikel Arteta’s charges needing to find the net twice with less than half-an-hour remaining....