Arsène Wenger’s side have a habit of glorious failure when it comes to repairing damage inflicted in home matches in the Champions League. They must change the storyline in Athens Arsenal have been here before. Goodness knows they have been here before, and not only to the raucous Georgios Karaiskakis Stadium in Athens, home of Olympiakos, for the final tie of a Champions League group. The club’s recent history in Europe’s premier competition has been marked by the demand to atone for disastrous first-leg performances, normally at the Emirates Stadium, in the knockout rounds. This remains a group stage game but the essence of it is precisely the same as Arsenal’s Champions League showdowns in each of the previous four seasons. They are head-to-head with Olympiakos, because of the way that the section has panned out, and for Arsène Wenger and his players the requirement is plain – they have to overturn the 3-2 defeat that the Greek champions inflicted upon them at the Emirates in September. Continue reading...
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