Europa League: Arsenal advance to quarter-finals despite defeat to Olympiakos
Arsenal were stunned by Greek side Olympiakos as they lost 1-0 in the Europa League Round of 16 (second leg) on Thursday. However, they still went on to progress to the quarterfinals 3-2 on aggregate. Although Olympiakos suffered massively in the first leg, they will take out positives from a third successive away win against Arsenal. Here are the records broken.
How did the match pan out?
Arsenal, who won 3-1 against Olympiakos in Athens last week, reached the half-time unharmed this time. A deflected shot from Youssef El Arabi put Olympiakos ahead in the second half. Meanwhile, Arsenal wasted several late chances to restore parity. Olympiakos's Ousseynou Ba was sent off in the 82nd minute before Arsenal booked their place in Friday's last-eight draw.
Arsenal and Spurs share a forgettable record
In the other match, Tottenham Hotspur failed to qualify for the Europa League quarter-finals by losing the second leg 3-0. As per Opta, this is the first time both Arsenal and Spurs have lost a game on the same day across all European competitions.
Another quarter-final appearance for Arsenal
Arsenal have made it to the quarter-finals for the fourth time in their last five Europa League/UEFA Cup campaigns (knocked out at Last 32 stage last season). However, they have now conceded in each of their last 11 matches across all competitions, their longest run without a clean sheet since a stretch of 14 matches (between October and December, 2019).
A look at the other records that were broken
Olympiakos forward Youssef El-Arabi is just the fourth player to score in three consecutive matches against Arsenal in major European competition, after Lionel Messi (March 2016), Arjen Robben and Robert Lewandowski (both in March 2017). Meanwhile, Arsenal have now lost each of their previous three home games to Olympiakos (UEFA Champions League, 2015/16 and last season).
