Arsenal came up against Olympiacos last season, only to be eliminated from the Europa League on away goals, and the manager hints that his players will remember that feeling.
The Greek giants were Mikel Arteta’s first opponents in Europe after his appointment as head coach, but despite leaving the away leg with a 1-0 lead, they were knocked out at the Emirates.
It was a painful encounter which will be remembered by both the fans and the players, and the manager admits that his stars will ‘have some feelings’ about facing them again tomorrow.
“Obviously it was a really tough one to swallow,” Arteta said in his pre-match conference (via Arsenal.com). “The way it happened at the end, it was really cruel. After everything we did in the two games, to lose the way we did and with the late chance Auba had… But we moved on. We have some feelings towards that team and we want to put it right in the next round.”
Arteta believes that his side are in a better position to get the right result this time around, but airs on the side of caution as he praises his upcoming opponents also.
“I think we are a better team than we were last year”, he added. “Looking back at the two games that we played and the way we are playing now, I think we have come a long way. They have some different players as well but a very similar structure to last year.
“They’ve been doing really well, they played in the Champions League, knocked out of the Champions League, they played against City in two really good games as well. It will be a really tough opponent.”
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I was shocked at the way in which we were eliminated last season, and I would be shocked if we was to fall against the same opponent again this year, and you can be sure that none of the players will take this clash lightly.
Patrick