Olivier Giroud’s hat-trick is the obvious talking point, but former Arsenal striker Charlie Nicholas also had strong words of praise for the entire Arsenal squad that pulled off an improbable escape from the group stages of the UEFA Champions League Wednesday night by defeating Olympiacos 3-0 in Piraeus. Appearing on Soccer Special, Nicholas lauded the squad for their efforts, but singled out two players in particular for their contributions.
It’s as well-balanced a set up as I’ve seen. To accept you are the team who must win by two clear goals, your first instinct with Arsenal is to be on the front foot.
But there’s something about Cech that has given them a reassurance, a calmness to the defence. I think it shines through in the players.
Nicholas, a former Scotland international, also highlighted the team’s mindset that allowed them to come through the group despite losing three of their first four games.
We talk a lot about character, resilience and spirit in the team. I think Arsène Wenger was embarrassed in Bayern Munich, and some of the other early games.
But after tonight, the way they’ve responded, they’ve earned the right to be there.
Also singled out for praise was the performance of Mesut Özil, who, while not getting on the scoresheet, provided the attacking spark for Arsenal’s first two goals, and was generally excellent all evening in distribution and work rate.
He was absolutely fabulous once again. He looked as though he wanted to prove a point in European football. He went to the stadium with a big performance and he turned up, they all did, but he was sensational tonight.
Turning to the near-future, Nicholas took a look at what lies ahead for the Gunners in the Champions League.
It’s going to be tough. Atletico are probably not as good as last year, but would be favourites against Arsenal. You can get at Real but they would be strong favourites with Benzema, Ronaldo, Bale and Rodriguez.
Ideally (they would want) Zenit or Wolfsburg.
Arsenal will find out their round of 16 fate when the draw takes place Monday morning in Nyon. Their foes will be one of the following: Barcelona, Real Madrid, Atletico Madrid, Wolfsburg, or Zenit St. Petersburg.
