MX23RW : Saturday, November 23 08:36:08| >> :120:32200:32200:
[monks data]
Arsenal logo
Europa League | Round of 16
Mar 18, 2021 at 5.55pm UK
Emirates Stadium
Olympiacos

Arsenal
0 - 1
Olympiacos


Xhaka (86'), Tierney (90+2')
FT(HT: 0-0)
El-Arabi (51')
Androutsos (35'), M'Vila (73'), Ba (82')
Ba (82')

Mikel Arteta holds clear-the-air talks with Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang

Arteta holds clear-the-air talks with Aubameyang
© Reuters
Pierre Emerick Aubameyang was axed after breaching pre-match protocol and remained an unused substitute as Arsenal came from behind to beat rivals Tottenham 2-1.

Mikel Arteta has held talks with Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang after dropping the Arsenal captain for Sunday's north London derby – but says he cannot guarantee the striker will start against Olympiacos on Thursday.

Aubameyang was axed after breaching pre-match protocol and remained an unused substitute as Arsenal came from behind to beat rivals Tottenham 2-1.

He then left the Emirates Stadium instead of joining his fellow substitutes for a warm-down session on the pitch.

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (right) watched on from the bench as Arsenal won Sunday's north London derby.
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (right) watched on from the bench as Arsenal won Sunday's north London derby (Julian Finney/PA)

Speaking after the game, Arteta said he had to discipline Aubameyang to sustain the club's long-term "foundation".

On the eve of the second leg of Arsenal's Europa League round-of-16 clash with Olympiacos, Arteta revealed he and his skipper had cleared the air – but stopped short of saying he would be recalled, with the Gunners 3-1 ahead in the tie.

"Yes," he replied when asked if everything with Aubameyang had been sorted.

"We talked, everything has been resolved in a really positive way. So we move forward.

"Everybody has to obviously perform at the highest level to earn his place in the team and there is no exceptions there.

"We will try and put a really competitive team out to try and win the game."

Meanwhile, Mohamed Elneny praised Aubameyang's qualities both on and off the pitch.

Mohamed Elneny was full of praise when asked about Aubameyang.
Mohamed Elneny was full of praise when asked about Aubameyang (Nigel French/PA)

"Auba is just one of the best players we have," he said.

"To me outside of the pitch he is an amazing person. Mikel has spoken about it and it has finished everything but as a team-mate he is one of the best.

"Auba is our captain and he always supports us on and off the pitch and he is an amazing person as well."

Arsenal were knocked out by Olympiacos at the round-of-32 stage last season – despite defending a first-leg lead.

Arteta does not consider the contest finished this year, even if late goals in Athens from Gabriel Magalhaes and Elneny gives them a greater cushion this time around.

A fine header from Gabriel put Arsenal on course for victory over Olympiacos last week.
A fine header from Gabriel put Arsenal on course for victory over Olympiacos last week (Thanassis Stavrakis/AP)

"Absolutely not," he replied when asked if the tie was over.

"From what I've seen from Olympiacos and the amount of games that they have won in the final minutes and the belief that they have in that team, it will be tough and they will try to put us under real pressure. There is still a lot to play for.

"It is a really important game for us, nothing has been decided – there is still another 90 minutes at least to play for and we know it is going to be tough and everyone has to be ready.

"We have the opportunity to make changes, we have five substitutions so we will decide the best team to try to beat them."

ID:439579: cacheID:439579:1false2false3false:QQ:: from db desktop :LenBod:restore:8798:No Data Analysis info
Restore Data
Share this article now:
Rangers manager Steven Gerrard before the match in the Europa League on February 18, 2021
Read Next:
Five talking points ahead of Thursday's Europa League clashes
>
rhs 2.0
Today's games header
Tables header RHS

League Phase

TeamPWDLPTS
1Lazio440012
2Ajax431010
3Anderlecht431010
4Frankfurt431010
5Galatasaray431010
6Spurs43019
7FCSB43019
8Lyon42117
9Rangers42117
10Olympiacos42117
11Bodo/Glimt42117
12Midtjylland42117
13Ferencvaros42026
14Man Utd41306
15Plzen41306
16AZ42026
17Besiktas42026
18Hoffenheim41215
19Roma41215
20Fenerbahce41215
21Elfsborg41124
22Braga41124
23Porto41124
24Slavia Prague41124
25Real Sociedad41124
26Malmo41033
27FC Twente40313
28Qarabag41033
29Union SG40222
30Nice40222
31RFS40222
32Ludogorets40131
33PAOK40131
34Athletic Club00000
35M. Tel Aviv40040
36Dynamo Kiev40040


Sports Mole provides in-depth previews and predictions for every match from the biggest leagues and competitions in world football.
Argentina's Lionel Messi kisses the World Cup trophy after collecting the Golden Ball award on December 18, 2022Sign up for our FREE daily preview newsletter direct to your inbox!