Arsenal faced off against Olympiacos in Greece in their final game of the Champions League group stages. Arsene Wenger’s side needed to win the match by two goals to qualify for the knockout stages of the tournament. The Gunners took the lead when Frenchman Olivier Giroud struck with his head on the 29th minute. At the half-time interval the score was 1-0, with 45 minutes still left to play.
Further, Giroud added a second on the 49th minute, when Joel Campbell put a lovely pass in his path. The striker completed his hat-trick on the 67th minute, when Nacho Monreal’s shot stuck was blocked by Omar Elabdellaoui using his hands inside the box. The striker once again stepped up and claimed a third goal from the spot. The win helped the Londoners qualify for the round of 16, along with Bundesliga champs Bayern Munich.
Player Ratings:
Petr Cech: 7/10
Put in a good performance in front of goal when his side needed him to and get yet another clean sheet to his name.
Nacho Monreal: 6/10
Troubled right through the game by Pardo, though it was the Spaniard who won his side the penalty that gave them the third goal.
Laurent Koscielny: 8/10
The center-back was brilliant on the night as he led the back-line against an opposition who were looking to defend for most of the match.
Per Mertesacker: 7/10
Looked sloppy at the start, though he improved as the game went on. Prevented Seba’s free run, which could have really hurt the visitors had he gone through and scored.
Hector Bellerin: 6/10
His positioning was not the best at times in the game, though had the pace and the presence of mind to recover.
Mathieu Flamini: 6/10
Lay in front of the defence and played his part in keeping the opposition quiet. Should have scored in the first half, but unfortunately hit the post.
Aaron Ramsey: 7/10
Created the first chance for Giroud’s first goal, which the France International finished off quite well with his head and had a bright game.
Joel Campbell: 8/10
Finally the Costa Rican attacker has started to flourish for the Gunners and played a super pass to Giroud for his second goal, claiming an assist.
Mesut Ozil: 7/10
Created chances for his side and was involved in the opening goal of the game. Helped out in defence as well at times.
Theo Walcott: 7/10
Made some good runs behind the opposition back-line and took some shots, though could not score.
Olivier Giroud: 9/10
Enjoyed a superb night on his travels with a great hat-trick. A headed goal, a right foot finish and a penalty at the end, meant that Arsenal went through all thanks to his goals.
Substitutes:
Kieran Gibbs: 5/10
Came on as a substitute and added more pace and energy to the side.
Calum Chambers: 5/10
Did not have enough time to really make an impact on the game.
Alex Oxlade Chamberlain: 5/10
Replaced Campbell at the end and could not do much in the game.
So how did it go with regards to your bet placements last night? Check out some Bonus Code Bets here.