Arsenal 2 (van Persie 78, Arshavin 86) – Olympiakos 0
Match Report | Highlights

Vito Mannone – Looked far more confident heading into the match with the display against Fulham under his belt. Couldn’t equal those heroics last night as he did not have much to do. Made one brilliant save off a corner, and that was about it. 7

Emmanuel Eboue  – Much more comfortable at right back than on the right wing. Had very little to do defensively but still kept himself occupied with a number of marauding runs down the right touchline. Confident performance. 8

William Gallas – Had very little to do as Olympiakos simply parked the proverbial bus right across the Emirates pitch. On the rare occasion that he was called into action, Gallas comfortably dealt with anything the opposition could muster. 7

Thomas Vermaelen – Same as above. 7

Gael Clichy – Slowly improving, though could take a page out of Eboue’s book in terms of getting forward a bit more (never thought I’d say that). Confidently handled everything Olympiakos threw at him, which to be fair wasn’t much. Still, solid. 7

Cesc Fabregas – Was the standout in either midfield, orchestrating almost all of his side’s moved. His passing radar was spot on last night and his work rate must have been massive. Finishing needs improvement, though. 8

Alex Song – Did well once again, working hard off the ball to stop any of Olympiakos’ rare advances. Pushed forward quite a bit as he had plenty of space in midfield, however these forward runs (while they were the right idea) did not pay dividends. 7

Abou Diaby – Got better once he pushed forward late on in the game, but up until then he was largely mediocre. Mostly ineffective throughout the match, and looked very awkward and out of place compared to the likes of Fabregas, Arshavin and Rosicky. 6

Andrey Arshavin – Vast improvement on the weekend’s performance. He worked hard throughout the match and it paid off with his late goal. He may have been offside but the lead-up play and the finish were reminiscent of the Arsenal of old. Classy performance. 8.5

Robin van Persie – Was very lively throughout the match and worked his socks off up front. Could have had a couple of others if he had better finishing and a bit of luck. Took his goal well and will no doubt be high on confidence. 7.5

Tomas Rosicky – Ran out of steam late on which is completely understandable, but played well in the earlier stages of the match. Complemented Fabregas extremely well and showed the craft and guile that we all missed while he was out. Solid performance. 7.5

SUBSTITUTES
Eduardo – Nice Assist. 7
Vela – 6.5
Ramsey – Nice work in the lead-up to the second goal. 7

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