Wenger’s Gunners pull off great escape despite injury-hit team

By Hilton Yip Source:Global Times Published: 2015-12-14 22:58:01

Whatever one thinks of Arsenal, no one can say they are boring. Arsenal may be hit hard by injuries and suffer the occasional humbling defeat, but they are still capable of stunning soccer. They have done so numerous times in the past, but they outdid themselves Wednesday with a fantastic victory in hostile territory in a game they had to win.

Arsenal went into a Champions League game against Olympiakos in Athens while missing three of their best ­players, needing to win by at least two goals to qualify for the knockout stage. They did so in style with a 3-0 victory.

French forward Olivier ­Giroud scored all three goals to lead an Arsenal team missing the likes of Santi Cazorla and Alexis Sanchez onward to the knockout round, the team's 16th consecutive time. The win not only preserved this streak, but resurrected a campaign that seemed to have been lost before it really got started.

Things had been bleak back in September after Arsenal had lost to Olympiakos in London, leaving them with 0 points and bottom of the group after two games, with games against Bayern Munich still to come. 

One can fault manager ­Arsene Wenger for many things, but the fact that ­Arsenal did the job whilst lacking three of their best players shows Wenger can still win consistently regardless of the circumstances. One only needs to look at Manchester United who bowed out of the Champions League Tuesday to see how injuries can humble top teams.

Wenger never wavered from his confidence leading up the game and his team responded.

Arsenal went into the Olympiakos game with little fear, with Wenger starting both Giroud and Theo Walcott up front. The move paid off, helped by the Greek team's decision to play attacking soccer themselves.

Meanwhile Joel Campbell proved that he can be a fine Arsenal player with an impressive display that included an assist to Giroud. The Costa ­Rican has been a peripheral presence on the Arsenal squad for the past four seasons, having been loaned out each season, but injuries this season have pushed him into the starting lineup. Campbell had already scored twice this year in the Premiership, but his performance on Wednesday probably put an end to a lot of doubts, and he will likely start for some time.

Arsenal followed up Wednesday's Champions League win with victory on Sunday against the last-placed Premiership club Aston Villa, avoiding any complacency and keeping them in the chase for the league title.

Arsenal's biggest test will ­arrive next week when Manchester City come into town, a step up from Olympiakos and Aston Villa.

The author is a Beijing-based writer. hcpyip@gmail.com

Posted in: Extra Time

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