Mikel Arteta sounds warning as Arsenal prepare for challenge of Olympiakos
Mikel Arteta has told his young players that there will be no hiding place amid a ferocious atmosphere against Olympiakos on Thursday night, and that he expects to see a bold performance during a tie that will shape Arsenal’s season.
Failure in the Europa League round of 32 is not really an option if Arsenal wish to retain serious hopes of playing Champions League football next season, even if there is cautious optimism about an upturn in domestic form. It means a strong first-leg performance in Piraeus, faced with the Greek league leaders’ notoriously fervent support, is essential. Much of the improvement under Arteta has been underpinned by less experienced squad members like Bukayo Saka and Gabriel Martinelli, so he is looking for them to step up in an altogether different environment.
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“It is part of the process,” the manager said. “You don’t know until you expose them. They can have the best intention but they need to go to a stadium like here and, when they make a mistake or a bad decision, have the courage to try again and play again.
“I want to see that in my players, whether they are 17 or 35. That’s what I expect from them. If they keep trying, they have my full support. If they hide after that, I don’t like it. But what I’ve seen up to now, every time they play on that field, they are responding really, really well.”
Arteta suggested there will be little reason to rest players, pointing out Arsenal have played once in the past two and a half weeks. His selection is likely to be a mixture of those who started the 4–0 defeat of Newcastle on Sunday and those who missed out, the latter group including Martinelli and Alexandre Lacazette. At least one change will be forced by the absence of Mesut Özil, whose wife was close to giving birth on Wednesday night.
Matteo Guendouzi is back in contention, having been omitted from the squad on Sunday. The midfielder is believed to have had a disagreement with Arteta during the winter-break camp in Dubai, and the manager made clear there had been a deviation from the standards he expects. “I just do my team selection and the squad in regards to how they train, how they play, how they behave. Every week it will be different. One week it will be one reason, one week it will be another reason.
“It was about the way we train, the way we play, the way we live. I want the best players for the game and I select them in relation to what I see on a daily basis.”
There is a chance Guendouzi will start given Lucas Torreira did not make the journey through illness.
Arteta wants whoever is picked to show their flexibility against Pedro Martins’ side, who twice scared Tottenham in the Champions League group stage. “When you travel to Europe it is completely different to the Premier League and we have to adapt and be able to play the type of game that the opponent requires. We want to come anywhere in Europe or England with the mindset and the attitude to win. To play, play, play – and win.”
