Olympiacos boss Pedro Martins warns Arsenal: ‘The underdogs are here to fight!’
Pedro Martins speaks with all the confidence you’d expect from a manager with his formidable record.
Just last week the Olympiacos boss stretched his side’s unbeaten run in domestic football to over a year - with their last loss coming at the hands of PAOK Salonika on February 10, 2019.
Martins has built an attacking side in that time, one that loves to “fight to score goals”, and as he prepares to welcome Arsenal to the Karaiskakis Stadium on Thursday night, he is no mood to change his style.
“Of course we change our strategy for the game, but our process, how we play, will never change. This is not happening,” Martins tells Standard Sport.
“I will not change how we play, even with the best teams in the world.
“If you have such good results because of the way we work, and also we have players with these kind of characteristics that suit our process, why am I going to change?
“For me it is stupid if I change because we are going to play against a big club.
“All the time my team fight to score goals, to make goals and to win games. This is the most important thing. We play good games, offensive games. This is how I define my teams.”
Those from north London have already seen Martins’ attacking style this season as Tottenham twice faced Olympiacos in this year’s Champions League.
Spurs are in fact the last team to beat the Greek side in all competitions after they came from 2-0 down to defeat them 4-2 in November.
Before that, the pair played out a pulsating 2-2 draw in Athens as on that occasion Olympiacos fought back from two down to claim a point.
They’ve had many games likes that - such as their 3-2 loss to Bayern Munich earlier this season - and Martins has promised Arsenal to expect the same.
“It will be the same Olympiacos you saw against Tottenham, I am sure,” he says.
“Tottenham is a very good team, but we fought. I remember the two games, it was tough for everybody - for us and them.
“We never think to lose or draw, all the time we think to win. The information I pass to all my players is to beat everybody. This is football and anything can happen in football.
“I think this season shows one of the best things that can help in football is the worst can beat the best.
“You don’t see this in basketball, handball or volleyball, but you see it in football. This is because there is no exact science to football, it is difficult for everybody.”
The first leg of the round of 32 tie with Arsenal will be played at Olympiakos’ hostile home of the Karaiskakis Stadium.
Domestically they have not lost there since September 2018, while Bayern Munich are the only side to win there this season in all competitions.
“All the stadiums in England are unbelievable and because of this they call it the mother of football,” says Martins.
“It is true but in Greece, at Karaiskakis, it is amazing. Maybe 35,000 there create more noise than 50,000 at some moments in England.
“It is a fantastic atmosphere and unbelievable. When Karaiskakis is full of fans, and when we are playing a game like against Arsenal, it will be a fantastic night for sure. It will be a good night for football I am sure.
“Arsenal is a big club, a big team, with quality players. They’ve a new coach with a different idea of the previous one, but it is Arsenal.
“Now under Mikel Arteta they’ve more possession with the ball. They can cause difficulties with players like [Pierre-Emerick] Aubameyang.
“Maybe we are not the club that everybody think has much chance to win, but I promise we are here to fight.
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