The League Phase of the Champions League is into its second matchday, and the Emirates Stadium welcomes the champions of Greece. Olympiacos earned a point at home against Pafos in their opening game, while Arsenal won 2–0 away at Athletic Bilbao.

José Luis Mendilibar once coached Mikel Arteta as a player in Bilbao’s academy — so you could say the teacher is facing his… student.

Olympiacos has won three consecutive away games against Arsenal in London and, in recent years, has also beaten Burnley and Aston Villa on English soil.

Speaking ahead of the Arsenal match, the Basque coach said:

“We shouldn’t lose our heads. We have to stay calm, because if we’re just going to focus on what the opponent is doing, then maybe we shouldn’t have even come — we could’ve stayed in Piraeus. A team’s mentality is important; it has to show courage when playing away. It’s one thing to go out with the intention of defending and not even trying — I hope that doesn’t happen tomorrow. I hope we play the way we know, like we have since I arrived.”

For the Piraeus side, suspended goalkeeper Konstantinos Tzolakis returns between the posts. Rodinei and Yaremchuk are left out of the squad.

Olympiacos’ travelling squad includes:
Tzolakis, Paschalakis, Kouraklis, Ortega, Biancone, Pirola, Kalogeropoulos, Retsos, Kostinha, Bruno, Nascimento, Martins, Garthia, Scipioni, Tzikinio, Strefetza, Ese, Podence, Mouzakitis, Pneumonidis, El Kaabi, Taremi.

For Arsenal, Martin Ødegaard is available, while injured players Kai Havertz, Noni Madueke, and Gabriel Jesus are out. Arsenal has been putting in great performances in the Premier League this season and looks capable of going toe-to-toe with Liverpool.

According to UEFA’s analysis, Arsenal has won six and lost six of their previous 12 encounters with Olympiacos in UEFA competitions, with the Greek side winning their last three games in North London!

Olympiacos, on their part, has lost only once in their last ten European matches (5 wins, 4 draws). However, they’ve won just two of their last 21 matches in the group/League phase of the Champions League (3 draws, 16 defeats).

They have also lost their last ten away matches in the group/League phase of the Champions League, with their last away victory being a 1–0 win over Dinamo Zagreb back in October 2015.

Olympiacos’ Moroccan international striker Ayoub El Kaabi has scored five goals in his last two games against English sides in European competitions — all of them in the 2023/24 Conference League semi-finals against Aston Villa.

Iranian international forward Mehdi Taremi played in Inter’s 1–0 win over Arsenal in the Champions League last season — the Gunners’ only defeat in the League phase of the 2024/25 Champions League.