Olympiacos 1-3 Arsenal: Gabriel and Elneny give Gunners first-leg cushion after Odegaard screamer

AFP via Getty Images

Late goals from Gabriel and Mohamed Elneny put Arsenal firmly in control of their Europa League last-16 clash with Olympiacos after they had thrown away a first-half lead.

Martin Odegaard’s wonderful first goal for the club had put the Gunners ahead in Greece but their latest defensive mix-up, this time between Bernd Leno and Dani Ceballos, gifted the hosts a leveller shortly before the hour mark.

However, Gabriel’s towering header put Mikel Arteta’s side back in front on 79 minutes before Elneny’s long-range strike secured a valuable cushion ahead of next week’s return leg in London.

Despite a north London derby lying in wait at the weekend, Arteta named a strong side, with this competition representing the club’s only chance of silverware this season - and only route into the Champions League for next.

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang saw a header tipped onto the bar early on while Odegaard wasted a glorious opportunity from Kieran Tierney’s cut-back but the Norwegian soon made amends with a rocket of a strike from all of 30 yards to open his account for the club.

AFP via Getty Images

Arsenal had been dominant but, as had been the case at Burnley on Saturday, handed their opponents a route back into the game as Leno’s needless pass left Ceballos under pressure and allowed Youssef El-Arabi to steal in and level the scores.

But just as it looked as if Arsenal may be left to rue a missed opportunity, Gabriel’s magnificent towering header from Willian’s cross restored the advantage before substitute Elneny rattled home off the inside of the post to make it an excellent night’s work.

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