Youssef El-Arabi and Mohamed Elneny scored as Arsenal secured a 3-1 victory over Olympiacos in the first leg of their Round of 16 clash in the Europa League on Thursday night.
Morocco international El-Arabi was handed his third appearance in the European competition and utilized the opportunity to add to his tally this season.
The forward’s effort was, however, not enough to help Pedro Martins’ men avoid defeat at Karaiskaki Stadium.
Elneny scored one of the goals that condemned Olympiacos to defeat after he was afforded his seventh appearance in the European tournament this season.
The game started brightly with Arsenal dominating the opening 30 minutes and came close to opening the scoring in the seventh minute, when Gabon international Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang’s header hit the crossbar.
The moment eventually came for the Gunners to break the deadlock in the 34th minute when Martin Oedegaard fired a long-range shot home from outside the box.
After the restart, the Greek champions made a frantic effort to level proceedings and got an equaliser through El-Arabi in the 58th minute.
Gabriel then gave the Emirates Stadium outfit the lead in the 79th minute with a fine strike after he was set up by Willian.
With five minutes left to the end of the game, Elneny, who replaced Willian in the 81st minute, sealed the victory for Mikel Arteta’s men with a well-taken shot from outside the box.
El-Arabi featured for 77 minutes before making way for Egypt’s Ahmed Hassan while his teammate and Guinea international Mady Camara played for the duration of the game.
Aubameyang was on parade for 88 minutes before he was replaced by Alexandre Lacazette in the encounter.
The African stars will hope to continue their impressive performances in the second leg of the tie on March 18.
Before the Europa League game, Arsenal will slug it out against Tottenham Hotspur in the Premier League on Sunday.
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