Quick Wigan Review:
Well that was awesome wasn't it? We totally dominated the game and this time, unlike the previous two occasions at the DW stadium, we didn't flatter to deceive. We put in a thoroughly professional performance and came away with three points and a clean sheet. All our goals were well taken and I have to say the build up play leading to our third goal was mesmerizing. We strung 33 passes before we hit the back of the net.
What was also pleasing was how we controlled the tempo and witheld the little firepower the home side could muster. Wigan started strongly in both halfs and had it been earlier this season, we would most probably had made a mess of it and put ourselves in trouble. Kudos to the team for working hard and standing firm when we might have buckled under pressure.
Match Preview:
Having secured qualification into the knock out rounds as group leaders, we can afford to rest key players ( eat shit Man United, Chelsea and Man City!) for the rough and tumble of the Premier League. Even then, Arsene Wenger has put out a side that will give the home side a good run for their money. The players who are out on the field should look to impress the Boss and push for a first team spot.
And with Thomas Vermaelen in the team as the captain for the match, I would not expect any slackness from anybody...well apart from the little Russian! Still, even Arshavin should be geared up for this and I hope he comes good because 1) his form has been poor this season and he is due a big performance and 2) he is the only experienced replacement we have for Gervinho when he will be off on national duty for the ACN in January.
Team Line Ups:
Olympiakos Piraeus(4-3-2-1): Balazs Megyeri, Ivan Marcano, Olof Mellberg, Avraam Papadopoulos, Vasileios Torosidis, Francois Modesto, David Fuster, Giannis Maniatis, Jose Holebas, Kevin Mirallas, Rafik Djebbour.
Substitutes: Franco Costanzo, Djamel Abdoun, Ioannis Potouridis, Pablo Orbaiz, Ioannis Fetfatzidis, Tasos Papazoglou, Marko Pantelic.
Manager: Erneste Valverde.
Arsenal(4-3-3): Lukasz Fabianski, Andre Santos, Thomas Vermaelen, Sebastian Squillaci, Johan Djourou, Emmanuel Frimpong, Francis Coquelin, Yossi Benayoun, Andrey Arshavin, Marouane Chamakh, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain.
Substitutes: Vito Mannone, Ignasi Miquel, Nico Yennaris, Craig Eastmond, Oguzhan Ozyakup, Tomas Rosicky, Ju Young Park.
Manager: Arsene Wenger.
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