Olivier Giroud scored a hat-trick as the Gunners won 3-0 to overcome the Greek champions on the head-to-head tie-break on Wednesday.
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He said: “He is a very good player who has great individual skill, but what I also like is that he is a real team player who fights for the team”. Going in one goal to the good at the break was a fine start, with just one more needed to see Arsenal over the line.
Arsenal needed an emphatic win to leapfrog Olympiakos into second place in Group F and reach the competition’s last 16 and had Giroud to thank for leading the cavalry charge in a 3-0 romp.
Hopefully if we can get players back fit as well, the squad will be even stronger than it is now.
“We needed something special and when you deliver something special it can create positive memories for the rest of the season”, he continued.
“We have escaped and maybe it’s a lucky year for us in the Champions League”. We knew we had to push for the third goal because it’s very risky at 2-0, and we had the flawless game.
When asked about Arsenal’s potential interest in Benzema, Wenger told reporters: “I just said that Olivier Giroud is a great striker, so behind that we can not buy Karim Benzema!”.
“It’s nice to go through the group stage because we were not in a good position and finally we’ve done it and we’re very pleased for our fans and the club and we feel relieved tonight”.
But Arsenal great Keown believes if he can maintain Wednesday’s form he can prove a lot of people wrong. He doubled his tally with the crucial second goal early in the second half, getting on the end of Joel Campbell’s excellent pass to slot home.
The draw for the second round of the Champions League takes place on Monday, where Arsenal could face one of Real Madrid, Atlético Madrid, Barcelona, Wolfsburg or Zenit St. Petersburg.
Their qualification completed a remarkable turnaround after they lost three of their first four games of the campaign. “We needed to be right on the mental side and right on the tactical side as well”. This in turn leaves three La Liga giants, a Bundesliga powerhouse and the Russia Premier League champions as possible opponents in the next round of the Champions League.
“That is the spirit we want in this team”. We had the opportunities to score but our goal was at risk.
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“I’m sure none of them would like to play us after that result”.
