Jose Mourinho wants Olympiacos to progress at Arsenal's expense in Champions League

Jose Mourinho wants Olympiacos to qualify because of his friendship with the Greek side’s coach Marco Silva

Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho has revealed he wants rivals Arsenal to crash out of the Champions League and that he would love to see Olympiacos progress to the competition’s knockout stages, according to ESPN. Mourinho has explained his support for the Greek side because of his long-standing friendship with their Portuguese coach Marco Silva.

Wenger’s side have given themselves a lifeline after beating Dinamo Zagreb 3-0 on Tuesday night, thanks to Alexis Sanchez’s brace and Mesut Ozil’s diving header. On the same night, German powerhouse Bayer Munich hammered the Greek team with 4 unanswered goals at the Allianz Arena.

The second position in Group F is now up for grabs as Arsenal currently sit third with six points – just three points off Silva’s team. The Gunners still stand a chance of finishing second behind Bayern and, most importantly, ensuring their place in the Round of 16, provided they pull off a 2-0 win in Athens, or better the 3-2 victory margin the Greek side achieved at the Emirates Stadium earlier this season.

The club’s supporters will be hoping their team can accomplish the mission impossible in Greece on December 8, but Mourinho wants the other possible outcome. He insists that he would rather see Olympiacos progress because of his friendship with 37-year-old Portuguese compatriot Silva.

“I would always like English teams to qualify, first – but they [Arsenal] are in a group where a kid friend of mine is the manager of Olympiakos, and it would be fantastic for the kid's career to go through,” the Portugues coach said in a press conference.

“So I have to be honest and say that I would like the kid and Olympiacos to go on. And we know that Bayern Munich go through for sure.”

Olympiacos coach Marco Silva can help his side qualify if they manage to keep Arsenal at bay on matchday 6

Arsenal can qualify for Round of 16: Mourinho

The former Real Madrid boss has stated that his side’s cross-town rivals are more than capable of qualifying despite a disastrous start to the Champions League campaign that saw them lose at Dinamo Zagreb and a shocking defeat to Olympiacos in London.

“It's not my problem, it's their problem, but the reality is; first of all they can qualify, and secondly if they go into the Europa League then they become favourites,” he added.

“So I think they can have success in the Champions League by going to the next round and they can succeed in the Europa League because then they become favourites. I think they have a lot to play for.”

Chelsea are also not ensured of a spot in the next round in spite of topping the group. Both the Blues and Mourinho's former club FC Porto are on 10 points while Dynamo Kyiv are on 8 points ahead of the sixth and final matchday.