Olympiakos 1-3 Arsenal: 5 talking points as Gunners grab crucial away win | UEFA Europa League 2020-21

Olympiacos v Arsenal - UEFA Europa League Round Of 16 Leg One
Olympiacos v Arsenal - UEFA Europa League Round Of 16 Leg One

#3 Arsenal cannot afford to shoot themselves in the foot again

Dani Ceballos' error led to Olympiakos' goal
Dani Ceballos' error led to Olympiakos' goal

It was Granit Xhaka over the weekend. David Luiz a few games ago. Dani Ceballos tonight.

Arsenal's ability to commit errors that lead to an easy goal for the opposition thankfully didn't come back to haunt them tonight.

No player has made more errors leading to goals in the UEFA Europa League than Dani Ceballos, a record the Spaniard will be keen to compensate for.

Tottenham Hotspur are Arsenal's next opponents after this, and the likes of Harry Kane and Heung-Min Son will not be as generous as Olympiakos' players when it comes to punishing Arsenal's errors.

Mikel Arteta had spoken ahead of the game about balancing risk vs reward while playing out from the back, but it seems his players haven't got the memo yet.


#4 Willian quietly puts in another accomplished performance

Willian continues to change opinions
Willian continues to change opinions

Willian might not have grabbed the headlines tonight, but he is slowly but surely working his way into Arteta's first-choice XI. The Brazilian winger turned in yet another steady performance, excelling creatively as well as putting in the hard yards in defence.

For all the brickbats aimed at him by his own fanbase, the former Chelsea star now leads the assists chart for the Gunners, which is saying something given Bukayo Saka and Emile Smith-Rowe's exploits this season.

He now has an assist in each of his last four games for Arsenal, a streak of form that surely augurs well ahead of the North London Derby. If he puts in a good performance in that game, the narrative around his contribution to Arsenal may very well change.


#5 Mikel Arteta has plenty of work ahead of the North London Derby

Mikel Arteta turns his focus to the Premier League next
Mikel Arteta turns his focus to the Premier League next

Mikel Arteta has been steadfast in his belief that if Arsenal continue to turn in good performances, the results will follow. That has certainly been the case in this edition of Arsenal's UEFA Europa League campaign, with the Gunners a formidable prospect for any of the sides left in the competition.

However, while the result may have been favourable tonight, the performance was less so. Despite controlling proceedings for much of the game, Arsenal kept conceding chances with eerie regularity. Granit Xhaka's error against Burnley was an aberration, but Dani Ceballos' mistake was in keeping with many of his teammates as well.

The Gunners boss continues to tweak things around with his personnel. As he faces two games that could decide the season in the coming days, he'll have to be at his very best.

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