Arsenal reach last eight despite defeat by Olympiakos

The North London club maintained its resolve to see out a win on aggregate and qualify to the quarterfinals of the Europa League.

Mikel Arteta, Manager of Arsenal interacts with Pedro Martins, Head Coach of Olympiakos after the UEFA Europa League Round of 16 Second Leg match between Arsenal and Olympiacos at Emirates Stadium on March 18, 2021 in London, England.

Arsenal endured a nervous night as it lost 1-0 to Greek side Olympiakos on Thursday but progressed into the Europa League quarter-finals 3-2 on aggregate.

After a 3-1 victory in Athens last week and reaching halftime unscathed in the return, Arsenal looked comfortable.

But when Youssef El Arabi's deflected shot left Bernd Leno wrong-footed early in the second half it gave the visitors hope and increased the tension among the home ranks.

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Arsenal wasted several late chances to ease the jitters with captain Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, restored to the starting line-up after being left out of Sunday's north London derby for disciplinary reasons, guilty of a poor miss.

Olympiakos had Ousseynou Ba sent off late on and Arsenal was spared of any late dramas as it avenged last season's elimination by the Greek champion to take its place in Friday's last-eight draw.