SOCCER UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE Olympiakos 1 Arsenal 0ARSENE WENGER made a piece of history here in Greece's ancient capital by naming the youngest team to grace the Champions League. The average age of his starting line-up was 21 and it eclipsed that of Ajax's class of 2003.
But there was frustration for the Arsenal manager, chiefly in the defensive shakiness of his side and the profligacy of Carlos Vela up front. Twice the striker spurned gilt-edged opportunities in the second half.
But if one shining star emerged it was 18-year-old Aaron Ramsey. Wenger likes the Wales midfielder because of his directness. He is always determined to hurt opponents, Wenger said before the tie, and the way he drove his young team reflected a maturity beyond his years.
The range of his passing was easy on the eye, and so was the assurance of his touch. He did not deserve to be on the losing team and he would not have been if Leonardo, the Olympiakos goal-scorer, had not somehow cleared his last-minute header, from a Fran Merida corner, off the line.
Arsenal play Liverpool at Anfield on Sunday and Ramsey has given Wenger a welcome selection teaser.
This is the fifth season in succession Arsenal have qualified for the last 16 before their final group tie, but Wenger’s youthful blend could not consider the test here as the proverbial dead rubber. It was an opportunity for the fringe players to build reputations against the backdrop of one of Europe’s most intense atmospheres.
Wenger used Alex Song as a screening midfielder in front of the back four. Ramsey dropped deep, the wide players Theo Walcott and Jack Wilshere switched flanks and Vela could never be described as a conventional centre-forward.
Walcott stung goalkeeper Antonis Nikopolidis’s palms in the early going, after good work by Vela, while Merida quickened the pulses with a surging run that was only halted by a foul by Olof Mellberg, the former Aston Villa defender. Walcott put the free-kick into the wall.
Walcott’s pace troubled the Olympiakos defenders. He outstripped them to collect a perceptive through ball from Ramsey in the 23rd minute but, after a good first touch, he had to check his run and the chance was lost.
At the back Wenger’s team was rather less secure. Kyle Bartley and Tom Cruise, the debutants, suffered nervous moments. Goalkeeper Lukasz Fabianski also triggered alarm when he left his area to make a headed clearance.
It was quite a baptism for Cruise. The 18-year-old left-back had to contend with Olympiakos’ best player, Luciano Galletti, and he was sometimes short of cover. The centre-half Bartley’s positional sense will improve with more experience at the highest level.
Olympiakos, the reigning Greek champions and undefeated league leaders, needed a result to ensure their qualification and the decibel levels rose whenever they entered the final third. The noise provided welcome relief from the shrill whistles that hounded Arsenal in possession. Arsenal could be pleased with themselves at half-time.
The second period, though, began in disastrous fashion, when Wenger’s backline was carved apart with worrying simplicity. Bartley stepped up to make a sliding challenge on Oscar Gonzalez but he did not win the ball cleanly and, when it broke, the midfielder Leonardo caught Kerrea Gilbert flat on his heels to streak clean through from 50 yards out. His low finish sparked pandemonium in the stands.
It was tough on Arsenal, yet they almost responded immediately. Ramsey ran a break up the inside-left channel and, having drawn the defenders across, he rolled an inviting square ball for the onrushing Vela. The Mexican had only Nikopolidis to beat but he shot lazily at the goalkeeper.
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OLYMPIAKOS: Nikopolidis, Galitsios, Avraam Papadopoulos, Mellberg, Raul Bravo, Galletti, Dudu (Domi 86), Maresca, Leonardo, Oscar (Pantos 90), Mitroglou. Subs not used: Pardo, Kyriakos Papadopoulos, Zairi, Georgios, Katsikogiannis. Booked: Leonardo.
ARSENAL: Fabianski, Gilbert, Bartley, Silvestre, Cruise, Ramsey, Song Billong, Merida, Walcott, Wilshere (Sunu 77), Vela. Subs not used: Mannone, Coquelin, Eastmond, Ayling, Randall. Booked: Merida.
Referee: Lucilio Cortez Batista (Portugal).
