Thursday night cup? Not for Arsenal as Giroud hat-trick sends Gunners through to knockout stage
Thursday, 10th December 2015
Olivier Giroud's hat-trick sealed victory for Arsenal last night at against Olympiacos
Published: 10 December, 2015
by RICHARD OSLEY
ARSENAL hushed their critics last night (Wednesday) by blasting into the latter stages of the Champions league with a majestic 3-0 win over Olympiacos in Greece.
The Gunners avoided the utter ignominy of being demoted to the second tier of continental football, the Europa League on a Thursday night timetable, with a do-or-die victory sealed by an Olivier Giroud hat-trick.
Arsene Wenger’s men had been all but written off when they lost three out of their first four group matches, but tasked with winning by two clear goals to qualify, they went further and won by three.
Giroud’s diving header on the half hour sent them on their way and glory was within sight when he converted Joel Campbell’s perfect pass soon after the break. The Frenchman tucked away a penalty with 20 minutes left to confirm a second place finish behind Bayern Munich.
The safe passage into the next round maintains Arsenal’s proud record of being the only English team which always makes it to the knockout rounds.
“I’m proud of consistency because it demands a lot of effort every day and I think that’s what it’s about,” said Wenger. “Maybe it’s a lucky year for us in the Champions League. If you look at the players who were out today and the kind of performance we produced, it was outstanding.”
The Gunners will learn on Monday whether they will face Barcelona, Real Madrid, Atletico Madrid, Wolfsburg or Zenit in the important stages of the competition.
