Arsenal have suffered shocking Champions League group stage defeats before

Arsene Wenger has presided over significant losses at this stage before

Wednesday 30 September 2015 07:39 BST

Arsene Wenger looks on during Arsenal's defeat to Olympiakos (GETTY IMAGES)

Arsenal's hopes of progressing in the Champions League were dealt a hammer blow on Tuesday night as Olympiacos triumphed 3-2 at the Emirates to make it back-to-back defeats in Group F for Arsene Wenger's side.

Here, we take a back at some of the significant losses Arsenal have suffered in the group stages of Europe's premier competition under Wenger's stewardship.

SPARTAK MOSCOW 4 ARSENAL 1 (November 22, 2000)

Russian side Spartak Moscow stunned the Gunners in the opening game of the second group stage in 2000-01. Silvinho put Wenger's charges in front, but the Gunner's usually water-tight rearguard at that time had an off-day at the Luzhniki Stadium. Marcao netted a brace, before Egor Titov and Luis Robson got in on the act to condemn the Londoners to a fourth defeat in six games. The Gunners recovered from that setback to go through as group runners up via the head-to-head rule, before being beaten in the quarter-finals by Valencia on away goals.

ARSENAL 0 INTER MILAN 3 (September 17, 2003)

The Invincibles might have reigned on the domestic front, but Wenger's piece de resistance was considerably more vulnerable in Europe. Given the fact Inter had reached the semi-finals the year before the result was hardly a shock at the time, but that was before Arsenal's remarkable undefeated Premier League campaign in 2003-04 unfolded. Julio Ricardo Cruz, Andy van der Meyde and Obafemi Martins did the damage during a destructive first half for Inter, who could have had an even bigger winning margin. With the score at 2-0 Thierry Henry also had a penalty saved by Francesco Toldo. The Gunners bounced back to win the group and progress, while Inter fell away and didn't reach the knockout phase.

Arsenal 2 Olympiakos 3 player ratings

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Arsenal 2 Olympiakos 3 player ratings

David Ospina: 3 out of 10

Managed to drop the ball into his net under no pressure whatsoever. Wenger may have taken an unneccesary gamble promoting the keeper to his starting XI but he would hardly have expected such an abysmal response, though Ospina couldn’t have done much about the first.

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Arsenal 2 Olympiakos 3 player ratings

Hector Bellerin: 6 out of 10

Salino struggled to keep up with the pacey Spaniard who attacked with verve when Oxlade-Chamberlain cut in. That thrust was allied with more dependable defending than a great many of his colleagues provided.

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Arsenal 2 Olympiakos 3 player ratings

Gabriel: 5 out of 10

A foolish yellow card on the stroke of half-time left the Brazilian walking an unnecessary knife-edge in the second 45 minutes. His commitment and passion is all well and good, except playing at a constant boiling point tends to leave you in those situations too often.

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Arsenal 2 Olympiakos 3 player ratings

Laurent Koscielny: 6 out of 10

On several occasions the defender was the last line between Arsenal’s porous midfield and Brown Ideye. His interceptions kept the hosts in the game throughout the first half.

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Arsenal 2 Olympiakos 3 player ratings

Kieran Gibbs: 5 out of 10

Too often he and Alexis Sanchez seemed to be operating on entirely different wave lengths, with the reserve left-back earning a berating from his teammate for one particularly sloppy pass. He was also guilty of switching off for the visitor’s third.

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Arsenal 2 Olympiakos 3 player ratings

Santi Cazorla: 5 out 10

His defensive deficiencies were on display for Olympiakos opening goal. Converted attacker or not he should have known to close down the opponent on the edge of the box. As a leader he was perhaps worse, remonstrating with the referee and letting the occasion get the better of him in a way that could have spread to his colleagues.

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Arsenal 2 Olympiakos 3 player ratings

Francis Coquelin: 5 out 10

Played like a man rushed back from an injury, though of course Wenger had no choice. He struggled to stem the tide of runners from deep and could not keep up with the likes of Pardo. This was not Coquelin at his authoritative best and it was little wonder he was removed early.

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Arsenal 2 Olympiakos 3 player ratings

Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain: 5 out of 10

It turns out if you say a player has no confidence he will play as if that is the case. His running was as purposeful and direct as ever, but when opportunities came he seemed to lose faith in his abilities.

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Arsenal 2 Olympiakos 3 player ratings

Mesut Ozil: 6 out of 10

On more than one occasion he pulled off the sort of beautiful pass only he is capable of, and his willingness to come deep helped Arsenal start many of their best counters. However in the second half he faded when faced with the massed ranks of Olympiakos defenders, struggling to conjure a way past.

Arsenal 2 Olympiakos 3 player ratings

Alexis Sanchez: 8 out of 10

On this kind of form you would expect him to dribble past every player on the pitch. Then go round them again just for fun. An irresistible performance from the Chilean, who on nights like tonight is simply a joy to behold.

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Arsenal 2 Olympiakos 3 player ratings

Theo Walcott: 7 out of 10

With every passing game Walcott looks more and more a centre-forward. His runs are intelligent enough to find space and he is showing less of the profligacy that has dogged him in the past. He had one chance in the first half; he took it.

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SPORTING BRAGA 2 ARSENAL 0 (November 23, 2010)

Portuguese side Sporting Braga made a bad week even worse for Arsenal by stealing a late victory days after the Gunners blew a two-goal lead to lose against arch rivals Tottenham in the Premier League. Matheus did the damage for the Primeira Liga outfit, scoring a brace in the final 10 minutes of normal time. Wenger's side went into the game needing just a point to secure their last-16 berth and they would have fully expected to accrue it against a club that have never won their own top flight domestic league. Nevertheless Wenger's charges did ultimately progress in second place behind Shakhtar Donetsk. Braga went on to finish as runners up in the Europa League that year after missing out on Champions League knockout qualification.

OLYMPIACOS 3 ARSENAL 1 (December 6, 2011)

Beating Arsenal away from home might have broken new ground for Greek side Olympiacos on Tuesday, but they have made something of a habit out of triumphing over the Gunners on their own patch. They have beaten Arsenal three times in total at the Georgios Karaiskakis Stadium during Wenger's tenure, but it's their 3-1 victory in 2011 that was most impressive. Goals from Rafik Djebbour, David Fuster and Francois Modesto sealed the comfortable win for the Greeks, while Arsenal - who lost goalkeeper Lukasz Fabianski to a knee injury early on - got a consolation strike through Yossi Benayoun. Despite the defeat Arsenal still progressed as group winners, with Marseille finishing second as Olympiacos missed out.

PA

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