Arsenal's Champions League hopes lie in tatters after the Gunners surrendered a 3-2defeat at home to Olympiakos on Tuesday evening, marking the first time Arsene Wenger's side have ever lost their opening two group matches.Theo Walcott and Alexis Sanchez found the mark for Wenger's men, but a David Ospina own goal was the turning point Olympiakos needed to triumph, along with goals from Felipe Pardo and Alfred Finnbogason.Ospina kept his place in Wenger's European lineup after playing the full 90 minutes of Arsenal's 2-1 defeat to Dinamo Zagreb, but BT Sport pundit Ian Wright expressed his confusion at the decision prior to kick-off:Some might have seen the result in Croatia as nothing more than an anomaly, but Olympiakos quickly went about showing how unafraid they were of their English hosts following that mighty fall.Walcott led the line for Arsenal after scoring three goals in his last five outings for the club, although FourFourTwo's Stats Zone app showed that the Englishman's European record didn't promise a lot:And the pressure on Walcott turned up a notch when Arsenal were caught napping on a set piece in the 33rd minute, as a lurking Pardo lashed home from the edge of the box to grab a shock lead.James Olley of the London Evening Standard illustrated just how unsuccessful Olympiakos have been in their past trips to England, though they looked so threatening in north London on Tuesday:It took leading man Walcott all of two minutes to net the equaliser after finding space down the right flank, at which point the home fans might have been forgiven for thinking the comeback was firmly underway.And yet there was more drama to come as Ospina failed miserably with an attempted catch on an Olympiakos corner five minutes before the break, dropping the ball too close to his own goal, according to the fifth official.Replays weren't quite conclusive, but the debate for goal-line technology to be introduced in the Champions League revived when the goal was awarded nonetheless and Ospina was left to rue his mistake.The Gunners trailed 2-1 at half-time, and Olympiakos by no means looked nervous in their lead, with Olley taking note of the difficult run of results coming in Arsenal's direction:Wenger was disappointed to see centre-back Laurent Koscielny withdrawn with what looked like a hamstring concern on the 56-minute mark, compounding what was already proving to be a disastrous night.However, Alexis Sanchez put his side back on level terms just four minutes later. Walcott turned provider thanks to a delightfully chipped cross onto the Chilean's head, with Sanchez making no mistake from close range.Just as it had been their turn to hit Olympiakos in the ascendancy, however, Arsenal soon suffered the repercussions of overconfidence themselves, as substitute Finnbogason regained the Greeks' lead only a minute later.It was no stroke of fortune, though, as Finnbogason finished with the deftest of touches past Ospina to nudge Olympiakos back in front, recording a small piece of Icelandic history in the process, as noted by OptaJohan:Arsenal knocked at the door for the vast majority of the remaining 20 minutes as Olympiakos welcomed an almost inevitable bout of Arsenal possession, but the Gunners' finishing was once again amiss.Some will say the Greek visitors were fortunate to hold back the onslaught as they did, but lucky or not, Olympiakos manager Marco Silva will only count the three historic points his side claimed in north London.Arsenal, meanwhile, are now the only team in Group F yet to have claimed a point, with Bayern Munich trotting to the head of the pool following their 5-0 win over Dinamo Zagreb.There's no time for respite at the Emirates Stadium either, as Arsenal prepare to face Manchester United this Sunday knowing their hopes of advancing to the Champions League knockout stages look slim.Post-Match ReactionOspina's mishandling was the talk of north London on Tuesday, as an enraged Gunners following demanded answers as to why Cech wasn't starting in what was deemed a must-win game.However, Wenger spoke to BT Sport in the aftermath of the Olympiakos defeat, leaping to the defence of his reserve stopper by insisting that "a goalkeeper can make a mistake."Despite failing to win either of their first two Champions League group matches for the first time in their history, however, Wenger remains upbeat regarding their chances of progressing, viaBBC Sport:It is still possible of course to qualifybut it is difficult to swallow losing a game like that. We lost it on a lack of defensive concentration and bad luck. They had four shots on goal and we conceded three goals.The turning point at 2-2 is we give them a goal again straight away. If it stays 2-2 for five minutes we win the game.Arsenal now sit three points behind Olympiakos and Dinamo Zagreb in the group standings, while Bayern Munich look likely to run away with top spot after claiming six points from a possible six so far.And the Gunners will be in a race to see Koscielny make his return from a hamstring injury soon after Olley hinted that the Frenchman will be unavailable for Sunday's tie against Manchester United:It seems a lack of summer activity is ultimately coming to take its toll on an Arsenal team that looks in dire need of some backbone, with Wenger under more pressure than ever to turn things around.Read more World Football news on BleacherReport.com
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