Words of Pedro Martins in detail:
Your evaluation on Ousseynou Ba and the mindset the squad should have in Thursday’s encounter:
“Ba is available to play. Our mindset will be the same, it doesn’t change. We know we suffer a serious setback; we do also know that, in football, everything can happen and have upsets like in the past. Sometimes, the first leg’s lose may turn the tie around. We will go to the UK and play with this positive mindset”.
The club has played against many top teams; is this the toughest tie Olympiacos has ever been against?
“we have against difficulties many times. We are well prepared both mentally and physically. We are here to give it all, like we always do. With the same mentality, although thins are not in our favor after the first match. Let me remind you last year when everybody thought we were out after our first leg’s defeat. Yet, we had the belief, we tried and delivered. This year, things will be more difficult since we have to score 3 goals, but everything is possible this year also. We believe we can do it“.
How many of the injured players will be in the squad and is it important to get a positive result, even if without the qualification, given that we have the summer qualifiers coming?
“Semedo, Avraam, Hassan and Mathieu are not fit to play; Vrousai will join us. We will fight to qualify and this is our primary objective. We will go for a quick opener and if we succeed in going through this will be amazing. We will definitely try to perform well and honor the Olympiacos colors“.
For you, what’s wrong with Greek football and why is there this “freefall”?
“We have spoken about that and we will again. Things have to change. But we are here to talk about Olympiacos, we will talk about these things another time, not today. Definitely, we are concerned with the national ranking, since this is also important for our club, but now our mind is set on Arsenal”.
Words of Youssef El Arabi in detail:
You have scored 2 goals against Arsenal, both last and this year. Do you have another in the pipeline for Thursday and what should Olympiacos do in London?
“We have to believe in ourselves and, I reckon, we have to fight till the end. We have to score a goal before the break and aim for our target in all 90 minutes, or even in overtime. Last year, we were lucky and celebrated in the end, I wish this happens this year as well“.
Is your personal goal to score more goals than last years and how do you succeed in scoring so frequently in every season, in all championships you take part?
“I try and work hard. It is important to work hard on training, especially for a striker. I want to help my team, I believe I have done so and that makes me happy. I work a lot and I want to contribute in scoring to the benefit of our team”.
Olympiacos fans have not forgotten your goal in last year’s match…
Neither will I ever forget it. Why not do it again? We have to try till the end so we exit the pitch with a big smile on our face like last year”.
