They may have left it late but the Gunners thoroughly deserve their victory against spirited opponents.

Vela leads a breakaway which ends with Fabregas fluffing his lines as he drags a shot wide of the target.

Olympiacos refuse to lie down though and Dudu's drilled shot is only narrowly wide.

The visitors haven't given up though as they storm forward searching for an unlikely equaliser.

The Gunners certainly deserve their lead but, with time running out, it looked as though they'd left it too late to grab the winner.

Arsenal force a series of corners but still the ball won't go in.

Cristian Ledesma requires treatement as Olympiacos take a well-earned breather.

The attacks keep on coming but van Persie's shot is blocked by Nikopolidis and Gallas, in the centre-forward role, can't force home the rebound, although it transpires he was offside anyway.

Arsenal still have all of the possession but Olympiacos are defending as if their lives depend on taking a point home from north London.

There are groans emanating from the home fans as another Gunners attack breaks down.

The visitors are starting to believe they can hang on for a draw here.

Nikopolidis is having a much quieter half after his heroics in the opening 45 minutes.

Olympiacos have really tightened up. Arsenal can't find a way through their defence now.

Great play by Eboue who manages to trick his way to the byline but the Ivorian is unable to pull the back for Arshavin.

Van Persie's deep free-kick reaches Thomas Vermaelen but the Belgian cannot guide his header on target.

Eduardo is warming up as Arsenal continue to toil.

The ball isn't running for Arsenal as Arshavin's pass is just too far ahead of William Gallas.

Wenger needs to lift his players though. They've definitely lost their zip of the opening quarter of the encounter.

The visitors almost grab a shock goal as Mannone does well to keep out Mellberg's header from Leonardo's corner.

The crowd remains subdued as Arsenal start the second half quietly.

Arshavin starts the second half with another jinking run. After a very bright first 25 minutes, he drifted out of the picture as the first period drew to a close.

The Gunners get the second half underway.

The visitors are growing in confidence as they end the first half on the attack.

Nikopolidis, again, tips Fabregas' deep free-kick away for a corner as Olympiacos survive.

It's all gone very quiet. Arsenal should be ahead but they haven't created anything of note for almost 15 minutes now.

Superb play by van Persie who beats his marker three times, a la Dennis Bergkamp, only for Nikopolidis to cut out his low cross.

Van Persie tries his luck from distance but the Dutch striker's effort flies over the bar.

Olympiacos appear to have weathered the storm though as the Emirates Stadium faithful go even quieter than usual.

Robin van Persie's corner is missed by everybody when even the merest of touches would have forced the ball into the net.

Nikopolidis races off his line to claim Rosicky's cross, the veteran keeper has been outstanding so far.

There's some brief respite for the visitors as Arsenal regroup before, no doubt, another surge of attacking.

Fabregas breaks clear again but once more Nikopolidis comes to Olympiacos' rescue with another smart stop.

There's a rare touch for Vito Mannone who has been untroubled so far, in contrast to his busy afternoon at Craven Cottage on Saturday.

Fabregas tries to pick his way through the massed defence but the Spaniard is eventually crowded out.

Nearly a quarter of the game gone and it's still 0-0, somehow.

Fabregas' free-kick is blocked by the Olympiacos wall.

Arshavin is everywhere, he's really in the mood tonight.

The waspish Arshavin somehow manages to find some space for himself to drill in a shot that Nikopolidis again does well to keep out.

It's one-way traffic now and it can surely only be a matter of minutes before Arsenal break the deadlock.

Great drama as Cesc Fabregas' thunderbolt rattles the crossbar and comes back into play. The ball rebounds to Tomas Rosicky whose goalbound drive is blocked by the keeper.

It's wave after wave of Gunners attacks now as Wenger's side start to turn on the style.

The Russian maestro is starting to enjoy himself as he dances down the left win again.

Great save by Nikopolidis who gets down low to palm Arshavin's drive out.

Arsenal are starting to dominate possession as the grey-haired goalkeeper Antonios Nikopolidis punches away a dangerous cross.

They are second in the Greek League after five games having won four and drawn one of them.

Zico's side had to beat FC Sheriff and Slovan Bratislava to reach this stage of the competition and look to be no mugs.

The visitors have started brightly as the match opens at a brisk pace.

Former Aston Villa star Olof Mellberg is at the heart of the Greek side's defence but there's no Matt Derbyshire - the former Blackburn striker is injured.

Andrey Arshavin curls in an early cross but it drifts harmlessly out of play.