Arsenal progress to Europa League quarterfinals despite losing at home to top European club

- Arsenal are through to the Europa League quarterfinals despite losing 1-0 to Olympiacos

- The Gunners progressed on a 3-2 aggregate having won the first leg 3-1 in faraway Greece

- Youssef El-Arabi scored the only goal that separated both sides in the second leg of the last-16 game

PAY ATTENTION: Join Legit.ng Telegram channel! Never miss important updates!

Arsenal are through to the quarter-finals of the Europa League despite their 1-0 defeat vs Olympiacos at the Emirates on Thursday evening, March 18.

The Gunners took a huge step towards reaching the last eight of the competition after they secured a 3-1 win away in Greece in the reverse tie of the Round of 16 last week.

Goals from Martin Odegaard, Gabriel and Mohamed Elneny secured the crucial win, with the Mikel Arteta-tutored side following up the victory with another against rivals Tottenham Hotspur at the weekend.

PAY ATTENTION: Click “See First” under the “Following” tab to see Legit.ng News on your Facebook News Feed!

However, they appeared to have lost their spark in their second leg meeting with Olympiacos in London, with the visitors emerging the better side from the early exchanges.

However, it was the hosts who almost took the lead first through Nicolas Pepe who went round the keeper before unleashing a shot that was deflected into the side netting.

Bernd Leno would later be forced into a vital save on the other end of the pitch, stopping El-Arabi from finding the back of the net when the Olympiacos star roared through on goal.

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, who was dropped against Spurs also had a chance to score in the half but sent his shot over the bar when he should have scored.

The visitors went on to take the lead minutes after the breakthrough Youssef El-Arabi via a scruffy shot that deflected off Gabriel to beat Leno.

The goal meant Pedro Martins' wards needed two more to progress, only for them to be reduced to 10 men in the 81st minute when Ousseynou Ba was sent off for pushing the ball at the referee.

The Gunners were eventually able to contain the Greek giants for the remainder of the tie, strolling to a 3-2 win on aggregate to qualify for the last eight.

Legit.ng earlier reported that Chelsea progressed to the quarterfinals of this season's Champions League following their 3-0 aggregate win over Atletico Madrid.

A goal each from Hakim Ziyech and Emerson were all the Blues needed in the second-leg of their last-16 encounter at Stamford Bridge on Wednesday night, March 17.

The west Londoners went into the return leg with a 1-0 advantage salvaged in the reverse tie played in Romania.

Oluwatomiwa is a sports editor with Legit.ng. He has over eight years of field and office experience in the media industry. He graduated from the Nigerian Institute of Journalism in 2014 with HND in Mass Communication. Connect with him on Twitter @TomiwaBabalola.