World Cup winner admits Champions League fears for Arsenal

Arsenal captain Per Mertesacker admits their chances of progressing from the group stages of the Champions League are now “minimal” following their second defeat in a row in the competition.

The Gunners followed up their opening game 2-1 defeat to Dinamo Zagreb with a shock 3-2 loss at home to Olympiacos on Tuesday night to leave them with zero points.

Arsene Wenger’s side will now face two fixtures against group leaders Bayern Munich, where they are unlikely to gain any points and Mertesacker, who won the World Cup with Germany in 2014, concedes his team are up against it to qualify for the knockout stages.

“Everyone is disappointed but we will get up and fight for a minimal chance,” Mertesacker is quoted as saying by London Evening Standard.

“We play Bayern twice in a row and that is a big chance for us to show what a great team we are. We have to prove we can show up with another performance. Play more aggressive, be more direct and be more convincing.

Everyone is disappointed because that was not good enough. If we want to qualify, we need to do much better.”

Arsenal must now become the first team since Panathinaikos in the 2008/09 campaign to qualify having lost their opening two matches.

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