Arsenal 3 Olympiakos 1: Aaron Ramsey and Lukas Podolski fire Gunners to Champions League win

Lukas Podolski struck the decisive goal on 56 minutes, driving low through the legs of keeper Balazs Megyeri after strikes from Gervinho and Kostas Mitroglou had sent the sides in level at the break. Aaron Ramsey added some gloss to the scoreline deep into injury time.

The goals aside though, there was much on display that would have frustrated Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger as he watched on from the stands as he served the second game of a three-match touchline ban.

Certainly, two wins from two can't be argued with — football is a results-based industry, after all — but many of the 60,034 present must have been wishing they had chosen the considerably cheaper option of watching the game at the pub as the rain poured down and the football matched the miserable weather.

Arsenal, coming off the back of the first defeat of the season to Chelsea, desperately lacked ideas against an Olympiakos team that was no stranger to them, having been drawn against the Greeks in the first round group last term and in 2009.

Leonardo Jardim's team were well-placed to take advantage of any Arsenal lethargy, having begun their domestic campaign with five straight wins, scoring 13 and conceding just three.

Aside from a Santi Cazorla free kick, which Megyeri tipped over the bar, what few chances arose fell to the visitors. Midway through the opening half, Paulo Machado bustled down the bye-line and pulled a cross back to Mitroglou who, on the edge of the area, shot low through a sea of players. The sodden turf seemed to slow down his effort rather than increase its velocity, but Vito Mannone nonetheless did well to hold.

On 37 minutes, it seemed almost inexplicable that the visitors were not ahead. Giannis Maniatis escaped the challenged of Podolski to whip in a cross from the right flank. The Arsenal defence stood statuesque as Machado, again in the thick of things, charged though the middle and shot over from barely three yards.

It was incredibly harsh on the Greeks then when, two minutes before the interval, Gervinho popped up from nowhere to give Arsenal a scarcely deserved lead. Mikel Arteta found found his Ivorian team-mate on the edge of the area and he scuffed a shot which beat Megyeri all ends up.

The scores were justly level moments later. Leandro Greco sent in a beautiful cross from the left for Mitroglou who outleapt Thomas Vermaelen to beat Mannone with a header that was both delicate in its execution and powerful at the same time.

It was a pulsating finish that was entirely out of keeping with the rest of the half. Things could only get better after the break and so it proved with Arsenal returning for the second stanza with increased verve.

Cazorla stabbed an effort wide after just two minutes of the restart. The Spaniard clasped his head in his hands, but his side soon had the lead.

The former Malaga man and Gervinho exchanged passes on the left flank, with the latter racing into the box before overunning the ball. Fortunately for the Ivorian, defender Kostas Manolas gave the ball straight back to him. He took the opportunity to feed Podolski who, with his back to goal, spun and fired an effort straight through the legs of Megyeri.

Olympiakos never rediscovered their first-half vigour and Arsenal put the tie well and truly to bed deep into injury time when Ramsey raced onto substitute Olivier Giroud's flick-on and scooped the ball beyond Megyeri.