Olympiacos announced the termination of James Rodriguez's contract on Thursday after just eight months at the club.

The former Monaco, Real Madrid and Everton midfielder moved to Greece at the beginning of the season, but departs having not played for the club since mid-February due to injury.

A statement from Olympiacos read:" James will always be part of our club and a member of the 'red and white' family. We want to thank him for his service and we wish him every success in the future."

In his own message on social media, James said: "I would like to thank everyone for all the time that we have spent together.

"Although we are going our separate ways, I feel that I will always be a member and welcomed in the family of the great port Piraeus. I wish all the best to Olympiacos and every success in the future."

A breakout star from the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, James is now on the hunt for a new club having struggled to find stability in recent years.

James has not spent more than a single season at any of his last three clubs – Olympiacos, Al-Rayyan and Everton – while a two-year loan stint with Bayern Munich from 2017-2019 saw the Bundesliga giants decline to make a permanent move.

He remains a regular at international level with Colombia, however, scoring in a 2-2 draw with South Korea last month and boasting 90 caps for his country.

Real Madrid and Brazil great Marcelo has left Olympiacos just five months after signing for the Greek Super League champions.

The left-back, a five-time Champions League winner, called an end to his glittering Madrid career in September as he joined Olympiacos on a free transfer.

Marcelo made just five appearances in the Greek top flight this term, failing to start in any of those, after signing a reported one-year deal with an option of an additional year extension.

The 34-year-old took to Instagram to confirm he had parted ways with Olympiacos on Saturday.

"I have lived unforgettable moments in Greece, in which I was warmly welcomed to a new home, not only for me, but also for my family," he wrote.

"Piraeus and the people have all my heart and this won't be my last time in this amazing country. I can only express gratitude for wearing the Olympiacos jersey.

"Even though the brief stay, the experience and the friends I made there will be forever marked in my life.

"Today I say goodbye but I'm leaving my affection and respect to the president, my team-mates, all the employees and fans of the club.

"I wish Olympiacos a successful future! Thank you, Olympiacos."

The Greek Super League side added: "The entire Olympiacos family would like to thank @MarceloM12 for his cooperation and presence in Olympiacos.

"The time he stayed with us was brief but enough to create everlasting bonds. He knows that in Greece, in Piraeus he will always have friends!"

Reports suggest retirement is not on the cards for Marcelo, who remains Madrid's most decorated player after the 58-cap Brazil international lifted 25 major trophies with the LaLiga giants.

Fluminense president Mario Bittencourt confirmed the club are keen on signing Thiago Silva and Marcelo at the end of their contracts.

Silva, 38, began his career at Fluminense, returning to the club in 2006 for a three-year spell before making his mark in European football with Milan, Paris Saint-Germain and Chelsea.

Full-back Marcelo's footballing roots also trace back to the Brazilian side, with a single year in the first team before a trophy-laden 15-years with Real Madrid that ended in 2022.

Both players are out of contract with their teams at the end of the season and Bittencourt confirmed the club will make a move if they do not renew with Chelsea and Olympiacos respectively.

"We are waiting for [Thiago Silva's] decision at Chelsea. We don't know yet if he will extend there or not," he told a press conference.

"Depending on this information, whether he extends or not, we will start discussions for him to come back to Fluminense.

"We have the will to bring [Marcelo] in. But he is in the same situation as Thiago Silva. He has a contract in Greece that goes until May.

"We are waiting to see the decision he will take there, if he will extend or not. There was a report that Al-Nassr, the same club as Cristiano [Ronaldo], were interested in him.

"We are following the situation of Marcelo and Thiago Silva to bring them back."

James Rodriguez has signed for Olympiacos after terminating his contract with Qatar Stars League club Al-Rayyan.

The Colombia international joined Al-Rayyan from Everton in September 2021, a little over a year after he had joined the Premier League side, with Rafael Benitez having deemed the playmaker surplus to requirements.

James made just 12 league appearances for Al-Rayyan, scoring four times, and on Thursday the club confirmed the mutual termination of the 31-year-old's contract, enabling him to sign for Greek giants Olympiacos on a free transfer.

Olympiacos teased the arrival of the attacker, who claimed LaLiga and Bundesliga titles with Real Madrid and Bayern Munich respectively, with a shirt featuring the number 10, before officially confirming the signing later on Thursday.

James starred at the 2014 World Cup, winning the Golden Boot and earning a switch from Monaco to Madrid, but he will not be making a swift return to Qatar later this year, with Colombia having failed to qualify for the tournament.

With Olympiacos featuring in the Europa League, James will be in line to make his first appearance in a UEFA competition since October 2019, when he played in the Champions League for Madrid.

Across his appearances in the Champions League, Europa League and the Super Cup, James has scored six goals and provided 12 assists.

Marcelo has signed for Greek Super League champions Olympiacos after bringing down the curtain on his glittering Real Madrid career.

The left-back – a five-time European champion – was firmly behind Ferland Mendy in Madrid's pecking order last term, starting only seven games in all competitions as Los Blancos won LaLiga and the Champions League.

Although Marcelo was club captain, Karim Benzema usually skippered Carlo Ancelotti's team. Marcelo then departed when his contract expired at the end of the 2021-22 season, ending a 15-year stay with the Spanish giants.

Marcelo said upon leaving Madrid: "I won't retire, not now. I feel I can still play. Facing Real Madrid won't be a problem. I'm a big Madridista, but I'm also a big professional."

He was available as a free agent and was recently linked with Premier League side Leicester City.

However, the 34-year-old has ended up at Olympiacos, who described him as "a true football legend" when announcing the deal.

There is unlikely to be the opportunity to face Madrid this season, with Olympiacos having failed to qualify for the Champions League group stage, losing to Maccabi Haifa in the preliminary rounds.

Roma have completed the signing of Olympiacos midfielder Mady Camara on a season-long loan deal with the option to buy.

The Guinea international is the seventh arrival at the Stadio Olimpico during this transfer window, following in the footsteps of Nemanja Matic, Mile Svilar, Zeki Celik, Paulo Dybala, Georginio Wijnaldum and Andrea Belotti.

Camara, who will wear the number 20 for the Giallorossi, spent four seasons with Olympiacos, winning three league titles.

The 25-year-old was linked with a host of clubs across Europe in this window but is now looking forward to his new challenge with Roma.

"I am very happy to be here," Camara told the club's official website. "Roma represents a great opportunity for me.

"It will be a challenging season, between cups and the league, but I am here to give my contribution and help the team in every competition in which we participate.

"Seeing the Olimpico and the Giallorossi fans was magnificent; I can't wait to play for them."

Camara could make his Roma debut when the Giallorossi travel to Udinese in Serie A on Sunday.

Romelu Lukaku's club future has been thrown into the spotlight after an explosive interview.

The Belgian striker revealed his regret at leaving Inter for Chelsea in August.

Lukaku was subsequently dropped by coach Thomas Tuchel for Sunday's 2-2 draw with Liverpool.

TOP STORY – LUKAKU COULD MAKE STUNNING SWITCH TO SPURS

La Gazzetta Dello Sport claims that unsettled Chelsea forward Romelu Lukaku could make a cross-city switch to Tottenham to re-unite with Antonio Conte.

Lukaku and Conte worked together at Inter where they won the Serie A title last term.

The striker revealed his frustrations at Chelsea over the weekend, with Tuchel offering no guarantees about his future.

ROUND-UP

- Erling Haaland will not leave Borussia Dortmund during the January transfer window, reports Fabrizio Romano. Haaland has not decided his next destination yet, despite rumours of a pre-agreement with Real Madrid and Barcelona.

- Ara claims Barcelona will offer Ousmane Dembele to Manchester United as part of a swap deal for want-away forward Anthony Martial.

- Tottenham and West Ham United  are both keen to sign Wolves' Adama Traore, claims the Telegraph. Wolves want £20million for the Spanish forward.

- Olympiakos' Guinea international midfielder Aguibou Camara is attracting interest from Milan and Liverpool, claims Calciomercato.

Emerging Serbian striker Dusan Vlahovic has a long list of admirers.

The 21-year-old netted 21 Serie A goals last season.

Vlahovic scored a double in Fiorentina's 4-3 win over Milan last weekend too.

TOP STORY – NEWCASTLE STILL KEEN ON VLAHOVIC

Cashed-up Newcastle United will still pursue hot property forward Dusan Vlahovic despite Fiorentina's €80million (£67m) asking price according to Corriere Fiorentina.

The bottom-of-the-table Premier League club are determined to land the Serbian who has also attracted interest from Juventus.

Juventus want Vlahovic in January and are still front-runners to land the 21-year-old, who has already netted 12 goals this term.

 ROUND-UP

- Sky Germany reports that Borussia Dortmund are preparing a new contract offer for Erling Haaland to keep him at the club, amid interest from Real Madrid, Barcelona, Chelsea, Manchester United and Manchester City.

- Barcelona are considering moves for either of Chelsea pair Timo Werner or Hakim Ziyech as an alternative to Manchester City winger Raheem Sterling claims ESPN.

- Liverpool, Leicester City and Newcastle are all monitoring Olympiacos' 20-year-old midfielder Aguibou Camara reports The Sun.

- Milan have entered the pursuit to sign Arsenal's Alexandre Lacazette claims Calciomercato. Atletico Madrid, Barcelona and Newcastle are all interested.

Newcastle United look set to enter the transfer market in January following their change of ownership.

The Magpies are 19th in the Premier League, with no wins and three draws from seven games this term.

The Saudi-led ownership takeover at St James' Park was officially completed on Thursday.

TOP STORY – NEWCASTLE ENTER CHASE FOR ICARDI

Following their big-money buyout, Newcastle have entered the race to sign Argentine forward Mauro Icardi from Paris Saint-Germain, reports Calciomercato.

Tottenham and Juventus are reportedly already interested in the 28-year-old former Inter player, who joined PSG permanently in 2020 on a four-year deal after a loan spell.

The Telegraph claims Newcastle could spend up to £190m in January without breaking Financial Fair Play rules.

ROUND-UP

- Spanish newspaper Sport claims former Liverpool winger Philippe Coutinho could join Newcastle as Barcelona seek to offload the Brazilian in January.

- Chelsea defender Antonio Rudiger is Real Madrid's number one transfer target next year, claims Spanish newspaper ABC. Rudiger's contract is due to expire at the end of this season.

- Calciomercato reports Juventus are open to a swap deal with Everton which would see Aaron Ramsey and Brazilian midfielder Allan exchange places.

- Liverpool are ahead of Arsenal and Everton in the race to sign Olympiacos' Senegalese centre-back Pape Abou Cisse according to the Daily Mail.

- Arsenal are considering a move for Zenit's Iranian forward Sardar Azmoun as they seek a replacement for Alexandre Lacazette, according to Onze Mondial.

- Cristiano Ronaldo wants former Juventus team-mate Federico Chiesa to join him at Manchester United, claims Calciomercato.

- The Sun reports that ex-Chelsea manager Antonio Conte would decline the chance to replace Steve Bruce as Newcastle boss.

Manchester City's interest in signing Tottenham's Harry Kane is widely known but a deal appears no closer to materialising. 

The 28-year-old forward was absent for the two sides' Premier League game on Sunday, when Spurs took the points.

City have reportedly bid up to £125 million to sign the England international, who reportedly requested a move late last season.

TOP STORY - KANE FRUSTRATED AS SPURS REJECT CITY BID

Kane has grown frustrated with Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy and thrown down the gauntlet with a proposed move to Manchester City, reports The Telegraph.

According to the report, the England forward feels that Levy has not honoured their meeting at the end of the 2019-20 season when he requested to leave Spurs if they underachieved.

Kane is also frustrated that Levy's tactics have seen fans turned against him and that the chairman is also refusing to sell or even accept calls from City.

The report claims that City have submitted a fresh £125m bid for Kane, which Spurs have turned down.

ROUND-UP

- El Larguero claims that Paris Saint-Germain director Leonardo has informed the players that Kylian Mbappe will stay to see out the remainder of his contract, due to expire in mid-2022, scuppering Real Madrid's hopes of signing him this month or in January.

- Samuel Umtiti, Martin Braithwaite and Miralem Pjanic are all on the chopping block at Barcelona, according to Diario AS, which claims the Catalans must sell three players this month to reduce their salary bill despite Lionel Messi's exit.

- Martin Odegaard is set to re-join Arsenal on a permanent deal from Real Madrid, says Fabrizio Romano. Talks are at their final stages with a deal until 2026.

- Tottenham are keen on Chelsea defender Kurt Zouma, reports Sky Sports. The Blues would demand a £25 million fee for the Frenchman.

- Internazionale are in talks to sign forward Marcus Thuram from Moenchengladbach, claims Sky Sport Italia.

- The Sun reports that Wolves are talking to Olympiacos about signing Portuguese defender Ruben Semedo on a one-year loan.

Mikel Arteta saw Arsenal scrape through to the Europa League quarter-finals and warned the demise of Tottenham shows there are no formalities in knockout football.

Arsenal took charge of their last-16 tie with Olympiacos in Greece last week by opening up a 3-1 advantage, but a 1-0 defeat at Emirates Stadium on Thursday made for a rockier than expected route through to the final eight.

Gunners manager Arteta said Arsenal were "nowhere near" the required level and did not hide behind the fact his team avoided the same fate as their north London rivals, with Tottenham given a shock 3-0 hiding by Dinamo Zagreb to perish 3-2 on aggregate.

Speaking about Tottenham's miserable fate in the competition, Arteta – whose side lost three consecutive home matches in European competition for the first time in their history – said: "It shows as well the level of opposition, that people take for granted that you play against an opponent and you will go through, because of the name of the club that they represent.

"It is not like that, every team in Europe is difficult to beat."

Arteta only found solace in the fact Arsenal – who reached the quarter-finals of the competition for the fourth time in their last five campaigns – avoided Europa League elimination.

"If I have to evaluate the performance with what we've done today, with the ball in particular, then it's nowhere near the standards we have set for ourselves," Arteta said.

"We made it really difficult because we didn't have any stability when you give the amount of balls away that we have in the game.

"When that happens, you don't have the control to manage the tie in the way that we should have done and that's related to the amount of chances we missed again."

Tricky opposition will await Arsenal in the quarter-finals, with this competition particularly important given that winning it represents their only realistic path into next season's Champions League.

Premier League rivals Manchester United, Roma, Villarreal and Ajax are among the sides to have made the last eight.

Arsenal's dressing room was a quiet place after the game, goalkeeper Bernd Leno said.

Leno told Arsenal Media: "Everybody knows that it was not a good performance from us. We cannot change it anymore but the positive thing is that it was a warning. We need to be 100 per cent every game. If we play like today then we won't reach anything this season.

"This is probably the closest way to go to the Champions League and also to win a big European trophy so we need to step up."

Arteta, meanwhile, said Arsenal would not rush to pull Bukayo Saka out of the England squad for the World Cup qualifying games at the end of the month.

The young winger missed Thursday's fixture with a muscle injury but may have a chance of facing West Ham on Sunday, and if he misses out then Arsenal will consult with the England camp.

Arsenal survived a second-half scare to book their place in the Europa League quarter-finals despite a 1-0 defeat to Olympiacos. 

With a 3-1 cushion from the first leg, Arsenal managed to exorcise the demons from their round-of-32 defeat to the same opponents a little over a year ago, but it was tighter than they would have wanted.

Youssef El-Arabi scored the crucial goal for Olympiacos last season, and he was on target again to put the visitors ahead on the night on Thursday.

However, the introduction of Thomas Partey and Martin Odegaard helped steady the hosts, before Ousseynou Ba's red card ended Olympiacos' hopes.

Back on his former stomping ground, Sokratis was in the thick of the action inside five minutes, bravely blocking Emile Smith Rowe's effort, with both players requiring treatment.

Sokratis got a vital touch to take Nicolas Pepe's effort wide soon after, though some typically slack Arsenal defending saw the hosts caught cold from one long ball, with Bernd Leno denying El-Arabi.

Back in the fold after his north London derby omission, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang snatched at a similarly good chance at the other end, prodding over when one-on-one with Jose Sa.

Arsenal's defence was caught napping again immediately after the restart – Konstantinos Fortounis and Jose Holebas going close.

Yet Arsenal's luck ran out in the 51st minute, El-Arabi's strike deflecting in off David Luiz after Dani Ceballos had lost possession.

Pepe's blistering first-time shot looked set to restore Arsenal's cushion in the tie on the hour, omly for Smith Rowe to inadvertently get in the way.

Aubameyang's frustrating evening was summed up by a dreadful chip late on, though Arsenal were ultimately not made to pay for his profligacy.

Ba's dismissal helped, the defender receiving a ridiculous second yellow for punching the ball away in frustration after he had fouled Gabriel Martinelli.

What does it mean? Olympiacos’ happy hunting ground, but Arsenal get it done

Arsenal have now progressed from six of the seven Europa League knockout ties in which they won the first leg – their only failure coming last season against Olympiacos.

The Greek team were the better side on the night here, though they were also helped by wasteful finishing from Arsenal, who have now lost each of their three home games against Olympiacos. It is the first time the Gunners have lost three consecutive home matches against a single opponent in European competition.

El-Arabi in esteemed company

El-Arabi became just the fourth player to score in three consecutive matches against Arsenal in major European competition, after Lionel Messi (March 2016), Arjen Robben and Robert Lewandowski (both March 2017).

At the other end of the pitch, Aubameyang cut a frustrated figure. The Arsenal captain missed a gilt-edged chance in the clash at the Emirates last term, and his finishing was similarly wasteful this time out, with the Gabon forward squandering three brilliant opportunities in the closing stages.

Ceballos makes another error as Gunners concede again

After his error in the first leg, no player had made more mistakes leading to a goal in this season's Europa League than Ceballos, who was again sloppy on the ball in the build-up to Olympiacos' opener.

From then on, Arsenal's defending left a lot to be desired. The Gunners have now conceded in each of their last 11 matches across all competitions – their longest run without a clean sheet since a stretch of 14 matches without a shut-out between October and December 2019.

What's next?

After their win over Tottenham last weekend, Arsenal have another London derby in store on Sunday, as they travel to West Ham. Olympiacos take on Aris in Greece's top-flight play-offs.

Martin Odegaard has everything to become the "complete player" according to Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta, who thinks the Norway international can add more goals to his game. 

Odegaard has impressed since joining the Gunners on loan from Real Madrid in January and followed his first goal for the club against Olympiacos last week with the equaliser in Sunday's 2-1 north London derby win over Tottenham. 

Ahead of the return clash with Olympiacos, where Arsenal hold a 3-1 advantage, Arteta warmly praised the 22-year-old playmaker. 

"He's getting better and better. I think his understanding of what we want is excellent," he told the media. 

"His work rate has been phenomenal. And then he's doing something which, in my opinion, he could improve a lot, which is getting in the opponents' box and being more decisive in the score line. 

"He's doing that. He's scored two goals, he's got some really important entrances in the zone and he looks really dangerous all the time. 

"It's something that if he adds that to his game, he becomes a real complete player." 

Odegaard's two goals in all competitions are more than any other Arsenal midfielder has managed since his debut, with only Bukayo Saka (19) having more than his 11 shots. 

He is also the best among his midfield colleagues over the same period in terms of chances created (13), while behind only Mohamed Elneny in terms of passing accuracy (92.9 versus 90.8 per cent), having played 468 more minutes than the Egypt international. 

"I think everybody has been really impressed with how quickly he adapted. How professional he is," Arteta said. 

"How quickly he adapted to try to engage with everybody at Colney [Arsenal's training ground] and then the performances he is putting in as well." 

Pierre Emerick-Aubameyang is back in contention to start after a disciplinary breach led to him being benched for the win against Spurs. 

Asked whether Aubameyang had been stripped of the Arsenal captaincy, Arteta replied: "That was dealt with on the day. It's been resolved in a really positive way and we move on." 

Fellow forward Gabriel Martinelli could get a chance for valuable first-time minutes against Olympiacos, having struggled for fitness and form this season. 

"If anything, it's my fault," Arteta said over the Brazilian youngster's lack of game time. "He's done everything perfect. He trains incredibly well every day. His attitude cannot be any better. 

"He's really disappointed that he's not playing more, obviously I have spoken to him. But he needs to be a little bit patient. 

"He had some minutes, he had some games as well and it’s true that the competition now for the front positions is very tough. He needs to be patient and he will get his chance." 

Saka, meanwhile, faces a late fitness test having made way at half-time in the game with Spurs due to a hamstring complaint.

Mikel Arteta demanded Arsenal cut out their defensive mistakes, despite being thrilled with the overall performance of his team against Olympiacos in the Europa League.

Arsenal took a big stride towards the Europa League quarter-finals as they ran out 3-1 winners in the first leg of their last-16 tie in Athens, thanks to late goals from Gabriel and Mohamed Elneny on Thursday.

Martin Odegaard's stunner – his first goal for Arsenal after joining from Real Madrid on loan – put the Gunners ahead, but a mix up between Bernd Leno and Dani Ceballos, who has now made two errors leading to goals in the Europa League this season (no player has made more), allowed Olympiacos to equalise.

Ceballos' mistake follows on from Granit Xhaka's error against Burnley in the Premier League on Saturday, though manager Arteta insisted there is no issue with Arsenal's system, but rather the timing of their passes out from the back.

"We started the game really well, very dominant, created a lot of chances, we could have scored two or three at least in the first half, but we gave them two chances," he told BT Sport.

"We gave them the goal, trying to play out from the back, but we reacted really well.

"Overall, positive things, really positive performances but we have to stop making the errors that are costing goals, because we cannot sustain that at this level.

"It's not concentration, it's about when you play the ball. It's not about structure, decision making, it's about when you play the ball, it makes a whole difference."

Arteta, though, claimed his team cannot play with any fear.

"It's not about stopping the way we play, because this is us and we get our rewards by identifying when we do it and how we have to do it," he added.

"The worst that we can do is get the structure to play, but then have too much fear to play. That's a bad mistake to do that."

Arsenal were worthy winners – the Gunners had 18 shots, compared to six from Greek hosts Olympiacos, and eight of them were on target, while Arteta's side also enjoyed 61.5 per cent possession.

The Gunners have won eight of their nine Europa League games this season – drawing the other – and are the highest scorers in the competition so far this term (27 goals), but Arteta explained the next step is to put in a complete performance.

"We were really dominant. We showed our personality to come here and dominate the game," he said.

"The next step is to do that for 90 minutes and give absolutely nothing to the opponent – we are not there yet. 

"We have some of the best moments that we've played this season, understanding the spaces, the quality, the rhythm, the way we attacked the spaces. How we linked with each other, it was great. We need to keep doing it and do it for longer periods."

Odegaard was particularly impressive in the number 10 role, crafting a game-high four chances and had four attempts – more than any other player.

"It's a great result, three goals away from home and a win in this competition is always big," the Madrid loanee told BT Sport.

"The way we struck back after the goal we conceded, and the mentality of this team – I'm really pleased with everything.

"It showed the spirit in the team, the way we back each other. We knew we had to get a goal. That's what it's about – being a team. When one player makes a mistake, you have to strike back as a team and that's what we did today."

Gabriel and Mohamed Elneny scored late on as Arsenal atoned for defensive sloppiness to take a 3-1 lead in their Europa League last-16 tie with Olympiacos.

Having taken the lead through Martin Odegaard's stunning first goal for the club, Arsenal looked set to be the masters of their own downfall in Piraeus.

After surviving a David Luiz mistake late prior to half-time, the Gunners gifted Olympiacos an equalsier when Youssef El-Arabi robbed Dani Ceballos of possession.

Yet with El-Arabi, who scored the winner when Olympiacos knocked Arsenal out last season, squandering another gilt-edged chance, Gabriel headed in a second away goal to give the Gunners the edge before Elneny's wicked strike put them in control ahead of the return leg.

Kieran Tierney's strike inspired Arsenal's comeback against Benfica at the same stadium on February 25, and the full-back should have had an assist to his name in the third minute of this game, but Odegaard dragged wide from his neat cut-back.

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang's deflected header looked set to put Arsenal ahead three minutes later, only for Jose Sa to make a superb save onto the crossbar.

Odegaard more than made amends for his earlier miss when he struck in the 34th minute, slamming a powerful, left-footed shot beyond Sa from 30 yards.

Arsenal's work was almost undone by David Luiz's error moments later – Giorgos Masouras blazing over.

Thomas Partey forced Sa into action shortly after the restart, before he was taken off for Ceballos, and that change quickly backfired.

Bernd Leno's sloppy pass put Ceballos in trouble, and El-Arabi nipped in to fire home.

El-Arabi could have taken his tally of goals against Arsenal to three when Lazar Randjelovic drilled in a cross, but he failed to divert it on target.

Olympiacos were made to pay – Gabriel rising high above Yann M'Vila to meet Willian's cross and send a looping header into the right-hand corner before Elneny's swerving strike clipped in off the woodwork to give Arsenal breathing space in the tie.