PIRAEUS, Greece -- Arsene Wenger believes Arsenal can capitalise on Olympiakos' nerves as they seek to pull their Champions League campaign back from the brink of elimination on Wednesday night.
The Gunners must either beat the Greek side by two goals or by a one-goal margin of 3-2 or higher to overtake them and claim second place in Group F.
Confidence is high that Olympiakos, who won 3-2 at the Emirates Stadium in September, can see the job through at home, but Wenger said their status as favourites may not necessarily work in their favour.
"Of course we play against a side that will be motivated but we face that every week," he told a news conference.
"At the moment they have qualified but let's not forget they can lose what they have as well -- and that can create a fear factor. The best way for us to [go through] is to believe in our quality."
Arsenal have come close to completing Champions League turnarounds on several occasions in recent years, most recently when they defeated Monaco 2-0 in last season's last-16 second leg, only to lose out on away goals.
They were a stage further then than they find themselves this time, but Wenger says his team can draw strength from their near miss at Stade Louis II.
"We can learn from what happened to us in Monaco especially," he said. "I think overall the game we played there was very positive. We played quite well, with the right patience, until the last 10 minutes when we rushed our game a bit.
"We have a history of positive results. We have won everywhere in Europe so we know we can do it."
Failure to progress from the group stage for the first time in 16 years would force Arsenal to make a Europa League debut in February.
Such thoughts, Wenger says, have not entered his players' minds ahead of Wednesday's match at Karaiskakis Stadium.
"If you want to jump over a hurdle you don't think about what happens if you miss it," he said. "You give absolutely everything to jump over it and if you fall down you respond. But if you want to have a chance then you have to focus."