Arsenal will be back in Champions League action tonight when Olympiacos come visiting in North London. The Emirates Stadium uses a different name during Champions League nights. The Gunners will be looking to build on their 2-0 victory over Athletic Bilbao on the opening day of the league phase. Mikel Arteta’s side haven’t exactly impressed this season, but Sunday’s win over Newcastle United took them to within two points of leaders Liverpool. Arteta will be keen on building that momentum as he seeks to win the club’s first-ever Champions League title. “We have the same ambition, which is to go game by game and try to be better than the opponent, which is very difficult in this competition and win as many games as we can. Tomorrow (Olympiacos) we’re going to have a really difficult one,” he said via Arsenal’s website.
“We know how important the home form is going to be to reach this phase where we want to arrive, and tomorrow we have the opportunity to start well.” However, despite the game being played in the familiar territory of the Emirates Stadium, UEFA recognises the stadium differently during Champions League nights. Why is Emirates Stadium called Arsenal Stadium in Champions League? UEFA has strict rules regarding stadium sponsors and requires host clubs to provide a ‘clean stadium’ as BBC Sport reports. This means that the trademark, brand colours or logo of a sponsor cannot appear anywhere in the commercial exclusive zone of a stadium hosting UEFA games. UEFA doesn’t recognise the sponsors, and in Arsenal’s case, the Emirates Stadium becomes the Arsenal Stadium on Champions League nights.
By Martin Moses
