Arsenal defender Sokratis has informed his teammates as much as he can about their upcoming Greek opponents.

The Greece international is heading back to his homeland for the first leg of the Gunners' Europa League round of 16 clash against Olympiacos.

And having Sokratis in the squad will help the rest of the team understand the threat they are facing on Thursday.

He told the club website: "We have had these sort of discussions with my teammates.

"They know everything, how hot and how tense the atmosphere in the stadium will be.

"What is for certain is that we are so proud to play against a top Greek club, what this means is that we're going to play against a club who for 90 minutes will have their minds focused on winning.

"We know this means that this fixture is going to be really difficult and really tough."