Olympiacos defender Sokratis Papastatopoulos admits he had problems at Arsenal.

However, the veteran insists he has nothing to prove when he faces his former club in the Europa League round 16 first-leg on Thursday night.

Sokratis said: "It was difficult, because I could not play due to the fact that I was not included in the registration for the 2020/21 season. I had offers in the summer, but the negotiations failed.

"Despite the fact that I was excluded from the registration, I tried hard in training and remained a professional until the end. Playing against Arsenal in the Europa League? I don't need to prove anything to (Mikel) Arteta or anyone else. Arteta decided to leave me out, the club agreed."