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Cech still believes Arsenal can qualify for Champions League Round of 16

Darren Staples / Reuters

Arsenal goalkeeper Petr Cech isn't ready to give up on his team's pursuit of the Champions League trophy.

For Cech, it's not over until it's over - even if it may be over soon enough.

A 5-1 loss against Bayern Munich at the Allianz Arena put a major dent in Arsenal's group-stage campaign, with the Gunners currently sitting third in Group F, six points behind both Munich and Olympiacos. If Munich and Olympiacos pick up at least one point each, Arsenal will be eliminated.

But the former Chelsea netminder still believes the Gunners can move into the next round, despite the odds.

"Of course we can still qualify," Cech told reporters. "You win two games, and we need to make sure the head-to-head against Olympiacos is in our favour, and then we can go through. Everything is possible and we have two games to play. We have to regroup and continue fighting until the last minute."

The task was already a difficult one, as Arsenal lost its first two group-stage matches against Dinamo Zagreb and Olympiacos. A doubleheader against Bayern Munich awaited them and hope seemed lost.

A 2-0 win over Munich at the Emirates renewed that hope, but losing Wednesday put Arsenal back in an uncomfortable situation; now, the Gunners need to win their last two games and need Olympiacos or Bayern to lose out, while also needing a better goal differential.

Losing by four goals didn't help that cause.

"Obviously this was not a day we wanted, but in a way the situation in our group thanks to the result in Greece hasn't changed much," Cech said. "We are still in the position where we need to win our last two games and make sure we have a better head-to-head against Olympiacos ...

"(It's) tough to take but in a way you have to accept that the team you played against was superior to us in everything they have done, especially in the first half. There are some positives in the second half but obviously we need to do better defensively and be more aggressive because we allowed them too much time on the ball."

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