The Ligue 1 outfit have lost their opening three group games to Arsenal, Borussia Dortmund and the Serie A side. They travel to Naples on Wednesday knowing another defeat would more than likely eliminate them from the competition.
The importance of the encounter at Stadio San Paolo is not lost on the 23-year-old Ghana international. Speaking exclusively for FourFourTwo, he said:
“Our chances of getting out of the group basically all depend on the game in Napoli. If we beat Napoli it changes everything. Obviously it’s going to be very difficult to go there and get three points but I think we have the players and the ability to do that.”
Marseille, currently 5th in Ligue 1 and 10 points behind leaders PSG, lost 2-1 at home to Rafael Benitez’s men last time out, and were also defeated by the same scoreline against Arsenal at Stade Velodrome.
Ayew, who has made more than 100 league appearances for the south coast club, insists those slim margins give L’OM confidence heading to Italy.
He believes a victory there would help inspire Marseille to another triumph over Arsenal when they meet at Emirates Stadium on November 26.
“If you look at all our Champions League games so far we’ve lost them because of small details in every match,” he said. “That’s partly a result of our lack of experience at this level. But if we’re able to improve a little bit and cut out the mistakes we’ve made, we can do something in Napoli.
“And then if we do something in Napoli, why not at Arsenal as well? They’re a fantastic team but we haven’t been that far behind the other teams in our group this season. It’s all down to getting a win in Napoli and taking it from there.”
Interview: James Eastham.
