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UEFA Champions League Play-Off Round 1st leg: Fenerbahce vs Arsenal – Preview
By Tom Humphrey
Arsenal are in Turkey to take on Fenerbahce in a vital Champions League qualifier tomorrow night. The Gunners face tricky opponents in Fenerbahce and will have to deal with a very hostile crowd too. The Turkish fans are never welcoming to English teams and when a place in the group stages of the Champions League is on the line, it will be an even more hostile environment to enter.
The Gunners flew out to Istanbul earlier today following a training session this morning at London Colney. This game is vitally important to the club and their season. Having left it late in the transfer window, the club have put a lot of pressure on themselves to win this tie. They have two legs to do it in, but Fenerbahce are no pushovers.
Arsenal have a number of injuries to deal with right now too. Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain is out for at least 6 weeks with a knee injury, whilst captain Thomas Vermaelen remains out with a back injury and vice-captain Mikel Arteta is out with a thigh problem still.
The good news for Arsenal is that Nacho Monreal trained with the squad today and has travelled with the team to Istanbul. Bacary Sagna and Kieran Gibbs “should be available” according to Arsene Wenger.
Both Bacary Sagna and Kieran Gibbs should be available after picking up injuries in the defeat to Aston Villa on Saturday. Pic: Zimbio.
Away goals play a big part over two legs. When Bayern Munich knocked us out of Europe last season, that third away goal scored at the Emirates proved decisive. Any away goal will help us out tomorrow, obviously if we can go out there and win we will be putting ourselves in a very good position for the return leg at home.
I think this will be a very tough one for us. The squad is very thin and low on confidence after Saturday’s result. They need to be up for this one. Fenerbahce have a few former Premier League players in their squad including Joseph Yobo (Everton), Dirk Kuyt (Liverpool), Raul Meireles (Liverpool and Chelsea) and Emre (Newcastle).
It’ll be a tough test for Arsenal. If they can come away from Turkey avoiding defeat then they will have done a good job. A win would be ideal and getting an away goal is crucial.
Of course, this tie will be even more interesting if Fenerbahce are thrown out of Europe for match-fixing should they win this tie against us, as to what will happen. A decision on their Champions League fate will be decided AFTER the two-legged tie with Arsenal. Hopefully Arsenal do the job for them and knock them out anyway!.