The Gunners have drawn Fenerbahce in the two-legged play-off round to progress into the Champions League Group Stages, subject to a disciplinary hearing which will take place after the second leg on August 28.
Arsenal will travel to Sukru Saracoglu Stadium on August 21, before hosting the Turkish side at Emirates Stadium six days later. It will be the first time the two teams have met since the 2008/09 season where they finished off the Turkish outfit 5-2 in the away leg before a 0-0 draw at home.
Fenerbahce finished runners-up last season in the Turkish Super Lig and overcame FC Salzburg in style for the third qualifying round thanks to a 4-2 aggregate win.
Gooners will recognize some experienced names such as Bruno Alves, Dirk Kuyt and Raul Meireles, and possibly Senegalese striker Moussa Sow. They will be no walkover.
Arsene Wenger feels it will be a difficult test for his side who are set to open their Premier League campaign next weekend, but remains confident they can qualify.
Don't Miss:
- Arsenal are in surprise transfer links for Chelsea first team star
- How will Arsenal line up vs West Ham – Two major changes expected
- Mikel Arteta makes U-turn on long-term Arsenal star – will stay at club
He told Arsenal.com:
It is a difficult draw because Fenerbahce are a team who have a history in the Champions League and have good players who have played before in the Premier League, for example Joseph Yobo and Dirk Kuyt.
I looked at their squad – they have a lot of experience in there. We need a good performance. I’m confident we can go through but it’s a big task.
Aaron Ramsey is looking forward to returning to Sukru Saracoglu Stadium after scoring in their last visit:
It’s obviously going to be a very tough game for us but we did a lot of hard work last season to get into this position so we’re looking forward to the test of going there.
We had a really good result there a few years back. The support there is quite phenomenal and I’m sure they’ll be up for it again.
But we realise what we have to do and I’m sure with this group of players, we’re more than capable of producing a good performance and result.
Match Schedule:
Matchday One
Fenerbahçe SK v Arsenal
Wednesday, August 21
Kick Off: 19.45 London Local Time/ 21.45 Istanbul Local Time
Matchday Two
Arsenal v Fenerbahçe SK
Tuesday, August 27
Kick Off: 19.45 London Local Time/ 21.45 Istanbul Local Time
COMMENTS