Tuesday 20 August 2013

FENERBAHCE V ARSENAL


Arsenal will be desperate to bounce back from their Premier League opening day defeat when they travel to Turkey to face Fenerbahce in the first-leg of their Champions League qualifier on Wednesday.

The Gunners were shocked at the Emirates Stadium on Saturday as they slumped to a 3-1 loss against Aston Villa, with Arsene Wenger's side finishing the game with 10-men following Laurent Koscielny's sending off. 

The defeat resulted in a raft of criticism from the club's supporters being directed at the Arsenal boss, who has failed to bring in any big-name signings as the north London outfit look set for another season of struggles. 

Now, anything less than the three points in midweek could spell disaster for the French tactician, with the two-legged tie leading the way to the Champions League group stages, with Arsenal having to go through the final qualifying round after finishing fourth in the league last term. 

The Gunners are, however, suffering somewhat of an injury crisis, with Thomas Vermaelen (back), Mikel Arteta (hamstring), Nacho Monreal (back) and Abou Diaby (knee) all having missed the opening day loss, while Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain (knee), Bacary Sagna (neck) and Kieran Gibbs (head) all picked up potentially serious injuries in the game. 

Fenerbahce, meanwhile, have been busy in the transfer market, having already signed Emmanuel Emenike, Michal Kadlec and Bruno Alves, while Gonul Gokhan could make his return after recovering surgery, but Erten Ersu is out with a knee injury.

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