FENERBAHCE VS ARSENAL MAYCH PREVIEW

Arsenal’s Premier League campaign started off in the worst possible way with a 3-1 loss to Aston Villa at home. The result has put mountains of pressure on Arsene Wenger, as his inability to buy quality players this summer has cost the Gunners. What has made the situation worse

is that Arsenal have spent most of the summer clearing the deadweight of the squad without getting players in, resulting in an extremely thin squad. This was clearly seen in the loss to Villa, as Arsenal’s defence at the end of the game ended up being Carl Jenkinson, Per Mertesacker, Aaron Ramsey and Lukas Podolski. Vast negativity has spread amongst the fans, promised so much this summer but given very little till now. Many have viewed this game against Fenerbahce as a do or die game, but it will comfort Wenger a little that the Turkish giants are not doing too well themselves. Fenerbahce will get the results of their appeal for an accusation of match-fixing. Should they get incriminated, Arsenal will get a straight path to the group stages. Fenerbahce are also not doing well in terms of results, the latest setback being a 3-2 loss in their Turkish league opener, where they conceded 3 goals late on after being 2-0 up.

FENERBAHCE:

Fenerbahce are suffering from various problems themselves. They face a decision as to whether they can compete in the Champions League or not due to match-fixing allegations. Therefore, even if they do get a great result against Arsenal, it could count for nothing. New boss Ersun Yanal has suffered a torrid time since coming to the club, as Fenerbahce have had a host of bad results thus far this season.

After requiring a 95th minute penalty in the 2nd leg of the Champions League qualifiers against Salzburg to level the tie, the Turkish giants eventually scored twice in extra time to go through 4-2 on aggregate. This was followed by an energy sapping Turkish Supercup clash against rivals Galatasaray. Like he did to Arsenal, Didier Drogba settled the game, but not after Fenerbahce gave it their all for 120 minutes. Further disaster struck, as they opened their league campaign with a 3-2 loss to Konyaspor. What was disheartening was that Konyaspor scored 3 goals in the last 12 minutes to turn the game around, leaving Fenerbahce extremely devoid of confidence. Despite this, it will not be an easy tie for Arsenal, as Fenerbahce do have some quality players in Dirk Kuyt, Raul Meireles, Moussa Sow and Bruno Alves.

ARSENAL:

Arsenal are in the midst of their biggest crisis since moving to the Emirates. It has been 8 long, painstaking years since the Gunners won a major trophy. Fan disillusionment has been building and building until it reached an all-time high during the defeat to Villa. Shouts of “spend, spend, spend” as well as “You don’t know what you’re doing!” put Wenger at severe odds with the fans. It is a big suggestion that the appointment of Ivan Gazidis as well as Stan Kroenke becoming majority shareholder has turned Arsenal into more of a business than a football club. Despite boasting of the highest ticket prices in England, Arsenal have given their fans very little to celebrate about. People come from all corners of the world to the Emirates, paying huge prices to do so, not to see Arsenal lose. Actions such as celebrating vehemently last season after obtaining 4th as if they won a trophy has not gone down well with the fans. Arsenal fans thought this summer would be different as a mammoth transfer budget indicated that Wenger was finally ready to get serious in the market.

However, Yaya Sanogo still remains the only signing of the summer despite only 10 days left in the transfer window. A move for Yohan Cabaye looks to be a sign of desperation, as the Gunners have an abundance of nifty ball players in midfield. The lack of a defensive midfielder is abundantly clear, as Arsenal were run ragged by Villa’s counter attacks. In fact, Tottenham, who finished 5th at the expense of Arsenal, have done extremely well during the transfer window, buying 4 players of genuine quality. Wenger talks of being title contenders, but he is simply deluding himself by thinking so. Failure to qualify for the Champions’ League group stage would be disastrous at this point in time.

HEAD TO HEAD:

5 Nov ’09: Arsenal 0-0 Fenerbahce

21 Oct ’09: Fenerbahce 2-5 Arsenal

FORM GUIDE:

FENERBAHCE (LLWDL)

18 Aug ’13: Konyaspor 3-2 Fenerbahce

11 Aug ’13: Galatasaray 1-0 Fenerbahce

7 Aug ’13: Fenerbahce 3-1 Salzburg

1 Aug ’13: Salzburg 1-1 Fenerbahce

25 Jul ’13: Fenerbahce 0-2 PSV

ARSENAL (LWLDW)

17 Aug ’13: Arsenal 1-3 Aston Villa

10 Aug ’13: Arsenal 3-1 Manchester City

4 Aug ’13: Arsenal 1-2 Galatasaray

3 Aug ’13: Arsenal 2-2 Napoli

26 Jul ’13: Urawa Red Diamonds 1-2 Arsenal

POSSIBLE LINE-UPS:

FENERBAHCE (4-3-3) – Gunok, Gonul, Yobo, Alves, Kadlec, Meireles, Topal, Emre, Kuyt, Emenike, Sow

Make no mistake, Fenerbahce are not an easy team to face. A defense of Joseph Yobo and Bruno Alves will be hard for Olivier Giroud to break down. A frontline of Dirk Kuyt, Emmanuel Emenike and Moussa Sow will be difficult for Arsenal to cope with, as they possess pace and power in abundance. It was this quality that allowed Villa to steamroll the Gunners over, with the lack of a proper defensive midfielder hurting them profoundly. It makes them extremely prone to counter-attacks. Meanwhile, Raul Meireles and Emre Belozoglu both have Premier League experience, so it will be a daunting task for Arsenal to break this team down despite Fenerbahce’s obvious lack of confidence. Fenerbahce will have Gonul Gokhan back after surgery, but it is unlikely that he will be cast into the fray so soon.

ARSENAL (4-3-3) – Szczesny, Sagna, Mertesacker, Koscielny, Gibbs, Ramsey, Cazorla, Rosicky, Podolski, Giroud, Walcott

Arsenal’s bruising loss against Villa have made them further short-staffed than they already are. Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain is going to be out for close to 3 months due to a knee injury picked up, with Lukas Podolski expected to take his place in the lineup. Kieran Gibbs and Bacary Sagna were also substituted due to injury, but it is understood that they will make it. Nacho Monreal is also considered to be fit after being injured for a while. However, it is expected that Gibbs will be chosen for the do-or-die game due to Monreal’s lack of match fitness. With Jack Wilshere not completely fit yet finishing 90 minutes against Villa, it is understood that Santi Cazorla will play in attempts to not aggravate any injury to the talented youngster.