A depleted Gunners side travel to Turkey on the back of a humiliating 3-1 defeat to Aston Villa at the weekend, but Mertesacker insists Arsene Wenger’s men are looking to shake of their disappointment with a speedy start in the Sukru Saracoglu Stadium.
‘It is absolutely fantastic over there, so you have to be aware of the opening 20 minutes,’ he said.
‘You have to keep [the home fans] as quiet as possible, which is very hard.
‘You have to play consistently over the whole 90 minutes and it is very important to be very focused on the first 15 to 20 minutes. We need to be ready and defend properly.
‘The first big target of the season is to qualify for the Champions League group stage. I know that it will be very, very tough – especially away from home.
‘We need to go through with good form and be at our best. We want to show our fans at home that we are ready for the Champions League this season.’
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