Arsenal kick off Euro challenge

AFTER a positive start to the new English season, Arsenal head to Istanbul in optimistic mood ahead of today’s Champions League playoff first leg match against Besiktas.

The Gunners followed up a convincing victory against Manchester City in the Community Shield with a 2-1 win over Crystal Palace on Saturday in their opening Premier League game, in which Aaron Ramsey netted a late winner.

Now they are looking to secure a place in the lucrative group stage of Europe’s elite club competition for a 17th consecutive campaign, although Arsene Wenger could do without the fitness concerns hanging over several players, including Kieran Gibbs, Laurent Koscielny and Jack Wilshere.

Wenger, however, hinted he may call on German World Cup-winning trio Mesut Ozil, Per Mertesacker and Lukas Podolski for the first time this season.

Meanwhile, Ramsey admitted Arsenal will need to improve on their performance against Palace, although he lauded the contribution of Wenger’s summer recruits.

“I think they have started really well. We were really solid at the back with [Mathieu] Debuchy and [Calum] Chambers, who were playing as if they had been there for the last three years,” he said.

Arsenal would settle for a repeat of 12 months ago, when they beat another Istanbul side, Fenerbahce, 3-0 on the Asian side of the Bosphorus on the way to a 5-0 aggregate triumph.

With Besiktas in the process of rebuilding their stadium across the river, today’s match will be played at the Ataturk Olympic Stadium, where Liverpool beat AC Milan in the 2005 Champions League final.

Slaven Bilic’s side, who finished third in the Turkish Super League last season, do not begin their domestic campaign until later this month, although they were convincing winners against Feyenoord in the third qualifying round, with former Chelsea striker Demba Ba scoring a hat-trick in the second leg.

“Arsenal have some of the best players in the world but we have seen on many occasions that talent doesn’t necessarily mean a team will win,” the Croatian Bilic said.

The pick of the ties elsewhere today see Napoli entertain Athletic Bilbao and Germany’s Bayer Leverkusen go to FC Copenhagen. – AFP