Arsenal have been drawn against Besiktas in the Champions League qualifying round.
The Turkish side have been drawn at home in the first leg, and this will be the first time the teams have will face in each other in a competitive match.
Match dates
Away – 19th August
Home – 27th August
Good draw! One of the best we could hope for. #GOYG
There were lots of weaker teams which we could have drawn. it will not be easy, but I think we’ll make it through. COYG
Not lots really. They were only five teams we could have drawn full stop.
As far as travel time is concerned this is the worst possible only Lille and Copnehagen could be considered lesser quality.
Yeah agree that we could’ve got easier. They just knocked out Feyenoord with Demba Ba scoring a hat-trick, so wont be easy but we have the quality to beat them if we play to a decent level. Glad the first leg is Away, hopefully get a clean sheet and 2-3 away goals and then we’ll be in a fantastic position. Hopefully the first leg is on the Tuesday because an away trip to Turkey on Wednesday then away to Everton on the Saturday would not be ideal.
The away leg is on Tuesday.
Did you watch the previous qualifier?
Oh of course we do.
Team-definitely beatable.
Travel-nightmare.
Jolly good, wonder if the Carling Cup side will get an early run out if we get a convincing win out in Turkey?
Welcome home Oğuzhan Özyakup!
and lovely – Friday + lots of Arse news = happiness
I think now we can safely say we’re in the group stages,
Don’t jinx it.
Annoying to have to travel so far afield for the away leg, but better than drawing Bilbao.
Obviously reminiscent of Fener last year… same again please
Disagree… I’d rather play the qualifier at home 3 or 4 days before the Everton away game than the Leicester
The higher seeded team always plays away first.
Might not be as straight-forward as most people think but I guess we’ll make it across the line in the end
How the hell did you post this nearly an hour ago now? You’ve got to share this superpower with the rest of us
Cheat Code!!
Do you not listen to Arsecast? They just say some random stuff then it actually happens, so I can completely believe this was written an hour ago. Still waiting for the new Ice Age though Andrew, better clean out that freezer….
I doner think this will be too much of a problem for us
At long as the players kebab it all the way until the end.
With some nice Chile sauce rounding it off.
And we pitta out our strongest team
Naan can compare with our boys
You guys are all trying to curry favor.
This is stupid. Halloumi.
Did I do it right?
I’m still trying to work out how naan and curry are Turkish foods.
C’mon people! Get your ethnic foods sorted!
I miss kebabs in a pitta bread.
We should approach the first tie cautiously, for a start, but should ensure that the game doesn’t find us handb-raki-ng too much.
Shish guys! Doner be racist.
Let’s just get the job done and get involved in the CL proper. I hope to make it to all the home CL games again this year! No reason why we shouldn’t be confident. COYG!! 😀
Bring them on!
Come on Arsenal!!!
We shouldn’t take them lightly. This might not be saying much, but they’ve still got more UCL football than what sp*ds wil see this year.
Hope next year we wouldn’t have to go through this qualifying round but instead go in as Champions of England
Long trip to Turkey midweek followed by Goodison at the weekend!
Not ideal!
Good draw, not the easiest but we should see them off.
In my experience, we tend to do well when we go to Turkey, so this is a good draw in my opinion!
that will be tough game aginst Turkish side
I must con-fez, that’s not the draw I’d hoped for
I am not fez-ed by it
Ok, Turkish guy here. I’ll admit you got me with these fez puns.
It’s a good draw. Happy that we didn’t draw Bilbao. I think Mesut will also enjoy his Turkish trip !
COYG!
Piss this…..it’s 6-2 on agg stroll no worries
I wouldnt call it an easy draw by any means. Besiktas have bought couple of very good players including Ba and have bilic as manager now who is very organized. Arsenal have to be favourites though yeah.
Coyg
Özil is coming ‘home’ ☺
They are a good team and have spent a lot of money this season. Interesting to see demba ba leading their strikeforce. Wont be as simple as most think but we are the arsenal and somewhat specialist in these qualifers have to agree with matey in that cant wait to go into cl as league champions! COYG!
Oğuzhan Özyakup… The big name makes a comeback 🙂
Wasn’t what I was expecting but still a good draw, looks like its 17years in a row. COYG!
Not bad, probably the third best (or third worst depending on how you look at it) draw we could have gotten. Bear in mind the only reason they’re in the draw at all is because fener, who won the Turkish league, are banned from Europe. Narrow away win, comfortable home win.
It’s good that as winners we’ll go straight in next year. Beatable side, rather travel there than face a tough side such as lille or Copenhagen (who beat June last year, right?).
Well, we’ve been to Turkey and back unharmed before. COYG!
Good draw guys! am not worried at all, Ba has been from England and our back four can manage him, so i see us through.
I remember everyone goimg into meltdown when we got Fenerbache as they had Mousse Sow up front…
We’re the Arsenal!
Demba Ba this time.
Can we just send Ramsey on his own?
I always get nervous at this stage, but the best way to steady yourself is to ask, “If we can’t beat Beksitas, do we deserve to vein the group stages?” No disrespect to them, though. They have some very good players.
If we could beat Udine a few years back with that team, I think the one we have now can be trusted over two legs.
Who did Man United get drawn with?
Oh.
Interesting draw. I think we’ve got more than enough to beat this lot. They’re not a bad side by any stretch but out of those we could have faced, Besiktas was one of two I hoped for.
Will be interesting to see Ozyakup again to see how he’s developed. Given the very little I’ve heard about him since I would guess not much.
further fruits of the FA Cup win is a competitive game against city. one league game before an away trip to turkey would’ve been a bit flaky i think.
Everyone with an optimistic attitude of us getting a comfortable victory is getting thumbed down..? Come On You Gooners, dare to f**king dream!
It’s gonna be Turkish delight for dessert
Am optimistic we qualify not because Besiktas have no quality but because we are the Arsenal. COYG!
I doner want us to underestimate them. Remember shish team finished 3rd in the Turkish league last season.
Another kebab pun or just a typo?
Aww snap. There were clubs in the draw whose name I’ve barely heard of, can’t even remember and/or can’t pronounce, and we get a top draw like Besiktas. Frankly, I’m surprised by the current system of “champions” vs “league”. I’d take any one of the teams in the champions draw over any in the league draw. Anyway, given the current drawing system, we were bound to face a good team, so we might as well get on with it. It’s a shame though, because we will (most likely) have to use a top notch team in both matches to ensure… Read more »
Hummus be joking with all these puns.
See what I did there.
Relieved we didn’t get Bilbao. I was fine with all the other teams.
If we can’t get past Turkey’s 3rd placed team, we shouldn’t be anywhere near the CL. Some people sound quite shakened, like they were before Fenerbache, before we dumpstered them. Anyway, we’ll stroll past this qualifier just like we’ve done on all the previous occasions.
Does it get cold there at night? Might have to wear a baklava
Lettuce be serious about shish draw