Champions League Draw: Arsenal Face Fenerbache

The draw for the Champions League play-off round took place on Friday afternoon and Arsenal will have to overcome Fenerbache if they are to make it through to the lucrative group stages.

The Gunners snatched fourth place from arch rivals Tottenham thanks to an excellent run-in that saw Arsene Wengers men win 8 of their last 10 games and secured fourth spot with a 1-0 win over Newcastle on the final day of the season.

However, we must now beat the Fenerbache over two legs to make it through to the Champions League proper with the first game away in Istanbul due to be played on the 20th/21st August and the return leg at the Emirates on either the 27th/28th, just days before we welcome Tottenham for the NLD.

While this is obviously a tricky tie, the good news is that Fenerbache’s participation in the competition is subject to a pending disciplinary hearing and they could yet be kicked out of the competition. They were banned for two years for match fixing but have appealed the decision.

The BBC claim the hearing will take place after the two-legged tie, so I’m presuming that if Fenerbache beat us over the two legs but then subsequently lose their appeal and are kicked out, Arsenal would be reinstated and go through to the group stages. But this is yet to be confirmed.

After all the effort it took to secure fourth last season, you just knew it wasn’t going to be easy!

What do you make of the draw? Share your views below.