Aaron Ramsay was sent off in the second half of Arsenal’s Champions League qualifier with Istanbul giant Besiktas, as Arsenal failed to register that all important away goal.
In truth Arsenal struggled to contain the high tempo Turkish outfit who had Demba Ba in scintillating form for them. Ba almost caught Wojciech Szczesny off guard in the first 4 seconds as he shot from the kick-off only to see his shot rebound off the bar with the Arsenal keeper beaten. Former Gunner Ozyakup then set up Ba again with an inch perfect cross which Ba volleyed first time. His effort this time stopped by Szczesny who block his shot with a reflex save.
Arsenal had their own chances too but they were too few and far in between. The Ox made a noticeable impact when he came on and he almost won it at the death with a great solo effort which Zengin did well to turn on to the post.
The Gunners will be confident going into the second leg of making progress into the money-spinning group stages of the Champions League; But Besiktas will not be a pushover as Feyenoord found to their detriment on their home turf. If Besiktas do what Arsenal failed to do, and score an away goal Arsenal fans could be in for a few nervous moments at the Emirates.
Source: DSG
