Champions League: Ramsey off but Arsenal secure draw
BESIKTAS 0 ARSENAL 0
RELIEVED Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger believes his side are now in pole position to qualify for the Champions League proper after weathering the storm against Besiktas in the first leg of their group stage play-off in Istanbul last night.
The Gunners failed to build on their perfect record of 12 previous wins at this stage of the competition as neither team could force the breakthrough, with Welsh midfielder Aaron Ramsey receiving the first red card of his club career late on.
Ramsey will miss next Wednesday’s second leg at the Emirates while skipper Mikel Arteta could be a doubt after limping off with an ankle injury, although Wenger is upbeat about Arsenal’s chances of progressing to the group stages for the 17th season in succession.
“In the end we didn’t lose the game and hopefully now we can make it at home,” said Wenger.
“It was a difficult game with a frenetic pace from the first until the last minute. We could have won it although they had chances as well, especially in the first half.”
Former Chelsea forward Demba Ba proved a constant threat to the Arsenal defence in the opening period and fired in an audacious effort immediately from kick-off, with Wojciech Szczesny forced to push the ball onto the crossbar.
The Polish stopper was called into action again on nine minutes, diving to his left to turn away a stinging volley from a stretching Ba before Arsenal established a foothold in the game.
A powerful run from Santi Cazorla three minutes later ended with the Spanish playmaker dragging his shot across goal and wide of the target with only keeper Tolga Zengin to beat.
Ba wasted the most presentable chance of the half moments before the interval, with the Senegal striker cutting inside only to shave the outside of the post with Szczesny wrong-footed.
The second half started in a similar fashion with Olcay Sahan evading Laurent Koscielny before curling an effort inches wide of Szczesny’s left-hand post.
Cazorla’s free-kick tested Zengin shortly before Arsenal were reduced to 10 men for the final stages as Ramsey received a second yellow card for fouling Oguzhan Ozyakup.
Arsenal came agonisingly close to securing a late advantage ahead of the second leg as substitute Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain was denied by a slight Zengin touch as his effort rattled the frame of the goal with only two minutes remaining following a mazy run.