Besiktas test for Arsenal as reprieved Celtic draws Maribor
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ARSENAL faces Turkish side Besiktas and reprieved Celtic meets Slovenian title-holder Maribor in the Champions League playoffs later this month.
There was drama minutes before yesterday’s draw in Nyon when Polish club Legia Warsaw, which had dished out a 6-1 third qualifying mauling to Celtic, was ruled out.
Legia was demoted to the Europa League playoffs for fielding an ineligible player — Bartosz Bereszynski.
Last season Celtic failed to make it out of the group stage.
Arsenal must overcome Besiktas to seal its 17th straight appearance in the Champions League group stages.
“What a draw! already looking forward to the matches against @Besiktas! #Turkey #Istanbul #Arsenal #AFC #UCLdraw” tweeted Arsenal’s Germany midfielder Mesut Ozil.
Last season the Gunners saw off another Turkish club, Fenerbahce, on its way to the last 16 where Arsene Wenger’s 2006 finalist came a cropper against Bayern Munich.
This is the north London giant’s first meeting with the Istanbul club, which finished third in the Turkish Super League last term and which counts former Gunner Oguzhan Ozyakup in its midst.
“It’s nice we have got the second leg at home,” Arsenal club secretary David Miles said.
“They (the ties) come relatively early in the season, and our three German World Cup winners won’t even be back, or will be just starting training then, so probably we won’t have the full squad to choose from. Nevertheless, we’ve got a good squad, quality in depth and I’m sure it will be okay.”
Also, Napoli, bidding to reach the Champions League group stage for the third time and the second in a row, was handed a daunting tie against Athletic Bilbao while twice former champion Porto also got a difficult draw as it was paired against Lille, with the French club at home the first leg.
Rafael Benitez’s Napoli finished third in Serie A last season, only enough for a place in the playoff round after Italy slipped down the national coefficients which determine how many places each league gets in the tournament.
Bilbao, fourth in La Liga, was beaten Europa League finalists in 2012.
The first leg ties are scheduled for August 19/20, with the second leg on August 26/27.
The ten winners will join the 22 teams automatically qualified for the group stage, which gets under way in September.
In the Europa League playoff draw held later, Arsenal’s Premier League rivals Tottenham Hotspur and Hull City were drawn against Limassol of Cyprus and Belgium’s Lokeren, respectively.
Also, Italian giant Inter Milan will play European debutante Stjarnan for a place in the Europa League group stage.
Three-time winner Inter will be in Iceland for the first-leg match on August 21.
Inter won’t begin its Serie A season until after the August 28 second leg, while Stjarnan is unbeaten in Iceland’s league which started in May.
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