Arsenal to Play Besiktas in Champions League Play-Off

Finishing in fourth position last season meant Arsenal will have to partake in a play-off tie to secure a place in next season's UEFA Champions League tournament and from Friday's draw, the Gunners were handed Besiktas.


Arsenal will travel to Istanbul in Turkey for the first leg of the encounter on Tuesday 19 August before hosting Besiktas at the Emirates Stadium the following Wednesday, August 27.

Arsene Wenger's boys will play a side which finished third in the 2013/14 Turkish Super League and will face the likes of former Arsenal star Oguzhan Ozyakup and Demba Ba. The former Chelsea man (Ba) owns the credit for his side's triumph over Feyenoord in the return leg of the last round as he scored a hat-trick. The side which is currently managed by ex-Westham and Everton defender Slaven Bilic progressed 5-2 on aggregate.

Arsenal and Besiktas have never met in a competitive match so there is still a bit of suspense as to how the match will go. Everyone knows the North-London side are the favourites to progress to the group stages of the Champions League.

Find below the dates, times and venue for the double-legged contest.

Matchday 1
Besiktas v Arsenal
Tuesday, August 19
Kick-off: 21.45 local time (19.45 UK time)
To be played at Ataturk Olimpic Stadium, Turkey

Matchday 2
Arsenal v Besiktas
Wednesday, August 27
Kick-off: 19:45 UK time
To be played at Emirates Stadium

2014/15 Champions League play-off draw in full:
Maribor v Celtic
Salzburg v Malmo
Aalborg v Apoel
Steaua Bucharest v Ludogorets
Slovan Bratislava v BATE Borisov
Besiktas v Arsenal
Standard Liege v Zenit
Copenhagen v Bayer Leverkusen
Lille v FC Porto
Napoli v Athletic Bilbao

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