Hello and welcome to the Emirates Stadium in London where we have Arsenal taking on Fenerbahçe in the second-leg of their Champions League play-off as both sides look for a place in the lucrative group stage of the competition.
After a 3-0 win in Turkey, this leg of the competition has unfortunately become more of a formality then any possibility that Fenerbahçe could go through, however Arsenal will still need to impress in front of their home fans. They haven't won a game at home yet this season.
We bring you live streaming written commentary, video highlights and all the action of the Champions League. Make sure you REFRESH your browser occasionally so you don’t miss any of the action. ALL VIDEO WILL BE AVAILABLE AT THE FINAL WHISTLE.
------------------------------------
LIVE COMMENTARY… Arsenal (5) 2 - 0 (0) Fenerbahçe
90 Min: That's it, it's all over and Arsenal cruise into the Champions League group stage for the 16th year running!
86 Min: Cazorla's going to hit it...Straight into the wall.
85 Min: Bad challenge from Alves on Wilshere at the top of the box...Will Ramsey go for the hat-trick?
80 Min: Ramsey goes off for some treatment...Arsenal fans hold their breath...he comes back on he's ok, crisis averted.
77 Min: Fenerbahce with a free-kick in a good spot and Bruno Alves steps up to hit it...and hit it he does but it's fired to the feet of Szczesny who saves.
75 Min: Riyo Miyaichi on for Theo Walcott.
73 Min: Kieran Gibbs breaks away down the left, he delivers a wonderful ball across the box and Aaron Ramsey is there to meet it! GOOOOALLL! Aaron Ramsey with his third goal against Fenerbahce in this tie!
70 Min: Ramsey is yellow-carded seemingly out of nowhere? Play was happening in another part of the field when the referee stopped play to show Ramsey a card. Must have said something to the ref and he wasn't having any of it.
66 Min: Awkward free-kick for Fenerbahce to deal with down the left side of the box. Walcott shoots! Hits the crossbar!!
65 Min: Dirk Kuyt comes off for a rest and Pierre Webo comes on to replace him.
64 Min: Long ball falls to Cazorla in the box and he shoots for the far corner! Just flashes across goal!
63 Min: Nice ball from Ramsey out to Cazorla on the left wing...Cazorla a pass across the top of the box but Sanogo doesn't come to it and loses out to Alves.
61 Min: Ball given away in the middle of the park and Sow picks the ball up and has a crack from the edge of the box! Well wide, and high.
60 Min: Giroud comes off for new boy Sanogo.
52 Min: Cristian gets away in the middle and plays the ball to Emenike pushing him a little wide. Emenike turns and lays it square for Kuyt who shoots but it's blocked. Corner to Fenerbahce....it's a bad one and is cleared at the near post.
50 Min: Podolski has been stretchered off so that is not good news for Arsenal fans. Kieran Gibbs comes on to replace him. Monreal will push a bit further up the field.
49 Min: Here is Cristian for Fenerbahce but Monreal does well to get rid of him at the back and start an attack. Wilshere inside to Ramsey out to Jenkinson who whips it in and Ramsey flies at it! Blocked by the defender and put behind.
46 Min: Teams back out on the pitch and we're back into it! Podolski earns an early corner and then pulls up looking a little stiff in the hamstring. More grey hairs for Arsene Wenger.
HALFTIME: So Arsenal hold on but they've got the cushion that a goal from Fenerbahce shouldn't really worry them. In the meantime watch highlights from the last time Arsenal were considered a good side.
46 Min: Bad pass gives away possession in the middle of the park and Cazorla gets the ball down the left wing, puts a ball across the box and Giroud sky's it from about 5 yards!! That's embarrassing.
45 Min: Arsenal with one last attack before halftime. Podolski plays a one-two with Cazorla in the box and Podolski goes down under a challenge. No chance the ref was going to give that...
41 Min: Pretty important for Fenerbahce to grab a goal before halftime. They haven't got long though, can they do it?
39 Min: Really open game at the moment, Emenike breaks away down the left! He's bearing in on goal! Shoots! Szczesny palms the ball onto the post! Back out and sent over to the other side of the field by Fenerbahce, Sow delivers a cross and Emenike gets on the end of it! Fantastic point-blank save by Szczesny! follow up shot from Kuyt hits the bar! Fenerbahce showing some life!!
38 Min: Corner is punched away by Demiral who falls heavily. Falls to the feet of Cazorla who dinks across to Giroud, Demiral is on the ground still Grioud heads goalwards! No power on it and a defender clears from the line.
37 Min: Monreal chases a pass down the left and Demiral is forced to come out of his area to clear it for a throw...Throw-in to Cazorla who turns on the ball, and weaves his way past abotu 5 defenders into the box! Cazorla shoots! Another save by the keeper and it's a corner.
35 Min: After much debate Bruno alves steps up to take it...hits it cleanly! That one wasn't a million miles away! Good effort!
33 Min: Mertesacker gives away a free-kick in a dangerous spot at the top of the box.
28 Min: Arsenal finding all the space in behind the Fenerbahce defence. Podolski jinks and jives on the edge of the box looks to shoot instead slots a pass through for an oncoming Giroud who takes the ball down the left side of the box and shoots! Keeper stands strong.
27 Min: Problems with the corner for Arsenal! They can't get rid of it and Emenike could get on the end of the loose ball! He's given away a free-kick and that was never a foul. Bad call ref.
26 Min: Sow gets away from his man down the right but Monreal comes steaming across and puts in an excellent slide tackle...Meireles picks up the loose ball though and pings a fantastic cross-field ball to Kuyt who tries to put in a cross which is turned behind for a corner.
25 Min: Arsenal launch another attack. They string some passes together and Walcott finds space in behind the defence! Tackled! Ball falls to Ramsey who slots home into an empty net! GOAL!
24 Min: Cazorla drops deep and tries to unleash Podolski down the left but it's cut out by Korkmaz and it needed to be. Dirk Kuyt's frist touch of the ball and he gets clattered, setting up an Arsenal attack. Jenkinson whips in a cross and Demiral is forced off his line to clear the ball.
23 Min: Podolski winds up from distance and has a shot but it's blocked by Gonul.
22 Min: Walcott stands over the ball...shoots but hits the wall.
21 Min: Arsenal content to play it around at the back...Now Wilshere turns on the ball and bursts into the final third. Fouled just out of the box.
19 Min: Cross from Sahin on the right but it's gone straight into the Arsenal keepers arms.
18 Min: Well Arsenal look like they can attack from anywhere on the park at the moment. Fenerbahce understandably playing a little more open though as they chase goals.
17 Min: Podolski now breaks in the middle of the park, lays a ball forward for Giroud who cuts back on his left and goes for the top-corner curler from outside the box. It doesn't really trouble the keeper...
16 Min: Potential upset on for Sunderland who have been stunned by MK Dons. I wouldn't want to know what Di Canio's gestures are like at the moment.
15 Min: Walcott releases a shot from the top of the box and it's decent! Demirel gets across to save.
14 Min: Ramsey skips away from a defender and feeds Jenkinson down the right...Erkin puts in a good tackle and puts the ball out of play.
12 Min: Liverpool have gone ahead in their league cup game against Notts County. It's Raheem Sterling. Thoughts of a giant-killing quickly go out the window...Meanwhile this game just hotted up! Arsenal lazy to get back and Fenerbahce have a three-on-three bearing down on goal. Emenike fluffs his chance but the rebound bobbles around in the box and Szczesny is forced to parry it away from Meireles. Just.
11 Min: Not many at the Emirates Stadium for this game. Cazorla wins a foul over on the left wing and it's taken quickly and passed back to the defence.
10 Min: Ramsey spots another Walcott run but this time his pass is cut out well by Erkin...Fenerbahce counter attack with Sow down the right. His cross is fielded by Mertesacker who plays it out of danger.
9 Min: Ball down the right for Emenike who goes to the byline and cuts a cross in. Cristian gets up but can't direct it goalwards.
8 Min: Wow Walcott scored 21 goals last season, 14 in the league. Keep that form up and Arsenal fans will be asking Robin Van who?
7 Min: Ramsey getting involved in this game quickly, plays a lovely through ball for Walcott who is called up for offside.
6 Min: Long ball from Fenerbahce over the top but Emenike is offside.
5 Min: Emenike strong arms Mertesacker and almost gets away with the ball until he is brought down by an Arsenal defender. But no foul.
3 Min: Jack Wilshere in his 101st appearance for Arsenal tonight...Arsenal attack down the left it's Cazorla on the ball. He turns away and the move breaks down.
2 Min: Second corner is cleared as far as Meireles who shoots from distance. Ball is blocked and rolls into Szczesny's arms.
1 Min: And we're underway! And Fenerbahce have an early corner which is cleared behind by Mertesacker.
And the Fenerbahce side is...Demiral, Korkmaz, Erkin, Gonul, Alves, Sahin, Meireles, Cristian, Kuyt, Sow, Emenike
The confirmed Arsenal team is...Sczszensy, Mertesacker, Sagna, Ramsey, Cazorla, Wilshere, Giroud, Podolski, Walcott, Monreal, Jenkinson
Teams in the tunnel....And they're out on the grass! Looks like Wenger is sticking with a first-team side despite the chance to maybe rest some of his players.
Fenerbahce fans certainly don't care what the score is at the Emirates, they're set on a party no matter what. They've brought some great support and it looks like they're having a rollicking good time.
In the other Champions League play-offs this morning it looks like Basel and Austria Wien are set to go through. However it's still all to play for between PAOK and Schalke with the tie locked up at 1-1.
I do hope the Arsenal fans give the home side a hard time though if they end up resting on their laurels. We want to see some goals!
So, yes Arsenal may be up 3-0 on aggregate and yes they have a the second-leg at home and yes they have Laurent Koscielny back but could Fernbahce pull of an upset? No. But maybe? Who knows. (It's probably no).
Plenty of football on this morning as the Capital One Cup kicks off as well. Plus, we have all the action from tomorrow's second-leg play-off between PSV and AC Milan. That one is a little bit more competitive than today's match.
Kick-off isn't far away but in the meantime you can watch highlights from the first-leg between Fenerbahce and Arsenal in Turkey.
------------------------------------
Predicted lineups:
Arsenal: Sczszensy, Mertesacker, Sagna, Ramsey, Cazorla, Wilshere, Giroud, Podolski, Walcott, Monreal, Jenkinson
Fenerbahçe: Demiral, Korkmaz, Erkin, Gonul, Alves, Sahin, Meireles, Cristian, Kuyt, Sow, Emenike
Pregame Banter:
Arsenal will play Fenerbahce bidding to complete qualification for the group stages of the Champions League for a 16th successive year against a side they beat 3-0 in Istanbul last week.
It will be Arsenal's first return to the Emirates Stadium since a 3-1 defeat to Aston Villa on the opening day of the Barclays English Premier League season.
Supporters expressed their frustration over Arsenal's activity in the transfer market which has seen them miss out on the likes of Gonzalo Higuain, who moved from Real Madrid to Napoli.
Arsene Wenger said he's only looking to add quality to the squad.
"I feel with the players we have we can play the football we want to play and I am a great admirer of the spirit, the attitude of the players. They are special and If I want to add something, it has to be special."
The Gunners responded to their loss to Villa on the opening day of the season in emphatic fashion, with a 3-0 win in Istanbul and a 3-1 win at Fulham restoring confidence within the squad.
Carl Jenkinson says there was improvement all over the pitch.
"The last two games we've put in, you know, good team performances, I think all over the pitch, you know. Everybody has done well and everybody has done their job."
Jack Wilshere will return to the starting line-up against Fenerbahce, even though the North London derby with Tottenham takes place next week.
Arsenal's numbers are also boosted by Laurent Koscielny who is fit to feature after missing the Fulham clash while suspended.
The Frenchman is also recovering from a head injury sustained in the first leg in Turkey.
3 News/SNTV
source: newshub archive
