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A spirited display saw Wenger’s men earn three important away goals at Istanbul last week. This implies that Fenerbahce will have to score at least three or more goals against the London side if they are to have any chance of qualifying to the next round.
However even if Arsenal succeed in qualifying for the next round, it is unlikely they will progress much in the tournament given the lack of depth in the squad.
With less than a week left in the conclusion of the summer transfer window, Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger is yet to open his cheque book and a marquee signing which had been promised earlier looks less than likely to happen.
Arsenal’s only signing this season has been the capture of Yaya Sanogo who was bought in for free. Whereas the French international is touted to have a bright future, he certainly is not the answer to all of Arsenal’s problems. Injuries have weakened an Arsenal side, which has already seen upto 27 players leave the club in the current transfer window.
Even though very few of those players were members of the first team squad, the Arsenal roster appears to be very thin right now something which can prove to be calamitous in the course of the season when injuries start taking toll.
As it is the Gunners have a number of players sidelined due to injuries which includes the likes of Thomas Vermaelen, Mikel Arteta, Alex Oxlade Chamberlain and not to forget Abou Diaby who has not played competitive football for Arsenal in over six months.
All these injuries mean that Arsenal are a bit short in the midfield and defence department and Wenger needs to act swiftly before it’s too late.
However Wenger has refused to accept that his side is simply not good enough to win a title and has repeatedly infuriated Arsenal fans by making uncanny statements to defend himself. The Frenchman recently claimed that it was the media which had stirred emotions which has raised so many voices from Arsenal fans who are already frustrated with Arsenal’s inability in recent years to challenge for honours.
"The media in general has brainwashed a little bit the Emirates. Maybe rightly so, I don't know, because we haven't won trophies for years everything is negative. But we have to live with that and focus on playing well football,” said the Arsenal manager
However it would only take a little bit of common sense to conclude that Arsenal simply donot have the quality or the depth to challenge on all fronts this season. The Gunners are yet to face a competent opponent this season and have already lost a match.
Arsenal were evidently the second best side when they played Aston Villa in the opening fixture. A dire need for a defensive midfielder was exploited by Gabriel Agbonlahor who strolled through the Arsenal defense ultimately brought down by Wojciech Szczesny which resulted in a penalty awarding Villa their first goal of the match.
However Wenger has failed to acquire the services of a combative midfielder despite the fact that proven players including Luis Gustavo and Victor Wanyama had been in the market. Arsenal’s true plight will be exposed when they welcome arch rival Tottenham to the Emirates next week, a side which has heavily and astutely invested in transfers this season and will be raring to down the Gunners this time.
However Wenger seems to have a penchant for taking things down to the wire, in the 2011/2012 season it took a 8-2 thumping from Manchester United for Wenger to finally make the much needed signings on deadline day.
It is imperative that if Arsenal are to move forward Wenger gets rid of his stubbornness and learns from his mistakes. Tonight will decide whether Arsenal get to play in Club Footballs most illustrious tournament this season or not.
Wenger’s men are expected to pass the test with flying colours and if they succeed to do so it might lift a lot of burden from Wenger’s shoulder and perhaps allow him to concentrate in bringing new faces to the Emirates.
