While all of the recent attention on Arsenal has been on if Arsene Wenger will get a new striker or not before the summer transfer window closes, the match on Wednesday night at the Emirates might just have a huge bearing on it.
Wenger will find it a lot easier to convince the likes of Edinson Cavani, Radamel Falcao and Jackson Martinez to move to the Emirates this summer if Arsenal actually advance to the group stages of the Champions League, and for them to do that they need to see off a determined Besiktas side in the second leg of their UCL qualifier.
Where to Watch Live
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The second leg is set to kickoff at 7.45 pm BST (12.15 am IST, 2.45 pm ET) with live coverage on Ten Action in India. Viewers can also view the match via live streaming online in India HERE. International viewers can watch the match through live streaming HERE. Catch the match in the UK on Sky Sports 5 with the option to live stream HERE or HERE. Viewers in the US can watch the game on Fox Soccer on live online HERE. Canada viewers can live stream the action HERE, while audience in the Middle East and North Africa can catch the match live online HERE.
Besiktas were quite impressive in the first leg in Turkey last week, giving Arsenal quite a few scares en route to holding them to a 0-0 draw. With the tie perfectly poised, the Gunners will need to bring out their big guns, and shine on the big stage at home again to ensure they will be a part of the Champions League draw on Thursday, and not the one for the Europa League.
"Besiktas played very well against us and we want to show them that we can play very well at home too," said Wenger. "It's a very important game because we want to play at the top level, on an international level. [It's crucial] more on the sporting side than on the financial side.
"Of course our experience plays a big part. We have a big experience in the Champions league, big experience of playing high-pressure games. We can use that on Wednesday.
"What is more important is the performance on the day, to turn up with a strong display. I am confident this group is strong, is mentally prepared, has a great togetherness and is ready for the fight.
"At the end of the day that is the most important thing -- to go out and play at our best."
Arsenal will be without their talisman on Wednesday, with Aaron Ramsey sitting out the match through suspension after his red card in the first leg. Striker Olivier Giroud will also be missing from the lineup, and it remains to be seen just how serious his ankle injury is.
Joining Ramsey and Giroud on the sidelines are skipper Mikel Arteta, goalkeeper David Ospina, forward Theo Walcott and left-back Kieran Gibbs, with Arsenal's injury worries, yet again, slowly but surely, growing.
Besiktas, on the other hand, will go into the second leg taking with them the confidence and momentum they would have gained from the first leg. Demba Ba showed he can be dangerous last week, missing a couple of really good chances, and if the striker links up well with his midfielders again, particularly former Arsenal man Oguzhan Ozyakup, then the home team's backline will be put to a stiff test.
"It's going to be a massive game for us," said the Besiktas manager Slaven Bilic. "We showed from our performance in the first leg that we are capable of giving them a game. We played well. We had our chances and they had theirs. We were not totally happy with the result as I think we deserved to win, but we go into this game full of confidence.
"Of course we are not the favourites. They are the favourites -- they are Arsenal -- but we have a dream, a hope. It's more of a plan though, and we are going to do everything we can to fulfil it. We have prepared our game, our plan. I have big belief in my assistants and they are going to do the job."
Expected lineups: Arsenal: Szczesny; Debuchy, Mertesacker, Koscielny, Monreal; Flamini; Oxlade-Chamberlain, Wilshere, Ozil, Sanchez; Sanogo.
Besiktas: Zengin; Koybasi, Franco, Gulum, Motta, Ozyakup, Kavlak, Pektemek, Hutchinson, Sahan, Ba.
Prediction: 2-1 to Arsenal
