Süper Lig side Beşiktaş held Premier League Arsenal to a 0-0 draw at the Atatürk Olympic Stadium in Istanbul, the temporary home of the Turkish third-placed side. Three of Arsenal's summer signings made their European debuts for the club, with Alexis Sánchez and Mathieu Debuchy already having European experience, Sánchez  for Barcelona and Udinese, and Debuchy for Lille.

The Gunners failed to have any real emphasis on the game, with both sides playing end-to-end stuff from the off. Stastically, Beşiktaş had the better of the play, with a higher possession and shot count, though neither of the sides could register a goal before the next leg at the Emirates next Wednesday.


The player ratings for the match:

Arsenal

Wojciech Szczęsny - 6/10: Szczęsny was called into action a mere three seconds into the game, having to stop Demba Ba's attempt from kick-off. His action was fairly limited beyond that early chance, though he managed to comfortably save any shot that came towards him.

Mathieu Debuchy - 6/10: The French right-back impressed yet again on his European debut for the Gunners. Although his mobility was fairly restricted to the far right hand side of the pitch, his defensive performances were enough to keep the likes of Oğuzhan Özyakup at bay.

Calum Chambers - 7/10: Possibly the best player on the pitch. The 19-year old made all the right decisions to stop any Beşiktaş players from creating dangerous chances, although the split-second lapse in concentration almost cost the Gunners at the end of the first half. 

Laurent Koscielny - 5/10: Laurent Koscielny was a doubt for the game after suffering a niggle against Crystal Palace, though he didn't do an awful lot during the game. He was easily beaten on a couple of occasions, and his counterpart Calum Chambers took over most of the defensive duties.

Nacho Monreal - 6/10: Filling in for the injured Kieran Gibbs, Monreal was one of the more impressive players in the Arsenal side. The Spaniard was more of an attacking threat than Debuchy on the other side of the field, creating several chances and winning a costless-kick towards the end. 

Mikel Arteta - 5/10: The new club captain didn't see a whole lot of the ball, but did a more than efficient job of defending the back line. His game was cut short due to injury; an unfortunate way to end a decent game.

Santi Cazorla - 5/10: Cazorla was a lot less effective compared to his performance on the opening day of the league season. His best chance came in the last ten minutes when his costless-kick was spilled by the Beşiktaş goalkeeper, but his impact on the game was lessened.

Aaron Ramsey - 4/10: Overall, a disappointing performance from Arsenal's player of the season last year. The Welshman didn't have much of an impact on the game, and two silly yellow cards have cost him his place in the return leg at the Emirates. 

Jack Wilshere - 5/10: Made a number of bursting runs into the opposition half. Struggled to really get into the game and create chances. Took a while for the player to get involved with the real action.

Alexis Sanchez - 6/10: Alexis Sanchez seemed to improve slightly on his performance from the weekend. The Chilean made many a bursting run towards the Beşiktaş goal in the first half, though he saw a lot less of the ball in the second half. Created several chances for his Arsenal team-mates also, none of which were taken.

Olivier Giroud - 3/10: An all-round below average performance from Giroud. Spurned the majority of chances that fell to him, including one where he was put clean through one-on-one with the goalkeeper. Like most, he barely saw any of the ball in the second half, and played a lot deeper than usual.

Substitutes

Mathieu Flamini - 5/10: Found it a challenge to get involved with the fast pace of the game, having come on unexpectedly as a replacement for the injured Arteta. Was given a yellow card very quickly after coming on, and had very little involvement in the game.

Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain - 6/10: Only played the final 15 minutes after being brought on for Alexis Sanchez. Had bright spells and also had the best chance of the game. He breezed his way past three defenders before seeing his shot tipped onto the post in the final minute of normal time. 

Tomas Rosicky - N/A

VAVEL Logo
About the author