Arsenal v Galatasaray background

Arsenal FC face opposition from Turkey for the second time in this season's competition as Galatasaray AŞ travel to north London.

Previous meetings
• The teams' only previous meeting came in the 1999/2000 UEFA Cup final in Copenhagen. Galatasaray won 4-1 on penalties after a goalless 120 minutes, becoming the first Turkish team to win a UEFA competition.

• The lineups at Parken on 17 May 2000 were:
Arsenal: Seaman, Dixon, Keown, Adams, Sylvinho, Parlour, Vieira, Petit, Overmars (Šuker 115), Henry, Bergkamp (Kanu 75).
Galatasaray: Taffarel, Bülent, Capone, Popescu, Ergün, Okan Buruk (Hakan 83), Suat (Yildirim 95), Hagi, Ümit Davala, Arif (Hasan 95), Hakan Şükür.

Match background

Arsenal
• Arsenal beat Beşiktaş JK 1-0 at home in this season's play-off second leg, Alexis Sánchez scoring his first goal for the club, for the same aggregate score. That maintained their record of never losing over 90 minutes to Turkish sides. 

• They have conceded just once in nine meetings, a 2008/09 group stage fixture at Fenerbahçe SK which the Gunners won 5-2.

• Their overall record is W5 D4 L0 (W3 D1 L0 at home).

• Arsenal beat Fenerbahçe 3-0 in Istanbul and 2-0 in London in last season's play-offs.

• In the group stage for the 17th successive season, they departed last year in the round of 16 for the fourth consecutive time, FC Bayern München ending their hopes for the second year in a row. Arsenal lost 2-0 at home and 3-1 on aggregate.

• Before FC Schalke 04 won 2-0 at the Arsenal Stadium on matchday three in 2012/13 the London side had gone 45 home games unbeaten when facing non-English opponents. Including that defeat they have lost four games (all against German visitors) while winning three of their last seven home fixtures in the competition proper.

Galatasaray
• Galatasaray have not won in nine visits to English clubs, drawing three and losing six. Overall their record is W3 D8 L7. Their latest defeat came in last season's round of 16 when they went down 2-0 at Chelsea FC after a 1-1 draw in Istanbul.

• The closest they came to victory was in the 1993/94 UEFA Champions League second round. Having trailed 2-0 early on, Cimbom led Manchester United FC 3-2 at Old Trafford midway through the second half, only for Eric Cantona to conjure an 80th-minute equaliser. Their away goals proved crucial in taking the Süper Lig side through after the home leg ended 0-0.

• Before last season Cimbom had lost just three of their previous 19 European away fixtures, winning ten. After drawing 2-2 at Juventus on matchday two last season they then lost their three subsequent away games.

• The Süper Lig runners-up are in their 13th group stage campaign and their third in succession, having missed out in the five seasons before that.

Coach and player links
• Mesut Özil's parents and grandparents are originally from the Turkish city of Zonguldak. He scored in Germany's 3-0 win over Turkey at the Olympiastadion on 8 October 2010.

• Former team-mates:
Aurélien Chedjou and Mathieu Debuchy (LOSC Lille, 2007–13)
Hamit Altıntop and Özil (FC Schalke 04, 2006/07)
Aurélien Chedjou and Santi Cazorla (Villarreal B, 2002/03)
Altıntop and Lukas Podolski (FC Bayern München, 2007–09)

Match facts

Arsenal
• Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain scored his first goal of the season as Arsenal came from behind to draw 1-1 at home to Tottenham Hotspur FC on Saturday. Mikel Arteta and Aaron Ramsey went off with injuries while Jack Wilshere picked up an ankle problem.

• Arsenal's 2-0 loss at Borussia Dortmund on matchday one was their first defeat in 15 matches in all competitions.

• The Gunners scored three goals − including Danny Welbeck's first for the club − in 192 seconds as they won 3-0 at Aston Villa FC on 20 September.

• Mathieu Debuchy underwent an operation on his left ankle on 22 September, ruling him out for three months. The right-back, who served a one-game ban on matchday one, suffered the knock nine days earlier during the 2-2 home draw with Manchester City FC.

• Abou Diaby started his first competitive game in 18 months as a much-changed Arsenal side were beaten 2-1 at home by Southampton FC in the League Cup third round on 23 September. Diaby, a late substitute in the last game of 2013/14, sustained cruciate knee ligament damage in March 2013.

• A summer signing from OGC Nice, David Ospina was handed his Arsenal debut against Southampton, with Joel Campbell making his first start for the club.

• The Southampton defeat was only Arsenal's second at home in 20 games in 2014, along with February's 2-0 loss to FC Bayern München.

• Alexis Sánchez has scored four goals in his last six outings for Arsenal.

Galatasaray
• Burak Yılmaz converted from the rebound after his penalty was saved as Galatasaray claimed a 2-1 victory at home to Sivasspor on Friday – only their second win in six games this season.

• Aurélien Chedjou's thumping header – his first of the campaign – made it 1-0 on Friday.

• Galatasaray suffered their first defeat of the campaign on 20 September, losing 2-0 at Süper Lig newcomers Balıkesirspor.

• Cesare Prandelli has not named an unchanged side this season.

• Two of Galatasaray's five goals this season have come in the 90th minute.

• Galatasaray won just five of their 17 away games in the Turkish top flight last season, picking up a Super League high of nine draws.