Arsenal out to profit from luck of draw against Besiktas

PARIS, Aug 18 (AFP): After a positive start to the new season domestically, Arsenal head to Istanbul in optimistic mood ahead of Tuesday's Champions League play-off first leg against Besiktas.
The Gunners followed up a convincing victory against Manchester City in the Community Shield with a 2-1 win over Crystal Palace on Saturday in their opening Premier League game, in which Aaron Ramsey netted a late winner.
Now they are looking to secure a place in the lucrative group stage of Europe's elite club competition for a 17th consecutive campaign, although Wenger could do without the fitness concerns that are hanging over several players, including Kieran Gibbs, Laurent Koscielny and Jack Wilshere.
"We want to be in the Champions League group stage. Besiktas had a convincing result against Feyenoord (winning 5-2 on aggregate in the third qualifying round), and so for us we have the luck to play the first game away," said Wenger, who has floated the idea of calling on German World Cup-winning trio Mesut Ozil, Per Mertesacker and Lukas Podolski for the first time this season. Meanwhile, Ramsey admitted that Arsenal will need to improve on their performance against Palace, although he lauded the contribution of Wenger's summer recruits in that match.