New Delhi: Arsenal face a tough assignment in Istanbul, where the special atmosphere is often a factor to contend with, as well as the opposition, although Fenerbahce have been slightly less formidable at their Sükrü Saraçoglu Stadium this season than last.
The Turkish side racked up eight successive home wins in the Champions League, including qualifiers, before being held to a goalless draw by Dynamo Kiev last month.
Arsenal were also held to a draw by Dinamo, in Ukraine, but whereas the Gunners beat FC Porto 4-0 at home in their other Group G game to date, Fenerbahçe lost their opening game 3-1 to Porto in Portugal.
As a result, Arsenal top the group with four points, while Fenerbahçe are bottom with one going into Tuesday night's clash.
In the circumstances, Luis Aragonés' side will be desperate to take points off Arsenal to keep alive their hopes of progressing to the knock-out phase.
After Tuesday, the Gunners will have two games still to come at the Emirates, where they have never lost a Champions League encounter, while Fenerbahçe will have two more away games - and they have a notoriously poor record on the road.
But the Turks will be buoyed by the knowledge that they are unbeaten in 15 European home games, and beat Chelsea 2-1 at home last season in the quarter-final first leg, before losing the return at Stamford Bridge 2-0 to bow out of the competition.
Arsenal also reached last season's quarter-finals, losing on aggregate to Premier League rivals Liverpool over two close-fought encounters.
Both teams go into this meeting on the back of wins in their domestic leagues at the weekend. Fenerbahçe recorded their first away win in the Turkish Super Lig this season on Saturday, after having made a poor start to the domestic season by losing four of their first seven games under Aragones, who took over in the summer after leading Spain to the European Championship title in June.
Admittedly Saturday's 3-2 win was against bottom club Kocaelispor, and it took an injury-time goal from Semih Senturk to secure the points. But a win is a win and will have boosted morale ahead of Arsenal's visit. It took Fenerbahçe up to tenth place in the Turkish table.
"Of course, I am not pleased with the game we played in the first half," commented Aragones afterwards, adding: "I think the atmosphere at the Champions League will be different."
Fenerbahce defender Roberto Carlos, the former Real Madrid and Brazil left-back, promised that the team would turn things around in the Champions League.
"We've beaten Chelsea at home. The atmosphere in Kadikoy is always different," he told the Hurriyet newspaper on Monday. "This time, we will make it up to the fans that we have upset."
In England Arsenal, who had surrendered top spot in the Premier League last month by losing at home to Hull and then drawing at Sunderland, got back to winning ways by beating Everton 3-1 despite going behind early on. The win kept them within four points of Premier League leaders Chelsea and Liverpool.
"I believe in this team 100 per cent," said Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger afterwards. "We deserve a lot of respect for last season, but we want to move on and we will be stronger this year."
Wenger describes Istanbul as a “special, unique” football venue, but he is confident the notoriously vociferous fans will not intimidate his players. “They have the most passionate fans in Europe,” he said last week, “especially in Istanbul where you have Besiktas, Galatasaray and Fenerbahce.
“It is a unique place and for me it is a special city. But it is very, very tough.
“However, it will not affect the players. It could have done 20 years ago but one of the good things done by Uefa is that they protect the players and the competitions so much they know if [the fans] do too much they will be kicked out.
“Every simple thing is filmed. That was not the case 20 or 30 years ago. You had a little more freedom to express your aggressiveness then. But that has gone.”
Nevertheless, Fener's five straight home wins in last season's competition, Anderlecht, Inter Milan, PSV Eindhoven, CSKA Moscow and Chelsea, is eloquent testimony to the task ahead for the Gunners.
Still, after Zico's time at the helm - he left because he couldn't deliver the Turkish title - and without some key players (such as Deivid de Souza, Emre and Gokhan) through injury, Aragones has struggled so far to find the winning formula. He has struggled with Turkey - this his first job outside of Spain and the different language and culture have proved a problem. He is also perceived by some supporters to be a bit old for the job at 70, but anyone would have a problem being accepted, without outstanding results, following the footsteps of fans' favourite Zico.
Coincidentally, there have been grumbles of disapproval from a minority of Arsenal fans about Arsene Wenger, who turns 59 this week, following Arsenal's failure to clinch a trophy last season despite leading the Premier League for so long, and the Frenchman's refusal to splash huge sums on big-name 'stars' in the transfer market. The Gunners have been exposed a few times defensively this season and missed a touch of experience in midfield.
But Wenger retains unshakeable faith in the ability of his young team, technically, physically and mentally, and will be confident they can win their way through to the knock-out stage again this year.
History
The two clubs have met once before in European competition - back in October 1979 in the first round of the old Cup Winners' Cup, when Arsenal won 2-0 at Highbury thanks to goals from Alan Sunderland and Willie Young, then travelled to Istanbul for the second leg and secured a goalless draw with a highly disciplined performance in which midfielders John Hollins, Liam Brady, Brian Talbot and Graham Rix dominated. Captaining the team that night was Pat Rice, who is now Wenger's assistant.
Fenerbahçe's have played English clubs thirteen times overall, winning four, drawing two and losing seven. Their six previous matches at home have produced three wins, one draw and two defeats.
This is Arsenal's first game against Turkish opponents since they lost the 1999/00 Uefa Cup final to Galatasaray in a penalty shoot-out after a goalless 120 minutes in Copenhagen.
TEAM NEWS
Fenerbahçe
Aragones could be without injured midfielder Gokhan Gonul. Brazilian striker Deivid has been out since early July with a broken ankle, Gökçek Vederson since mid-July with a knee injury. Emre Belözoğlu has been sidelined since early this month with a pulled hamstring, while Josico has resumed light training.
Last Starting XI (on Saturday): Volkan Demirel, Lugano, Roberto Carlos, Edu, Kazım Kazım (Gürhan Gürsoy 55), Alex, Güiza, Önder Turacı (Bilgin 46), Selçuk Şahin, Semih Şentürk, Uğur Boral (Deniz Barış 69)
Arsenal
Wenger will be without central defender Kolo Toure, who went off at half-time against Everton with twisted shoulder ligaments. Captain William Gallas and full-back Bacary Sagna are also sidelined.
Johan Djourou may come into central defence after recovering from the concussion he sustained while playing for Switzerland, and Samir Nasri should be fit after a minor thigh problem that saw him withdrawn in the Everton game. Nicklas Bendtner is fit again from an ankle problem.
Arsenal are still without Tomas Rosicky and Eduardo da Silva, but midfielder Abou Diaby returned at the weekend, coming of the bench, and defender Mikael Silvestre made his Arsenal debut, playing the full 90 minutes against Everton.
Squad: Almunia, Song, Silvestre, Clichy, Eboue, Fabregas, Denilson, Nasri, Diaby, Walcott, Van Persie, Adebayor, Fabianski, Vela, Ramsey, Gibbs, Hoyte, Bendtner, Djourou.
Last Starting XI (on Saturday): Almunia, Song, Touré (Walcott 46), Silvestre, Clichy, Eboue, Fabregas, Denilson, Nasri (Diaby 83), Van Persie, Adebayor
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Key players for Fenerbahçe include Daniel Guiza, Alex de Souza (who plays just behind him), and of course legendary full-back Roberto Carlos. His vast experience could be a factor in providing leadership for his team.
Arsenal midfielder Cesc Fabregas was in Aragonés's victorious Spain team at Euro 2008, and will therefore be well known to the Fenerbahçe coach, as well as to fellow Spanish midfielder Guiza. There will be a burden of expectation on the shoulders of Fabregas again, but he will need strong support from the rest of the midfield and a solid defensive platform behind him.
PREDICTION
The game is billed as a "must-win" for the hosts, whose chances of progress will be slim if the draw or lose again. That makes it like a final for the Turkish side - and therefore makes them very dangerous opponents. They will need to attack, but that could benefit Arsenal, who love to play on the counter in an open game.
With neither defence entirely convincing, there could be a few goals around in Istanbul. Fenerbahçe's home advantage will give them huge confidence, and the support from their fans is likely to be worth an extra man. Arsenal's task will be to try and silence that crowd early on - best done by scoring a goal.
The Gunners have managed five goals in their first two group matches, the joint highest total in the competition along with Atletico Madrid, Barcelona and Liverpool. They've also had 15 shots on goal, again the joint highest total along with Manchester United Chelsea, Bayern Munich and Real Madrid. A tough game to call, but it could be a scoring draw.
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