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OPPOSITION REPORT: Turkish journalist gives us the lowdown on Galatasaray

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Gooner Talk caught up with Turkish sports journalist and author Uğur Karakullukçu to find out more about Arsenal’s Champions League group stage opponents.

How has Galatasaray’s season gone so far?

Absolute chaos. Roberto Mancini left the club because of a lack of budget and his expected replacement Mircea Lucescu – ex-boss of Galatasaray between 2000-2002 – couldn’t leave Shakhtar because of his relations with Shakhtar owner Ahmedov. Italy’s unsuccessful run at Brazil gave Galatasaray the chance to sign Cesare Prandelli. He’s a great coach but this is his first job abroad so he had problems to adjust to Turkey despite his great personality.

The Turkish league has a weird foreign player rule (5 foreign players on the pitch, 8 on the match squad) and Galatasaray can’t use their best players effectively in league matches. The team also couldn’t reach their usual level or tempo in the league. They have arguably started like Arsenal if we compare their last few games. It’s difficult to say that Galatasaray are in better shape than Arsenal’s previous Champions League play-off stage opponent Beşiktaş.

The most urgent issue at Galatasaray is an unexpected presidential election next month because president Ünal Aysal resigned this week in response to harsh critics about him at a financial meeting with club members. We think it will have an affect on Prandelli and players’ motivation surely. They could either react badly or use it as a motivation tool to say goodbye to Aysal.

sneijder

Key players?

Muslera, Chedjou, Melo and Sneijder. Muslera is always a safe bet at no.1 and he’s in good form. Felipe Melo is a reliable defensive midfielder and he’s one of the key players but he’ll play as centre-back with Chedjou and their performance will determine Galatasaray’s fate in London. ‘No.10’ Sneijder and playmaker Selçuk İnan started slow this season and most of Galatasaray’s problems are related to that so if they can play better, their chances will increase. ‘No.9’ Burak Yılmaz is great when he can run behind the defence so Arsenal’s centre-backs should keep an eye on him too.

Which Galatasaray player will cause Arsenal the biggest problems?

I think Sneijder will want to show his talents and that he’s still ‘got it’, so Arsenal players should keep an eye on him. Olcan and Bruma are talented and creative wingers. Olcan will start at XI and Bruma will come from the bench I think.

Where do their weaknesses lie?

Galatasaray is an old team and they’re getting slower every year. The youngest player in the starting XI is Semih Kaya and he’s 23-years-old. Their energy level is low and a high tempo game can exploit their weaknesses. Their 3-5-2 tactic is untested and out of form wing-back Telles can be a defensive liability sometimes. Arsenal wingers will be important in the outcome of the game.

Prandelli

How do you think they will set-up against Arsenal? What formation are they likely to play?

Galatasaray started this season very slow and their games with 4-2-3-1 and 4-3-2-1 formations didn’t satisfy the manager. Prandelli introduced a 3-5-2 formation this weekend against Sivasspor. It’s similar to the system Juventus currently play. I think they’ll try to play with a low tempo and they’ll try to pack and dominate the midfield area. Galatasaray have problems but they have a quality players in offence so they can surprise any team at any time if the game progresses how they want.

Do you think Gala will progress in Group D?

Galatasaray reached the quarter final (2013) and second round (2014) respectively but this year will be tougher to repeat that. I think the team will qualify for the Europa League.
The team have a unique character when it comes to European Cups and they can surprise even themselves sometimes. I wouldn’t have said that they would qualify ahead of Juventus last year before the second game. Never say never.

Eboue

Former Arsenal defender Emmanuel Eboue could play against the Gunners tomorrow night. How well has he done in Turkey?

Sadly, he’s training with under-21 squad now and the club didn’t register him this year for the Champions League. The Galatasaray board thinks he earns much more than he deserves and his performances were poor last year. I personally interviewed him last month and obviously he doesn’t share the board’s idea about his performances. Galatasaray fans love him and he had a great three seasons for the team but his career there will be over in January or at the end of season. He also told me in the interview that he still loves Arsenal and thanked Wenger many times!

Are they confident of getting a positive result at Emirates Stadium?

Galatasaray’s best achievement in Europe was against Arsenal in 2000 and it’s still the only European Cup won in Turkey (except the Super Cup). Galatasaray have produced great performances against Manchester United, Leeds United and Liverpool in the last 20 years so I’d say the club go into games against English teams without fearing them to play in England without fear. Even though Arsenal are the better team, they believe they can do the unexpected because they’ve done it many times before. Their supporters are also excited because they love to fulfil their reputation as passionate fans.

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