Arsenal were in the round of 16 of the UEFA Champions League before the game even started, and after losing this weekend, Arsene Wenger and his boys were looking to go to Turkey and earn something positive against Galatasaray.
Right away in the third minute, Arsenal went up on a powerful strike by the one who does it best with his left foot, Lukas Podolski. Aaron Ramsey brought the ball up the middle of the field and made a run towards the left, attracting the attention of three Galatasaray defenders. Podolski was open on the left, and he controlled and hit a powerful left foot shot into the upper corner of the near post.
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In the 10th minute, Podolski won a ball back in midfield, and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain picked up the loose ball. Oxlade-Chamberlain took the ball up to the top of the Galatasaray box and played a ball out wide towards the left side where Ramsey was waiting for the ball. Ramsey made a simple move to get the ball onto his left foot and shot low across the goalmouth to make it 2-0.
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Things were looking good for Arsenal, and in the 28th minute, Joel Campbell took a corner that was cleared by Galatasaray but fell close to Ramsey, who let the ball bounce once and struck it with his the inside of his left foot for a magnificent strike in the upper left corner. Sinan Bolat, goalkeeper of Galatasaray, had no chance.
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The second half was back-and-forth with a slow tempo. Galatasaray created a few dangerous opportunities, but were not able to put the ball in the back of the net. It was not until the 87th minute, when Wesley Sneijder had a free kick just outside the Arsenal box. Sneijder struck the ball with power and put the ball in the top right corner, cutting the deficit to 3-1.
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On the last play of the game, Podolski played a sloppy 1-2 pass with Yaya Sanogo and finished with his right foot, making Bolat commit to his right as he shot to the goalkeeper’s left into the goal.
With this victory, Wenger and his boys finished the group stage in second place with the same points as Borussia Dortmund. Arsenal will now wait to see whom they have to play in the round of 16.
Photo Credit: Action Images
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