By GRAHAM DUNBAR
AP Sports Writer
GENEVA (AP) Arsenal answered its early-season critics with a high-class 3-0 win at Fenerbahce in a Champions League playoff first-leg match on Wednesday.
Kieran Gibbs, Aaron Ramsey and Olivier
Giroud scored in the second half to face down a noisy crowd in
Istanbul, plus hostile media and Gunners fans at home after an offseason
of failed transfer deals for the cash-rich club.
Under-fire manager Arsene Wenger now
looks all but certain to lead his team into the Champions League group
stage for the 16th straight season after the return match next Tuesday.
"We could have been a little bit shaky
after what happened on Saturday," said Wenger, whose team lost 3-1 at
home to Aston Villa in the Premier League opener. "So for us it was very
important to start on the front foot. That was vital tonight for us and
we did it well."
Away teams dominated Wednesday, as
Swiss champion Basel won 4-2 in Bulgaria against Ludogorets Razgrad and
Austria Vienna won 2-0 at Dinamo Zagreb.
Schalke drew 1-1 at home to PAOK Thessaloniki and it was also 1-1 between Steaua Bucharest and legia Warsaw.
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