Arsenal got a mixed fortune in the draw for this season’s Champions League group-stages. FC Porto, Fenerbahce and Dynamo Kiev were the other three who joined a seeded Gunners in the Group G pot.

Porto are familiar opponents from just two seasons ago, but while Dynamo Kiev might seem the weakest of the bunch, a visit to Turkey to face Fenerbahce is the nervy point. Of course, on paper, Arsenal are good enough to go anywhere, but the Turks posses a hostile atmosphere at home.

But Arsenal can’t complain much, as fellow English sides, especially Liverpool, were assigned mouth-watering tasks as well.

The first representative of the club to speak after the draw was director Danny Fiszman, who is unfazed but wary of the work ahead.

“It is not the worst draw we could have had,” said Mr Fiszman. “Arsène’s main issue will be the travel. Porto is not too bad but Kiev and Fenerbahce are long trips. That is the real issue for us.

“I don’t think we have got it easy or we have a hard draw. It is in the middle, with the problem of the distance of course.”

ALL THE GROUPS
Group A: Chelsea, Roma, Bordeaux, CFR Cluj
Group B: Inter, Bremen, Panathinaikos, Anorthosis
Group C: Barcelona, Sporting Lisbon, Basel, Shakhtar Donetsk
Group D: Liverpool, PSV, Marseille, Atletico Madrid
Group E: Man. United, Villarreal, Celtic, Aalborg
Group F: Lyon, Bayern, Steaua Bucharest, Fiorentina
Group G: Arsenal, Porto, Fenerbahce, Dynamo Kiev
Group H: Real Madrid, Juventus, Zenit, FC BATE Borisov

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