Gunners to make Galatasaray pay again following domestic fallout

Arsenal, outsiders at 8/1 to win Group D, are still in with a slim chance of topping their pool if they triumph in Turkey and Borussia Dortmund lose their battle with Belgian upstarts Anderlecht.

The Gunners, 7/5 favourites with Coral to win, smashed Galatasaray 4-1 in the reverse on home turf, and are 45/1 to repeat that feat in Istanbul and 10/3 to score three or more.

A trip to Turkey, and the ferocious atmosphere of the Turk Telecom Arena, may be the last thing Arsene Wenger’s embittered side feel like facing after a shock loss to Stoke City.

However, another scalp in Europe may go some way to boosting their confidence before a potentially problematic trip to St James’ Park.

Due to the festive fixture list pile-up, Wenger is considering resting some of his top stars to avoid fatigue, stating: “some players are really on the fringe of getting serious injury risk so we will assess the situation.”

As Arsenal have already qualified for the last 16, Gunners top scorer Alexis Sanchez is expected to stay behind, which will give hope to the hosts, who are 19/10 to win and compound Wenger’s woes.

The Arsenal boss was, however, keen to stress he would “go with a strong team because we want to win the game”. Before he added: “We have played seven Champions League games and won four. I would like to win five.”

Danny Welbeck hit a memorable hat-trick to help demolish Gala at the Emirates, and is 7/1 to bag a brace or better again after losing his starting spot to Olivier Giroud last time out.

France forward Giroud struggled against Stoke and, despite announcing his return from injury with a sensational strike against Manchester United, is not yet up to speed.

Welbeck’s dynamism, link-up play and work-rate were much-missed against the Potters and the England international is expected to seize his chance to lead against the Lions.