Arsenal beats Galatasaray 4-1 in Champions League

ISTANBUL — Aaron Ramsey and Lukas Podolski each scored twice to give Arsenal a 4-1 victory over Galatasaray in the Champions League this morning (Dec 10, Singapore time), but the London side came short of its aim of finishing top of Group D.

Arsenal had already qualified for the last 16 of the competition and was playing for a chance to overtake Borussia Dortmund to top spot in the group, but the German side drew 1-1 with Anderlecht to secure top billing in the group.

Galatasaray — already eliminated from the last 16 after finishing bottom — was playing for pride.

“There was a little bit of frustration ... we knew at half time we needed to score six without conceding,” Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger said. “Unfortunately it wasn’t enough. We finished with 13 points and did the job tonight.”

Podolski opened the scoring two minutes into the game, shooting high into the top left corner. Eight minutes later, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain drew two defenders before passing to Ramsey, who powered the ball into the bottom left corner. A fierce volley by Ramsey from 25 yards out in the 28th gave Arsenal its third goal.

Ramsey described the goal as one of the best of his career.

“The ball came to the edge of the box and I thought why not, I’ll have a go ... And I had a go,” Ramsey said.

In the first half, Galatasaray found it hard to cope with Arsenal’s quick and accurate passing despite the fact that the London side had left many of its first-choice players behind. The Turkish side improved in the second half, but many of its chances lacked finish.

Galatasaray’s consolation came from a free kick by Wesley Sneijder in the 86th minute from just outside the penalty area.

In the final minute of added time, Podolski made it 4-1 when he rounded the goalkeeper to slot the ball into the bottom right corner. The final score matched the result of the teams’ first match at the Emirates Stadium on Oct 1.

“We came here with a few players making their first appearance tonight. It was nice to come here and nearly, nearly come away with what we needed to finish top,” Ramsey said.

“We took full advantage of the opportunities and it was nice to get the goals that we saw today,” he said. AP