Arsenal Without Injured Kieran Gibbs and Yaya Sanogo for Besiktas Tie

Arsenal defender Laurent Koscielny is fit for the Champions League play-off first leg against Besiktas in Istanbul but both Kieran Gibbs and Yaya Sanogo have not travelled after picking up respective hamstring injuries in the win over Crystal Palace.

Gibbs limped off in the second half in the 2-1 opening weekend win at the Emirates Stadium and was replaced by Nacho Monreal, while Olivier Giroud came on for Sanogo after an hour.

Neither player has been risked for the first leg in Turkey but Koscielny is available after recovering from a knock picked up on Saturday as Arsenal look to reach the Champions League group stage for a 17<sup>th straight season.

"We left Kieran Gibbs at home," Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger said. "He had to come off during the game with a hamstring problem. He will be out for two or three weeks. Flamini, who was sick, is here.

"Sanogo stayed at home because he has a little hamstring problem and he was not comfortable this morning."

Passage into the group stage would not only keep Arsenal's interests in a competition they reached the final in back in 2006, but hand the club a significant financial boost.

Reports suggest victory over two legs against Besiktas – who finished third in the Turkish Super Lig last season – would be worth as much as £16m to the Gunners, with £7m prize money coming from reaching the group stage and an extra £3m on top for every home match played in the competition.

But Wenger has played down the financial significance, and says Arsenal's reputation is on the line in the two-legged tie.

"Every game you win makes you stronger and, on that front, winning the games helps to gain confidence," added Wenger. "The group still needs to grow and to gain confidence we have to grow.

"[The play-off is not] not affecting too much my transfer policy. Financially it is a big game but it's not that that's the most important [thing]. We want to compete at the top level, we want to fight against the best in Europe and that's the real target of the competition tomorrow.

"It's more than the financial consequences. We have always in the history of the club adapted to our financial potential but what is very important is that we want to play with the best. That's the real target of the qualifier."