Arsenal face tough Fenerbahce tie in CL play-offs

MONACO. Arsenal have been handed a tough draw in their Champions League play-off tie, with Arsene Wenger’s side facing Fenerbahce.The Gunners managed to avoid the likes of Germany’s Schalke, Zenit St.Petersburg from Russia and AC Milan thanks to the seeding process, while they also dodged difficult match-ups against PSV Eindhoven and Real Sociedad.But getting past Fenerbahce will prove no easy feat for the Gunners, with the Turkish giants having reached the last four of last season’s Europa League, where they were beaten by eventual runners-up Benfica.The Turkish side were banned from European competition amid match-fixing allegations but have been allowed into the draw pending the club’s appeal.Should they defeat Arsenal, and the Court of Arbitration for Sport uphold the three-year ban at the end of the month, fellow Turkish outfit Bursaspor would replace them in the group stages.Wenger’s men are set to line up against the likes of former Liverpool forward Dirk Kuyt, Joseph Yobo who represented Everton for 10 years and Portuguese international Bruno Alves.Celtic, meanwhile, have been drawn again FC Shakhter Karagandy from the Kazakhstan Premier League.The relative unknowns are the reigning Kazakhstan champions and have already defeated BATE Borisov and KF Skenderbeu Korce to reach the play-off stages.The first-legs will take place on either August 20 or 21, with the return legs coming a week later.