Arsenal survive to reach Champions League

Friday, 26 August 2011 00:00 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Reuters) - Arsenal teetered on the brink of elimination before coming from behind to win 2-1 at Udinese and qualify for the Champions League for the 14th season in a row on Wednesday.

Leading 1-0 from the first leg, Arsenal trailed 1-0 at halftime and survived an Antonio di Natale penalty miss with the score at 1-1 before Theo Walcott scored to lift the pressure.

Twice former European champions Benfica joined them with a 3-1 win over Twente Enschede and Olympique Lyon made it 12 appearances in a row by holding out for a 1-1 draw at Rubin Kazan in the playoff second legs.

Czech champions Viktoria Plzen qualified for the first time, beating FC Copenhagen 2-1, and BATE Borisov completed the line-up by knocking out Sturm Graz.

The five completed the line-up for Thursday’s group stage draw in Monaco.

Trabzonspor were named by UEFA as Turkey’s representatives earlier on Wednesday after Fenerbahce were pulled out by the Turkish FA over the country’s match-fixing scandal.

Arsenal’s 3-1 aggregate win was a relief for manager Arsene Wenger after a difficult start to the season, with injuries adding to the departures of Cesc Fabregas and Samir Nasri.