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Arsenal reaches Champions League group stage Arsenal swept aside its poor domestic start and beat Udinese 2-1 Wednesday to qualify for the Champions League group phase for the 14th consecutive season
After Antonio Di Natale had put Udinese in front in the 39th minute at the Friuli stadium, Arsenal replied with goals from new captain Robin van Persie in the 55th and Theo Walcott in the 69th. Arsenal goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny saved a penalty shot from Di Natale in the 59th and Arsenal advanced on 3-1 aggregate, with Walcott having scored early in a 1-0 win in the opening leg last week. Lyon and Benfica also advanced, joining BATE Borisov of Belarus and Czech side Viktoria Plzen in Thursday's draw for the lucrative group stage. They will be pooled with the likes of defending champion Barcelona, Real Madrid, Manchester United, Chelsea and Europe's other elite clubs. While Arsenal is often mentioned alongside Europe's best squads, it arrived in Italy in crisis mode, having managed just one point from two English Premier League matches—including its first home loss to Liverpool in 11 years—and having lost two key players in the transfer market. With former captain Cesc Fabregas already having gone back to Barcelona, Arsenal announced Tuesday it had reached a deal to send France midfielder Samir Nasri to Manchester City. Making matters more complicated was a two-match ban in Europe for Arsene Wenger, although UEFA temporarily lifted the suspension to consider an appeal and allowed the Arsenal manager to patrol the touchline against Udinese. Wenger's presence didn't seem to matter much at the start, though, with Di Natale galvanizing his club with something spectacular on seemingly every possession in the first half. Di Natale had already hit the post with a sliding shot inside the box in the 23rd when he made a quick glance to see where Szczesny was positioned, then didn't even leave the ground as he redirected a pass from Giampiero Pinzi with a header from near the penalty spot that went in off the far post. Di Natale led Serie A in scoring the past two seasons with a total of 57 goals, and he also hit the woodwork in the opening leg, banging a free kick off the crossbar. Udinese goalkeeper Samir Handanovic was also sharp in the first half, stopping consecutive close-range chances from Walcott and Van Persie following an incursion by newly signed Arsenal winger Gervinho in the 32nd. Wenger replaced Emmanuel Frimpong with Tomas Rosicky in midfield to begin the second half but it was Gervinho who set up Van Persie's goal, sliding a cross in for the Dutch international to strike in from the top of the goalbox. After a goal judge signaled for an Arsenal handball, Szczesny guessed correctly and dove to his right to deflect Di Natale's penalty up over the bar and Walcott then sped past Udinese's defense and beat Handanovic to seal the win.
