Arsenal 3 Celtic 1 (5-1 agg):Arsenal completed the formality of qualifying for the Champions League group stages this evening with consummate ease, highlighting the gulf of class between the English Premier League and its Scottish equivalent by beating Celtic 3-1 at the Emirates Stadium and 5-1 on aggregate.
After last week’s 2-0 win at Celtic Park there was little doubt the Gunners would be back at Europe’s top table come by tonight, eager to erase the memories of last season’s painful 4-1 aggregate defeat to Manchester United in the semi-final. Celtic must settle for the Europa League.
In the Scottish side’s defence, Massimo Donati’s consolation left foot volley in injury time was the pick of the six goals, while they were not blessed with much luck over the two ties.
Last week they were left reeling by a cruel deflection off William Gallas and a Gary Caldwell own-goal. This week their hosts got off the mark when Eduardo Silva was wrongly adjudged to have been taken down in the box by Artur Boruc.
Replays suggested the Polish goalkeeper avoided making contact with the Croatian international but Spanish referee Manuel Gonzalez was duped by the Brazilian-born striker who calmly stroked Arsenal into the lead in the 28th minute.
Emmanuel Eboue finished off a slick move seven minutes into the second half to seal Celtic’s fate and Andrei Arshavin hit net having neatly turned Donati shortly after replacing Eduardo with 18 minutes to go.
Serie A side Fiorentina squeezed through on away goals against Portugal's Sporting after a 1-1 home draw left the tie level at 3-3. Steven Jovetic equalised for Fiorentina on the night after Sporting had gone ahead on aggregate through Joao Moutinho.
Stuttgart were held 0-0 at home by Timisoara of Romania but progressed courtesy of their 2-0 away win last week. APOEL beat FC Copenhagen 3-1 for a 3-2 aggregate win while Greek side Olympiakos ended the dreams of Moldovans Sheriff Tirsaspol, completing a 3-0 aggregate win.
The 10 winners of the play-off ties will join the clubs who automatically qualified for the lucrative group stages, including holders Barcelona and runners-up Manchester United.
