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 the draw.
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.
{{/usCountry}}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.
{{/usCountry}}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.
Eto'o signs
Moscow: Cameroon star Samuel Eto'o was due in Moscow on Thursday after signing a three-year deal with Russia's new big spenders Anzhi Makhachkala that will reportedly be the most valuable contract in football.