UDINE, Italy, Aug 24, (Agencies): Arsenal will compete in the Champions League for the 14th consecutive season after their beleaguered side came from behind to record a brave 2-1 win at Udinese on Wednesday. Leading 1-0 from the first leg of the play-off tie, Arsenal were menaced throughout by the threat of an elimination that would have been unthinkable in both sporting and financial terms. In the 39th minute, Udinese’s irrepressible talisman Antonio di Natale guided a header inside the right-hand post that levelled the tie on aggregate and took the Italians to within a goal of the group phase. Arsenal captain Robin van Persie equalised 10 minutes into the second half, but the hosts were handed a chance to re-establish their advantage shortly afterwards when referee Olegario Benquerenca awarded a penalty against Thomas Vermaelen for handball.

Wojciech Szczesny excelled himself in the face of Di Natale’s spot-kick, however, plunging to his right and somehow palming the ball over the crossbar despite the power and precision behind the Italian’s rising shot. The shock of spurning such an opportunity drew the hosts’ sting and Theo Walcott put Arsenal out of sight in the 69th minute by racing into the box and coolly beating goalkeeper Samir Handanovic at his near post. On the day that Samir Nasri completed his move from Arsenal to Manchester City — and just nine days after Cesc Fabregas returned to Barcelona — it was a timely victory for Arsene Wenger, whose methods had been called into question with greater zeal than ever before as his squad collapsed around him.

His starting line-up contained five players aged 21 or under and two 19-year-old Champions League debutants in the shape of right-back Carl Jenkinson and holding midfielder Emmanuel Frimpong. Frimpong was replaced by Tomas Rosicky at half-time but this remained a stirring performance by a young team scarred by the trauma of recent departures and bereft of Jack Wilshere, Laurent Koscielny, Kieran Gibbs, Abou Diaby and Nicklas Bendtner due to injury. Amid stifling summer heat at Udine’s Stadio Friuli, Arsenal began the game with a poise that seemed at odds with both the importance of the occasion and the doubt that is supposed to have overcome their ranks.

But if the visitors’ start to the game was typical Arsenal, so was the failure to convert the chances that their slick football occasionally yielded, with Walcott the chief culprit in the 32nd minute.
In Kazan, Russia, Lyon reached the Champions League group stage for the 12th straight year Wednesday after holding Russian club Rubin Kazan to a 1-1 draw in the second leg of their playoff match.
The French club safely protected its 3-1 lead from the first leg, although Bibras Natkho gave the home team some hope when he put Rubin ahead in the 77th minute. However, Bakari Kone equalized for Lyon 10 minutes later to see the French side through to the group stage.

Results
At Kazan, Russia
Rubin Kazan (RUS) 1 (Natcho 77) Lyon (FRA) 1 (B. Kone 87)
Lyon win 4-2 on aggregate
At Plzen, Czech Republic
Viktoria Plzen (CZE) 2 (Bakos 67, Duris 90+3) FC Copenhagen (DEN) 1 (Bolanos 32)
Viktoria Plzen win 5-2 on aggregate
At Graz, Austria
Sturm Graz (AUT) 0 BATE Borisov (BLR) 2 (Valadzko 36, Simic 69)
BATE Borisov win 3-1 on aggregate
At Lisbon
Benfica (POR) 3 (Axel 46, 66, Luisao 59) FC Twente (NED) 1 (Ruiz 84)
Benfica win 5-3 on aggregate
At Udine, Italy
Udinese (ITA) 1 (Di Natale 39) Arsenal (ENG) 2 (van Persie 55, Walcott 69)
Arsenal win 3-1 on aggregate