Razor's edge

Arsenal eked out a win Wednesday after facing near elimination in their struggle with Udinese for a spot in the Champions League group phase, coming back in the second half to secure a thin 2-1 victory against their Italian rivals.

Udinese's Antonio di Natale scored a header early in the match, placing the club at eye-level with Arsenal in terms of the aggregate playoff score. But Arsenal captain Robin van Persie managed to sink the match equalizer 10 minutes into the second half.

Although Udinese had the opportunity to regain their lead through a penalty shot, Arsenal goalie Wojciech Szczesny denied di Natale's spot-kick. Theo Walcott then brought Arsenal back from the brink, scoring in the 69th minute and ultimately securing the club's spot in the Champions League.

Earlier Wednesday, French club Olympique Lyon qualified for the Champions League for the 12th consecutive season with a 1-1 draw against Russia's Rubin Kazan, putting them through 4-1 on aggregate.

Portuguese club Benfica also joined the contenders after defeating Twente Enschede 3-1. Czech stars Viktoria Plzen enter the Champions League after their 2-1 victory over FC Copenhagen. And Belarusian BATE Borisov smashed Sturm Graz 2-0, securing their spot in the competition.

Bayern on top

The results come ahead of a Champions League draw in Monaco that sees Bayern rated as top seeds, having secured their place in the competition a day earlier. The side's 1-0 away win against FC Zurich mean they progressed comfortably, having won 2-0 in their earlier home leg.

A top seeding based on their European pedigree means Bayern avoid such heavyweights as Barcelona, Manchester United and Real Madrid. Even so, the Bavarians will be hoping to avoid certain lower-ranked teams - Manchester City and AC Milan among them - that are hotly tipped to perform well.

Having finished third in the German Bundesliga last season, Bayern missed out on an automatic qualification spot.

Last season's champions Dortmund face a tougher prospect, being rated fourth in the seedings. Dortmund, last in the Champions League in 2002, will also be hoping to avoid the top teams - their group is likely to contain at least some big names.

Third seeds Leverkusen – back in the Europe's top competition after six years - had the narrowest hopes of going up one notch in the ratings with Wednesday's games. However, that would have required Arsenal, Benfica and Lyon to be eliminated - simply too much to ask.

One thing that's for sure is that none of the German teams will meet, since teams from the same country are kept separate from each other at this stage of the competition.

Istanbul side Fenerbahce were barred from the competition on Wednesday because of match-fixing allegations that have shaken Turkish football. The team was withdrawn by the country's football federation, to be replaced with league runners-up Trabzonspor.

Author: Richard Connor, Spencer Kimball (Reuters, AFP)
Editor: Mark Rossman