Arsenal eased into the group stage of the Champions League with a 3-1 victory over Celtic including a debatable penalty earned and converted by striker Eduardo da Silva.
Arsenal won 5-1 on aggregate. The draw for the group stage, which begins on September 15, is on Thursday in Monaco.
Emmanuel Eboue and Andrei Arshavin also scored for Arsenal, while Celtic finally replied right before fulltime.
Eduardo was awarded a penalty in the 28th minute when the referee decided that Celtic goalkeeper Artur Boruc brought down the Croatia international. TV replays appeared to show that no contact was made. Eduardo fired his spot kick to the left of Boruc, who went the other way.
“Having seen it again on television, it doesn’t look to be a penalty,” Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger said. “I must still say that we were likely always to score the first goal because Eduardo had a great chance just before the penalty. We looked always in control tonight.”
Wenger suggested Eduardo may have jumped out of the way of Boruc because the horrific leg break the striker suffered in February 2008 may still be on his mind.
“With what’s happened to him I’m a bit cautious,” Wenger said. “I don’t think he would complain if the penalty wasn’t given.”
Celtic manager Tony Mowbray said all of his players complained to him at halftime that there was no contact.
“I haven’t seen the rerun to be fair so I can’t sit here and complain about it,” Mowbray said. “We have to accept it and move on. You can’t deny the fact that Arsenal over the two legs had more quality. They deserved to go through ... I generally believe that Arsenal are a team that can win this competition.”
In the 53rd, Eboue made it 2-0 after a clever backheel flick from Nicklas Bendtner to Abou Diaby who made a run into the penalty area. Diaby passed to Eboue, who was unmarked in the centre, and the Ivory Coast international volleyed past Boruc.
Arshavin made it 3-0 in the 74th after exchanging passes with Aaron Ramsey. The Russia international collected the ball in the area, spun and slotted into the bottom left-hand corner.
Celtic midfielder Massimo Donati scored in the dying seconds of the game with a close-range shot from a long cross by Andreas Hinkel.
Wenger rested striker Robin van Persie ahead of the Premier League match against Manchester United on Saturday at Old Trafford. Arshavin was also on the bench for most of the match before he came on as a substitute in the 73rd.
