Sanchez's strike sends 10-man Arsenal through

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Alexis Sanchez's first Arsenal goal earned his side a nervy 1-0 victory over Besiktas on Wednesday (Aug 27) that saw them squeeze into the Champions League for the 17th consecutive season.

The Chilean, Arsenal's number 17, repaid the first instalment of his £30 million (S$62.8 million, US$50.4 million) transfer fee by tucking away a low shot in first-half stoppage time, but the hosts' inability to kill the game off made for a night of nail-biting tension at the Emirates Stadium.



Mathieu Debuchy's dismissal for two yellow cards meant that Arsenal saw out the last 15 minutes with 10 men, but although a solitary goal would have been enough to send the Turkish side through after last week's goalless draw in Istanbul, the hosts held on for a 1-0 aggregate win.

Arsene Wenger's side, who lost to Bayern Munich in the last 16 last season, will discover the identities of their group-phase opponents in Thursday's draw.

Champions League play-off, second leg results:

At Malmo, Sweden
Malmo (SWE) 3 Salzburg (AUT) 0
(Malmo win 4-2 on aggregate)

At London, United Kingdom
Arsenal (ENG) 1 Besiktas (TUR) 0
(Arsenal win 1-0 on aggregate)

At Leverkusen, Germany
Bayer 04 Leverkusen (GER) 4 FC Copenhagen (DEN) 0
(Bayer Leverkusen win 7-2 on aggregate)

At Bilbao, Spain
Athletic Bilbao (ESP) 3 Napoli (ITA) 1
(Athletic Bilbao win 4-2 on aggregate)