UCL: Gunners sneak past Besiktas

Arsenal ensured they qualified for Thursday’s Champions League group stage draw with a narrow 1-0 win over Turkish side, Beşiktaş, at the Emirates Stadium.
A single first half goal from Alexis Sánchez was enough for the Gunners to take victory after they were held to a goalless draw in the reverse fixture in Istanbul last week.
The hosts made a bright start to the second leg and they should have been ahead inside the opening 10 minutes.
A sloppy midfield giveaway from Beşiktaş allowed Jack Wilshere to burst through on goal, though he slotted wide when one-on-one with Tolga Zengin.
It could have been a costly miss, with Arsenal’s early zip quickly fading in front of the disciplined Beşiktaş defence.
As the clock ticked on, the Gunners looked ever more pedestrian, while their Turkish visitors grew in confidence.
Only a last-ditch tackle from Laurent Koscielny prevented Mustafa Pektemek breaking clean through on goal 10 minutes before the halftime whistle.
Beşiktaş went even closer to breaking the deadlock minutes later, when Olcay Şahan danced down the left and pulled the ball back into the penalty area for the onrushing Ramon Motta.
Fortunately for Arsenal, he couldn’t make a clean contact with the ball and the chance broke down.
It looked like the game would be goalless at the whistle, until Arsenal finally broke the deadlock from nowhere in stoppage time at the end of the first half.
A one-two between Jack Wilshere and Mesut Özil fell kindly for Alexis Sánchez in the penalty area, with the Chilean promptly netting his first goal in an Arsenal shirt with a simple finish.
Buoyed by their goal, Arsenal came out for the second half with renewed vigour.
Sánchez almost doubled their advantage within minutes of the restart, though his poked effort from inside the box was deflected around Tolga Zengin’s post.
Mathieu Debuchy went just as close on the hour, heading a free-kick narrowly wide.
Demba Ba should have made Arsenal pay for their profligacy minutes later, when he pounced on the ball in the penalty area after an error by Mathieu Flamini.
Fortunately for the Gunners, his effort flashed wide and they clung to their narrow lead.
Arsenal should have killed the game with just over 15 minutes remaining, though Santi Cazorla had his shot blocked inside the box, moments before Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain was denied from point-blank range by Zengin.
As if things weren’t nervy enough for the home crowd, the Gunners had right-back Debuchy sent off for a second yellow card seconds later.
A pulsating finish ensued, with Beşiktaş throwing everything at their hosts.
However, Arsenal did just enough to hold on for the narrowest of victories and progress into the Champions League proper.