Wenger also stated that, to play football the way United played against them, was a bigger crime than Eduardo’s diving. Such tactics can ruin the fun of the beautiful game, he believed. The good news for Wenger, was that his two key players, Nicklas Bendtnar and Denilson have successfully signed contracts with Arsenal. The details are not known but it is to be believed that the contracts will keep the two 21 year olds, at Emirates for at least another five years.

There was also sad news from the Manchester City camp, as they lost their best defender on the last day of the summer transfer window. The new summer arrivals forces 29 year old Richard Dunne, an Irish player, to leave the club for Aston Villa.

England were again the top spenders for the 2009 summer transfer window with a total spending of $715.1 million. Spain came second with $676.6 million, of which $355 million were spent by Real Madrid alone.

Arsenal were without their star man and captain, Cesc Fabregas for the game and that wasn’t thje only thing running on their mind. With a weekend fixture coming up against Manchester United, Arsenal manger faced the tricky prospect of having to pick a squad with an eye over the game against their title rivals.

Arsenal did field a very strong side, with the exception of Fabregas. Celtic must have felt that they were in a chance to win the game, after all a couple of goals with a clean sheet would’ve done the trick for them.

That however, was not to be as Arsenal quickly got off the blocks and looked poised to dominate the game in true Arsenal style. They were a touch lucky as they were awarded a highly controversial penalty, resulting from what the referee saw as a foul on Eduardo in the box.

Celtic players were infuriated with the decision and rightly so. There was no contact between Celtic’s goal keeper and Eduardo and it appeared as a blatant dive from the young gunner. Eventually when Eduardo did send the goal keeper to the wrong side and scored off it, the hearts and hopes of all Celtic players and fans alike would’ve been shattered.

Arsenal went on to score a couple more goals courtesy Emanuel Eboue and Andrey Arshavin in the second half. Celtic’s Massimo Donati did manage to pull one back on the last kick of the tie which resulted in Arsenal winning 5-1 on aggregate to seal their spot in the Champions League. Despite Arsenal’s domination over the game, what many Celtic faithful would like to point out would be the dive from Eduardo and a couple of unlucky goals conceded by them in their home game. However, with a score line which reads what it does, it is perhaps an indication of how poor Celtic were over the two games and how Arsenal dominated the entire contest.

On current form, Arsenal have to be considered among the favorites not just in the Premier League but also in the Champions League. “Invincibles”? Lets wait and watch.