Liverpool and Arsenal through to Champions League group stage

Arsenal bounced back from a humiliating 1-0 defeat to Fulham on the weekend with a 4-0 thrashing of Dutch side FC Twente last night in the second leg of their Champions League third qualifying round tie.

Arsene Wenger's side racked up an impressive 6-0 aggregate win over Steve McClaren's hapless Dutch team to qualify for the Champions League group stage.

“We want to play with the best and to do that, we had to qualify for the group stage,” Wenger said. “It was a big mental test. The response was clear - togetherness, focus and efficiency."

Liverpool passed a test of their own on Wednesday night, scraping through to the group stage of the 2008 UEFA Champions League with a 1-0 defeat of Standard Liege at Anfield.

Rafael Benitez's team was on the verge of having to play extra time when Dirk Kuyt snuck a ball past the Twente defence deep in extra time to help Liverpool to a 1-0 aggregate win.

 “I think you have to give them credit. They’ve come to Anfield and were very organised and they’ve stopped us playing,” Benitez said after the match. “They are a big, physical side and they were difficult to break down.”

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