Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger admitted the penalty awarded to his side in the first half of their Champions League qualifier against Celtic overnight was a harsh decision. Arsenal eventually accounted for the Hoops, winning 3-1 at Emirates Stadium to go through to the Champions League group stage 5-1 on aggregate.

Just before the half-hour mark, Gunners striker Eduardo appeared to have been brought down in the box by Celtic keeper Artur Boruc but at a second look, Wenger said the decision was incorrect.

"From outside I must say it looked a penalty, but having seen it again on television, it doesn't look to be a penalty," the Arsenal manager said.

Despite this, Wenger was confident his side would have scored regardless.

"But I must still say that we were likely always to score the first goal because Eduardo had a great chance before the penalty and we always looked in control of the game," he added.

"I believe really that it was not a penalty but I am also not sure that the keeper didn't touch him with his right knee, having seen it again."

"I do not want a penalty which is not a penalty, but I do not go as far to say Eduardo dived.

"He went down, for what reason I do not know.

"But I do not think he would have complained if the penalty was not given.

"Is it acceptable? I never asked in my life any guy to dive to win a penalty but sometimes the players go down because there is no other way to escape the tackling of the keeper. Sometimes they dive.

"We got a penalty [against us] two years ago in the quarter-final of the Champions League [at Liverpool] that made the difference when [Ryan] Babel dived, nobody ever apologised to us, it was a blatant dive and nobody spoke about it."