A William Gallas deflection and an own goal saw Arsenal take a commanding 2-0 Champions League qualifying lead against Celtic at Parkhead. And whilst Celtic started brightly the Cesc Fabregas free kick which took a wicked deflection off William Gallas on the stroke of half time deflated the home side.

The Hoops had worked hard in the first forty five minutes to restrict Arsenal but with that goal the home side's challenge faded in the second period.

Tony Mowbray must have realised it was not to be his teams night when on 71 minutes Celtic skipper Gary Caldwell diverted a Gael Clichy cross into his own net.

The home side had earlier had a good shout for a penalty turned down when Shaun Maloney's free kick was diverted on to the arm of Nicklas Bendtner but referee Massimo Busacca ignored the pleas of players and vociferous home crowd.

As the game went on Arsenal looked comfortable and ended the game in the ascendancy.

While Gunners boss Arsene Wenger felt they deserved the win, he accepts that they had fortune on their side.

"I felt it was a fierce fight," he told Sky Sports.

"Overall, I believe we were in control for the 90 minutes but we were lucky in the two goals we scored."

Asked whether the timing of the first goal had made a big difference, he added: "I still felt at that time that we had more control of the ball and were not really in trouble defensively."

The Frenchman was full of praise for the way Tony Mowbray's men went about the match and knows there is still work to do in the second leg.

"It was a real cup game and you needed some mental strength to get through that," he said.

"Their energy tonight was sensational. When we had made a little difference, they stopped us every time and so we didn't get into the flow.

"Defensively, they did very well and they never gave up. We lacked a little bit of our usual quality in the final ball."

He added: "A tie like that is 180 minutes and we are in front after 90. We have to make sure we are in front after 180."