Sparta Prague 0 Arsenal 2:Arsene Wenger had remarked in the countdown to this match that he did not anticipate a red carpet being rolled out for his players. There would be no elegant stroll into the lucrative group phase of the competition, not against a club of Sparta Prague's pedigree. If the tightness of the tussle that followed did not surprise him, the fractious nature of it did.

For spells in the first half the tie threatened to boil over. At the heart of the brouhaha was Cesc Fabregas, the Arsenal playmaker. He clashed with the Sparta captain Tomas Repka and became a villain in the eyes of the crowd.

But Fabregas was able to enjoy the last laugh. Gael Clichy, the Arsenal left-back, seized upon a loose crossfield pass in the 72nd minute and embarked upon a swashbuckling run.

His momentum took him past one challenge, his fleet of foot the next and when he rolled square for Fabregas, the young Spaniard finished in style with his right foot from 15 yards. The temporary silence of the home crowd was golden.

Despite a disjointed performance, there was more to come. Bacary Sagna released Alexander Hleb in injury-time and his finish effectively moved the tie beyond Sparta.

Arsenal also had Jens Lehmann, the goalkeeper, to thank. Pilloried on Sunday for his aberration against Fulham that handed the opponents an early goal, he put his boots to better use in the first half with a fine save from Jan Rezek. Late on, he reacted smartly to palm clear a header from Martin Abraham.

Arsenal could not have wished for a more perfect scoreline.

Wenger knew that Arsenal possessed no margin for error. The price of failure lurked in the back of the players' minds. An absence of Champions League group stage football would deprive the club of around €40 million.

The first 20 minutes, in sticky heat and in front of a sell-out crowd, had long been advertised as pivotal. Arsenal dared not fall behind in the early running but as the tie opened at pace, only an upright saved them.

Sparta had already shown themselves capable of threatening from wide areas, Jiri Kladrubsky's centre from the left drifting tantalisingly beyond the far post when Pavel Horvath floated a ball across from a similar position. Rezek converged and caught his volley sweetly but before it could fly into the corner of the net, Lehmann instinctively thrust out a boot. He succeeded in diverting the ball onto the post and nobody in a Sparta shirt could profit from the rebound.

Sparta's full-blooded approach was reflected in the yellow cards for Lubos Husek and Marek Kulic while Repka snarled at centre-half. After he had squared up to Hleb, Fabregas took it upon himself to leave an impression on his shins. Repka collapsed shortly afterwards and needed treatment. He returned but did not last until half-time. Fabregas' every touch was jeered thereafter. Battle lines had been drawn.

Wenger persisted with the team that had fought back to beat Fulham. Hleb was asked to break forward to support Robin van Persie, but too often the Dutch striker was isolated. Arsenal did not trouble the Sparta goal in the first half.

Moves of quality were in short supply from Arsenal and it was not until the 54th minute that Tomas Postulka, the Sparta goalkeeper, was called into action. Tomas Rosicky, the former Sparta idol, who was afforded a generous pre-match applause, fed Van Persie, who turned and fired unerringly for the far corner. Postulka's reflexes were not dulled by his inactivity.

Fabregas showed his ruthlessness in front of goal when opportunity knocked while, at the other end, his challenge halted Abraham at the vital moment. When Hleb struck in the second minute of injury-time, Sparta were on their knees.

SPARTA PRAGUE:Postulka, Repka (Brezinsky 36), Kadlec, Kladrubsky, Abraham, Husek, Horvath (Limbersky 86), Pospech, Dosek, Kulic, Rezek (Matusovic 59). Subs not used: Kozacik, Slepicka, Kisel, Zofcak. Booked: Husek, Kulic.

ARSENAL:Lehmann, Sagna, Toure, Gallas, Clichy, Eboue, Flamini, Fabregas, Rosicky (Song Billong 80), Hleb, Van Persie. Subs not used: Almunia, Senderos, Bendtner, Traore, Justin Hoyte, Walcott. Booked: Fabregas, Flamini, Van Persie. Goals: Fabregas 72, Hleb 90.

Referee:Luis Medina Cantalejo (Spain).