Arsene Wenger hailed his side’s spirit after they came from behind to beat Anderlecht 2-1 on Wednesday night.
Andy Najar’s opener for the Belgian side saw Arsenal heading for a Champions League defeat but late goals from Kieran Gibbs and Lukas Podolski saw Arsene Wenger’s side return home to England with all three points.
“We kept going and scored two good goals,” Wenger said. “We had the spirit. It was vital for us to have the chance to qualify.
“We are in a strong position now because Galatasaray and Anderlecht have only one point. It’s down to us to win our home games and we are through.”
Arsenal now sit second in Group D with six points and goalscorer Gibbs echoed his manager’s comments, by claiming they were now one step closer to qualification for the last 16.
“Credit to the boys. We didn’t give up,” Gibbs said.
“It wasn’t easy to come here but we kept going and it was difficult but we have got the result we wanted. It’s a massive result for us.”