London: A fluke by William Gallas and an own goal by Gary Caldwell gave Arsenal a healthy 2-0 victory at Celtic and one foot in the lucrative Champions League group stage on Tuesday. Gallas accidentally deflected home a 30-meter free kick by Cesc Fabregas in the 43rd minute at Celtic Park and Caldwell turned a cross from Arsenal fullback Gael Clichy past his own goalkeeper in the 71st in the first leg of the playoff round.

The teams meet again at Arsenal next week and Celtic will hope to repeat what it achieved in the previous round.

Celtic beat Dynamo Moscow after losing the first leg at home.

In Tuesday’s other games, Sporting Lisbon and Fiorentina drew 2-2, VfB Stuttgart won 2-0 at FC Timisoara, Olympiakos won 2-0 at FC Sheriff, and FC Copenhagen beat Apoel 1-0.