Vivianne Miedema sends Arsenal through to the Champions League group stage after 1-0 win over Ajax

Arsenal have secured a place in the group stage of the Champions League with a 1-0 victory over Ajax.

The Gunners were held to a 2-2 draw in the first leg last week and traveled to Amsterdam knowing they needed a better performance to advance.

In a game with few chances, it was the ever reliable Vivianne Miedema who provided the decisive moment and found the net with an excellent striker shortly after the break.

The third of the Dutch attacker’s season was enough to beat Ajax 3-2

There would have been some concern if Arsenal had not joined Chelsea in the group stage. England’s coefficient has already taken quite a dent in the past two years and with Manchester City dropping out of qualifying earlier, the Gunners’ progression has been crucial.

They did just enough, but probably deserved their overall win based on their performances over both legs.

The biggest talking point of the first half was that the goal Arsenal fired into was 10 centimeters too small. Before kick-off, adjustments were made, but that didn’t help the exploiting team much.

Rafaelle Souza was substituted in just 39 minutes in the first half in Amsterdam

Opportunities were scarce and the best chance fell to Stina Blackstenius – who could only place a tame bet right on Ajax goalkeeper Lize Kop.

When you need a moment of magic, there is only one person you want to drop the ball to.

Six minutes after the break, Miedema showed why she belongs to the world top and scores a goal out of nowhere. The attacker picked up a loose ball outside the penalty area, drove forward and unleashed a powerful attack into the bottom left corner.

Miedema scored in a goal that had to be reduced before the start because it was 10 cm too small

Ajax should have equalized when a cross from Tiny Hoekstra fell into the penalty area, but the striker shot wide under pressure from Lotte Wubben-Moy.

Arsenal had opportunities to double their lead, with Caitlin Foord coming close twice with efforts from the penalty area.

There was some controversy late in the game when Lisa Doorn collided with Beth Mead, with the Ajax defender heading the Arsenal winger’s cheekbone. Mead, who had come on as a substitute in the second half, had to walk away with a suspected concussion, but the Gunners were unable to sign a replacement as they had used all their replacement windows.