Arsenal made sure of a 16th consecutive appearance in the Champions League group stage on Tuesday, while German outfit Schalke joined them with a dramatic win in Greece. The Gunners had more than one foot in Thursday’s group-stage draw already after easing to a 3-0 win against Fenerbahce in Istanbul in last week’s first leg, but they finished the job in style too, and once again Aaron Ramsey was the star of the show. The Welshman netted in the first leg and scored both goals in the return at the Emirates Stadium, rolling the ball into an empty net in the 25th minute after Lukas Podolski and Theo Walcott combined to set him up. Ramsey then got his second on the night in the 72nd minute with a superb first-time finish on the volley from a Kieran Gibbs assist. That saw Arsenal win 2-0 on the night and progress 5-0 on aggregate. Semi-finalists in 2011, Schalke were held 1-1 in Germany in the first leg, but clinched a 3-2 win against Greek club PAOK on the night to progress 4-3 on aggregate. Elsewhere, Swiss champions Basel enjoyed smoother progress, beating Bulgaria’s Ludogorets Razgrad 2-0 for a 6-2 aggregate success. Fabian Frei and Philipp Degen got the goals for last season’s Europa League semi-finalists.
