There is no doubt that Arsene Wenger’s side would have been a lot more worried about this draw had Zebrette held on to Alexis Sanchez. The Chilean talisman played a pivotal role in Udinese’s push for Champions League qualification. Worse still, the loss of Gokhan Inler to Napoli and Cristian Zapata to Villarreal has basically decimated the spine of a side that took Serie A by storm last term. However, underestimating Udinese, which is exactly what Arsenal fans have been doing, is something that the club has thrived on for many years, exceeding expectations time and time again.

Focusing on the players who have moved on is doing the remaining players a disservice. In Handanovic they have a goalkeeper who saved the most penalties in Sera A last season and, rumour has it, was on Wenger’s radar at a time. Mauricio Isla is another member of “that” Chile side and provides just as much energy and athleticism as Sanchez did, albeit from a more defensive position. Ghanaian central midfielder Kwadwo Asamaoah is another player full of energy who has turned the heads of bigger clubs and in Antonio Di Natale they have a striker who has scored 59 goals in the last two seasons.

At the time of writing it looks as if Arsenal will start the campaign significantly weakened themselves. Samir Nasri is on the verge of a deal to sign with Manchester City after Cesc Fabregas finally completed the transfer to Barcelona that seems to have dominated this summer’s back pages. Whether they can do significant business between now and kick off remains to be seen, but it seems likely that they will go into the match expecting to qualify for the group stage and they will be listed as favourites. They face a far sterner test than anyone will think.

Imagine a world in which a team whose name includes the word tractor live it up with the likes of Juventus and Real Madrid. That’s exactly what happened in 2008-09 when BATE (Borisov Works of Automobile and Tractor Electric Equipment) became the first ever Belarusian side to qualify for the Champions League Group Stage, beating Anderlecht and Levski Sofia along their way. Once qualified they stunned Italian football by claiming home and away draws against the Turin giants, Juventus.

Since then their European form has went from strength to strength, qualifying for the Europa League Group Stage in 09/10 and qualifying from their Europa League group in 10/11, eventually being illuminated by Paris St Germain in the round of 32. A lot rests on their home form, having lost just once in nine home European matches. They qualified thanks to wins over Linfield of Northern Ireland and Ekranas of Lithuania. Both ties were settled by home wins following away draws.

SK Sturm Graz’s route to the play off was slightly more turbulent, scraping through the second round with a 4-3 aggregate win over Hungary’s Videoton, losing one leg 3-2 on the way. Their third round performance wasn’t much better, Kienast scoring in the 68th minute of the home leg to take them through by the odd goal in place of Georgia’s Zestafoni.

It’s ten years since the Austrian side last played in the group stage of the Champions League, on that occasion they qualified for the second group stage (remember that) but found competing with Valencia and Manchester United a step above their capabilities. Separating these two sides is going to be difficult and it could come down to something as simple as home and away form or how inhospitable your home environment is.

I’m going to hold my hands up and tell you that I know very, very little about Czech champions FC Viktoria Plzen, I couldn’t even tell you how likely they are to give FC Copenhagen a game.

What I do know is that this is a team that was playing in the Czech 2.Liga just eight years ago and won its first title last season, pipping perennial challengers Sparta Prague to the title by a single point. They have limited experience of European football, falling at the Third Qualifying stage of last year’s Europa League to Turkish side Besiktas. It’s worth mentioning that they took care of Champions League veterans Rosenburg BK in the Third Qualifying Round in order to make these Play Offs. Thats no mean feat and could well act as the inspiration to push them through and into the group stage.

FC Copenhagen, on the other hand, are following up on last season and their best ever performance in Europe as they stunned the big guns and qualified for the last 16. Of course, Chelsea dealt with them with relative ease, but you don’t get many teams in the knockout stages of the Champions League that don’t deserve to be there.

The Danes had one of the easier draws in the last knockout round. Shamrock Rovers didn’t put up much of a test, and their fans will be expecting another season mixing it with the big boys. However, this is exactly the kind of game that could go either way and Copenhagen will have to be on their toes to deal with unknown opposition or they could end up suffering the same fate as their Norwegian neighbours.

A battle between the 2010 champions of their respective domestic leagues and an evenly matched contest is the best way to describe FC Twente versus Benfica . Neither side will want to miss out on prestige of taking part in the Group Stage, however, just like so many of the teams that will fall at this hurdle they will have the luxury of entering the Europa League and being considered potential winners of that competition.

Twente surprised a number of people with their 2010 title win and despite their success those same people will have bet against them in 2011. They proved their critics wrong and pushed Ajax all the way, only just missing out on a second title on the final day of the season.

The Tukkers season got off to a flyer with a 2-1 victory over Ajax in the Dutch Super Cup and the fans will expect Champions League football during autumn and winter. It would take an overly optimistic fan to expect anything more, as yet the Champions League has proved a step too far for Twente for players like Denny Landzaat and Bryan Ruiz.

There should be no shame in finishing runner up to Andre Villas-Boas’ all conquering Porto side, but for Benfica fans anything other than first domestically isn’t good enough and their exceptional performances in 2010 have long been forgotten by their fans. A side whose name was built on players like Eusebio, they have a lot of history with the European Cup, but not the Champions League. They have qualified from the Group Stage just twice since making the final in 1990. Holding on to players like Oscar Cardozo and Pablo Aimar could well prove the difference this year, though rebuilding a defence once built around David Luiz, now at Chelsea, will take time and could see them ship more goals than they are capable of scoring.

Perhaps the most interesting tie in this seasons play-offs could be Olympique Lyonnais’ clash with Rubin Kazan. Missing out on the Group Stage could prove disastrous for either side with a place in the Europa League group stages not good enough for expectant fans; though whoever does lose will be considered one of the favourites for that competition as well.

Lyon’s fall from grace has been quite spectacular, seven titles in a row between 2001 and 2008 has been followed by three seasons without a trophy and they very nearly fell short of Champions League football full stop with a horrific Ligue 1 display last season. Many expected them to significantly improve their squad during the summer, but they have made very little headway in the transfer market and those same players who failed so spectacularly last season remain in place.

However, that lack of movement could prove a blessing, especially considering how many comings and goings Lyon have experienced in recent years, stability may well be the order of the day. With talented players like Gourcuff, Kallstrom, Bastos and Lloris available, it seems highly unlikely that they could be as bad this year and their fans will be expecting them to make the Group Stages at the very least.

Rubin’s position is slightly similar to that of their opponents. They won consecutive titles in 08 and 09, before dropping down a gear last season and finishing the season in 3rd place. They currently occupy 4th spot in the Russian Premier League table, 8 points off the pace and under real threat of missing out on Champions League football next season.

They will have been buoyed by their performances in the Third Qualifying Round. Two impressive wins against very handy opposition in Dinamo Kiev booked their place in the Play Off section. They will be hoping that the edge they have, thanks to playing regular football throughout the summer while Lyon had their pre-season break, in terms of fitness and match sharpness will help then see off their French opponents.