by Lee Hurley
Arsenal no longer hold the longest winning run in Champions League qualifying as Czech side Viktoria Plzen won their 13th game in a row in the qualifiers.
With 12 straight wins at that stage of the competition, Arsenal had held the record but Plzen’s 2-1 win in Tel Aviv on Tuesday night saw them claim top spot.
Arsenal’s 0-0 draw against Besiktas last season brought their winning run to an end and, as we all know they are, thankfully, not involved in qualifying this season.
Speaking after the win, winger Ondrej Vanek said “It’s amazing and I hope it will not end. We all hope that it starts to sixteen wins.”
The Czech side go into the second leg at home knowing that should they avoid defeat they will qualify for the competition proper for the third time in their history.
That’s twice more than Tottenham.
Plzen are the reigning champions of the Czech Republic while Macabi Tel-Aviv are the current champions of Israel. The return leg takes place on 5th August.