-LRB- CNN -RRB- -- An early goal from Theo Walcott gave Arsenal a vital 1-0 victory over Udinese in the first leg of their Champions League final qualifying round tie at The Emirates . England international Walcott timed his run into the area perfectly to volley home Aaron Ramsey 's fourth-minute right-wing cross from close range , to give Arsene Wenger 's side a vital advantage to take into the second leg in northern Italy next week . Arsenal came into the match on the back of a trying week , which saw captain Cesc Fabregas leave for Barcelona and more rumors surface of Samir Nasir 's impending transfer to Manchester City . What now for Arsenal and Fabregas ? The Gunners had to field a make-shift side with Nasri and new captain Robin Van Persie both suspended and key midfielder Jack Wilshere injured . To compound matters , Wenger himself had to watch from the stands because of a one-match UEFA ban . But despite a few nervy moments , primarily when Udinese captain Antonio Di Natale struck the crossbar with a long-range strike , Arsenal held on . And Walcott nearly added a second goal late on , forcing a superb save from goalkeeper Samir Handanovic . There were four other matches played on Tuesday evening , with Lyon coming from behind to beat Russian side Rubin Kazan 3-1 at the Stade de Gerland . Rubin are looking to reach the group stages for a third successive year and they took a third minute lead when Vladimir Dyadyun turned in Bebras Natcho 's right-wing corner . However , the French side levelled seven minutes later when Bafetimbi Gomis got in between two defenders to finish a Michel Bastos cross . And they went ahead five minutes before half-time when a Gomis cross-shot from the left found the net off defender Saba Kvirkvelia . Lyon sealed their victory 19 minutes from time when Jimmy Briand headed home a Kim Kallstrom corner . Meanwhile , an entertaining match in the Netherlands saw FC Twente draw 2-2 at home to Benfica , a result that leaves the Portuguese giants favorites to reach the group stage . Luuk de Jong fired the hosts in a sixth minute lead , but Benfica leveled when Paraguay striker Oscar Cardozo curled home a superb equalizer . Benfica led at the break after a fine flowing move saw Nolito score from close range but , with 10 minutes left , Bryan Ruiz headed home for Twente as the match finished all-square . The other two matches saw BATE Borisov of Belarus draw 1-1 at home to Austrian side Sturm Graz , while Czech champions Viktoria Plzen secured a superb 3-1 win at FC Copenhagen of Denmark .