Arsenal Ladies qualified for the Champions League quarter-finals, for a record-breaking tenth time, with a comprehensive 5-1 victory over Spanish Superliga champions Rayo Vallecano at Meadow Park this afternoon.

With the tie level after last week’s 1-1 draw, the Gunners knew that a goalless game would be enough to see them into the last eight. But Laura Harvey’s side had other ideas and progressed comfortably thanks to goals from Jayne Ludlow, Kim Little, Rachel Yankey, Jordan Nobbs and Danielle Carter.

Arsenal opened their account just 16 minutes into the first half, when Katie Chapman released Ellen White down the right and she picked out an unmarked Ludlow on the edge of the six-yard box to coolly slot home into an empty net.

Harvey’s side continued to dominate possession, with Ludlow and Chapman controlling things in the centre of the park, and were unlucky not to be two goals to the good when on the half-hour mark White, having rounded Rayo keeper Alicia, saw her goalbound effort cleared off the line by defender Anita Rubio Mingorane.

The Gunners then squandered several chances to get that all-important second goal before the break, the best falling to Nobbs, who, facing an empty goal, failed to direct her header on target.

The second half saw little improvement from Rayo, and Arsenal twice had the chance to double their advantage, with efforts from Nobbs and Chapman.

It was a run from goalscorer Ludlow that eventually split the Rayo defence, her lay-off finding England forward White, who was on hand again, this time providing for Little for a five-yard tap in.

The floodgates had well and truly opened and just moments later keeper Emma Byrne, with a long-range clearance, found Yankey, who cleverly broke the visitors’ offside trap before chipping the ball over the head of Alicia for the Gunners third.

Yankey was then denied her second of the game, and Arsenal’s fourth, when her impressive 25-yard strike was ruled out for an earlier offside.

Nobbs soon made amends for her earlier miss, the midfielder latching onto a ball from the increasingly dominant Yankey, and easily slotting past the Rayo keeper to put the tie out of reach.

Rayo captain and first-leg goalscorer, Natalia, grabbed the visitors’ consolation goal, with an outstanding 30-yard strike, which keeper Byrne could do little about It wasn’t long before Arsenal’s four-goal cushion was restored though, with substitute Carter side-stepping three Rayo defenders before leaving keeper Alicia to pick the ball out of her net for the fifth time.

It is a win that sees Harvey’s side cap off an excellent year for the club, and they now eagerly await the quarter-final draw on November 17, before setting off on their tour of Japan.