Manchester City striker Edin Dzeko relieved to avoid Champions league qualifying round

EPL : Roberto Mancini – Edin Dzeko, Bolton Wanderers v Manchester City

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Edin Dzeko has expressed his relief that Manchester City have pipped Arsenal to third place in the Premier League table, and will therefore move straight into the Champions League group stages next season, rather than having to navigate a tricky qualifiying round.

The Bosnian scored City’s second goal in the 2-0 win over Bolton to cement third place, meaning that it is Arsene Wenger’s side could face an extremely problematic qualifier against German giants Bayern Munich, Spanish side Valencia or Udinese.

Dzeko admitted the prospect of having to do that filled him with dread given the opposition they could face.

He said: “If you know you can play against Bayern Munich in the qualification round it is difficult.

“You have to be a little bit scared because you never know what might happen. It is two games and you can lose everything in them.

“Now we will go directly into the group stage and that is fantastic.

“Manchester City wanted to be in the Champions League for the first time in their history.

“That was the aim and and we did it. I hope I helped in some way. Now we can enjoy our holiday.”

Dzeko has found the transition from the Bundesliga with Wolfsburg, to being City’s £27 million difficult, but is looking forward improving his game next season when he has settled fully.

“It was hard for me at the beginning. Maybe that is normal for new players. I think I will be much better in the new season when I have a pre-season with the team.

“I was happy to score again and it was an important goal. It is unbelievable when you have support like this from your fans and I want to thank them for the last five months.”