At first glance, the outlook does not look too promising for Arsenal, trailing 2-1 against Lyon from the first leg of their Women’s Champions League semi-final and needing to win at a club who have reached 11 previous finals. Nonetheless, there are reasons for Renée Slegers’ team to be cheerful as well as fearful before the biggest game of their season as they try to keep their European dream alive.
Losing in London was certainly not in the 2007 European champions’ script but Arsenal won more of the duels, controlled more of the possession and had more efforts at goal than Lyon, who lead thanks to the hugely talented young Haiti midfielderMelchie Dumornay’s cool late finish. The Arsenal left-back Katie McCabe was adamant regarding her side’s capability to fight back, saying on Friday: “I believe we can go and be positive and score goals. We have the quality. We have the class around the team, but we have to be on it, from the get-go.
“We’ve spoken about Lyon and their strengths, but we know what we can do. We have the belief we can go and turn it around on Sunday. We’re feeling unified and really focused.”
Slegers, who signed an 18-month contract as head coach in January, shares that view: “We believe that we can expose them but we’re also very aware that there’s a lot of threat in Lyon and what they can create. We’re super humble for the task because they probably have a next level in them but so do we. There’s a balance of us being very humble and very aware of what we’re going to play against but then also a big belief because we think we can do something on Sunday.”
Lyon have the added advantage of having been here and done it. More times than anyone else. The record eight-times European champions have evolved their team significantly since their most recentChampions League triumph in 2022– only three of their XI from that final started against Arsenal last weekend – but their squad remains full of experienced winners and in Joe Montemurro they have a former Arsenal head coach to whom this tie means more than most.
Defensively, in the Champions League, Lyon have been strong this term, recovering the ball more times than any other side, keeping the most clean sheets (six) and winning the most tackles. Going forward, Lyon have the fastest player in the competition in Tabitha Chawinga, the Malawi winger having recorded a top speed of 31.3km/h, just ahead of her teammate Ellie Carpenter. And in the former Everton holding midfielder Damaris Egurrola, they have the player who has won back possession more times (67) than anyone else.
Those are some of the reasons for Arsenal to be despondent, but lifting the mood in London Colney this week has been the news that the goalkeeper Daphne van Domselaar and the centre-back Lotte Wubben-Moy are back in training and should be available, with the added morale boost of Wubben-Moy signing a new three-year contract. On the duo’s fitness, Slegers said: “Having these players back is very positive for us. They trained today [Friday], the plan for them is to train tomorrow, and then they will be available for Sunday. But everyone still needs to come through training.”
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Theoretically serving in Arsenal’s favour, they did not have a midweek match, whereas Lyon did, on Wednesday, which they won 2-0 away in the French league against Nantes. However, Montemurro fielded a youthful side, making 11 changes, to rest his Champions League players. Slegers said of Arsenal’s preparation: “We’ve had a seven-day turnaround, which we barely have, so that’s been good for us. We’ve trained hard and we’ve tried to work on all the details together [and] I think the environment has been very positive and constructive.”
Arsenal are the only British club to have won European women’s football’s top prize. They have their work cut out in their first semi-final for two years but they will fly to Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes with determination.