Arsenal secured what could be a pivotal win in Group C of the Women’s Champions League, thrashing Serie A leaders Juventus 4-0 in Turin to stay unbeaten under interim head coach Renee Slegers.
Both sides were locked on three points heading into the game, three behind leaders Bayern Munich, and it was Juventus who had a glorious chance to open the scoring as early as the third minute. However, Daphne van Domselaar, who replaced Manuela Zinsberger in goal in the only change from Arsenal’s 5-0 win over Brighton in the WSL last Friday, got off her line to block Sofia Cantore’s goal-bound effort.
Despite Juve’s bright start, Arsenal quickly took control of the game but found former Gunner Pauline Peyraud-Magnin, who played for the club between 2018 and 2020, in superb form.
The Juventus goalkeeper pulled off some stunning saves to deny Katie McCabe, Alessia Russo and Emily Fox, but there was nothing she could do to keep out Frida Maanum’s strike in the 38th minute.
It was a fine team goal from Arsenal. Leah Williamson started the move, feeding the ball into Maanum, who flicked it around the corner for Caitlin Foord before continuing her run into the box. Foord played an inch-perfect return pass through for Maanum, who finished past Peyraud-Magnin and into the bottom corner.
After the break, Arsenal went in search of a second goal. Fox’s looping effort hit the underside of the crossbar and bounced away to safety before Williamson headed over from inside the six-yard box.
The misses never proved to be crucial as substitutes Stina Blackstenius and Mariona Caldentey helped Arsenal cruise over the line.
Caldentey’s pass released Blackstenius, who finished emphatically, before the Spain international got on the scoresheet herself. Lina Hurtig’s cutback was cleared only as far as Caldentey, who fired home from close range to add to Arsenal’s impressive night.
There was still time for Arsenal to add a fourth as Foord hit her sixth of the season to rubber stamp what could be a crucial three points in Arsenal’s bid to reach the knockout stages. Victory gives Arsenal, second in Group C, a three-point cushion over Juventus ahead of next week’s return fixture.
The Gunners have now won four games in their last five since Jonas Eidevall left the club, with things looking much brighter for the north London club under interim boss Slegers.
‘We have to stay humble’
Arsenal’s interim head coachSlegers insists no-one is getting carried away after their 4-0 rout of Juventus in Turin.
The former assistant to Eidevall, who resigned on the eve of their previous European fixture, has now overseen four wins and a draw in just under a month. They have scored nine goals in their last two matches, which seems a world away from a three-match run without a win which prompted Eidevall’s departure.
“We have to stay very humble because the next game is Spurs away, and it is going to be very hard,” Slegers said.
“We know we will have the support of the fans. I think we have sold all our 3,000 tickets and the fans today here in Italy, we could hear them and that is brilliant.
“The girls show humility today because I see when we are leading 4-0 that they are still defending the box and defending corners. They are communicating till the last second of the game and they invest their recovery runs.
“It is a transitional game today so it is a lot of space covered in both directions. We worked really hard as a team and that is what makes us strong, so we need to keep going.
“Winning away against Juventus this way is definitely a result I would have signed up for before. It is a very hard game to play because of the style of play. It is a real big challenge, one of the biggest challenges we have had so far this season.
“We are happy with the win, but in a few days we will face Juventus again and we will have to start from scratch.
“We have to think about that game and not look at the table, because it is still early and there are many difficult challenges ahead of us, but we are happy with what we have done so far.”
What’s coming up for Arsenal?
Arsenal are back in WSL action on Saturday when they travel to north London rivals Tottenham; kick-off 1.45pm.
They then face Juventus again, this time at Emirates Stadium, on Thursday November 21; kick-off 8pm.
