Arsenal ran down the league phase of the UEFA Women’s Champions League with a 3-0 victory over OH Leuven in Belgium.
A sold out den Dreef Stadion was the stage of a record match in Belgian women’s football as the stadium prepared to host a UEFA Women’s Champions League clash between title holders Arsenal and underdogs Oud Heverlee Leuven. Despite their underdog title, OH Leuven have held AS Roma, Paris FC and PSG to draws, as well as claiming victory in their match against FC Twente. The Belgian side have so far proved that they can certainly frustrate Europe’s best.
However, the hosts fell short this time around, failing to frustrate Arsenal on this cold December night in Belgium.
The top four teams in the league phase qualify automatically for the quarter finals, whereas numbers 5 up to 12 have to play a play off round first. The Gunners were sure of a play off spot ahead of their match on Belgian soil and still had a slim chance to grab a top four spot. It would have meant, however, that a lot of results should have gone their way, including that of their own match. For the play off rounds, teams placed 5th until 8th will be seeded in the draw tomorrow, teams placed 9th until 12th are unseeded. A seeded spot realistically seemed the highest achievable one ahead of the match for the Gunners, who, ahead of the match, sat eighth in the table.
The results on this match day means that the north London reds sit 5th in the final table and will be a seeded team in the draw taking place in Nyon on Friday. Leuven wasn’t sure of qualification ahead of the match as they could still be overtaken in the table by Vålerenga. The Norwegian team’s result meant that the side finished 12th in the table, and did qualify for the play off rounds.
The Gunners were changed from their last appearance against Twente, with Kim Little coming back into the starting eleven in place of Frida Maanum, who was out with a knock during last weekend’s game against Everton but made her return to the squad. Victoria Pelova missed the match due to illness, while Jenna Nighswonger was out with a foot injury.
The Lineups
OHL: Seynhaeve; Nagy, Veefkind, Mertens (Bosteels), Everaerts, Biesmans, Hermans, Pusztai, Janssen, Kuijpers, Reynders
ARS: Borbe; Hinds, Wubben-Moy, Catley, McCabe; Cooney-Cross, Little, Caldentey; Smith, Russo, Mead
The Action
Alessia Russo kicked the game off for the visitors as Arsenal continued their Champions League defence. The home side pressed straight from the get go, but Alessia Russo had the first chance of the match when a cross from Olivia Smith found her in the area. However, Russo nodded the ball straight at the keeper.
After a relatively uneventful period with possession largely on Leuven’s half, Arsenal created another chance, and it was again Russo who nodded the ball towards goal, but Seynhaeve made a good save. Smith netted the first goal shortly after a good one-two with Mariona Caldentey, when her initial shot on target was saved by Seynhaeve, but she scored the rebound herself.
The home side made their way up the pitch more and more but failed to really create anything dangerous, besides a cross into the box that was cleared by Steph Catley.
Instead, it was the north London side that scored the next goal, a good individual action by Beth Mead was topped off with a curling shot into the back of the net. Arsenal were awarded a free kick in the 40th minute for a foul on Kim Little. Mariona took it and the ball would have gone in, were it not for a good save by the Leuven keeper. Shortly after, Seynhave denied the Gunners again when Wubben-Moy headed the ball towards the goal but was stopped short on the goal line.
The play at the start of the second half largely took place inside of Leuven’s half. As the half progressed, the game opened up a bit more and Leuven presented themselves in Arsenal’s final third. A scramble in the visitor’s box was followed shortly after by a shot at goal by Olivia Smith. The Arsenal end roared as Leah Williamson made her way back onto a European pitch for Arsenal in the 64th minute, for the first time since winning the Champions League in Lisbon in May. Another substitute, in Caitlin Foord, forced Janssen into scoring an own goal, which was initially ruled out for offside, but VAR intervened and the 3-0 stood.
As Mariona was subbed off for Emily Fox, Katie McCabe made her way into midfield with Hinds moving to left-back. It has been a while since Arsenal fans last saw her play there, apart from her signature inversion into the middle of the park from a left-back position. As the game progressed into the final minutes, Arsenal had a few half-chances, but the score line remained 3-0.
Impressive turnout as Gunners down Leuven in Belgium
9285 tickets were sold for the game on the last UWCL league phase match day, the stadium was sold out weeks before the match. It shows the brand that Arsenal is in global women’s football. In comparison: OHL’s home match against AS Roma drew about 6000 spectators, and their match against Twente had 3000 people watching on at Den Dreef.
Arsenal beginning to find form after a lacklustre season start
In recent times, Arsenal have not met their usual standards. Ahead of this Champions League campaign, most probably expected Arsenal to finish in a top four spot in the league phase following their historic feat in Lisbon back in May. However, a 2-1 loss against OL Lyonnes and more notably a 3-2 collapsing defeat to Bayern Munich gave the Gunners a harsh reality check as they commenced their title defence. Arsenal were very dominant in the first half in Munich but only scored two, and a total collapse in the second half allowed Bayern Munich to come back into the game.
The Gunners did win their matches against Real Madrid (2-1), Benfica (2-0) and FC Twente (1-0). Renée Slegers’ side dominated large parts of the latter two matches especially, but failed to make their domination count on the score board. Against Twente, Arsenal mustered just 3 shots on target – the only goal in that match, by Beth Mead, was the production of a deflected shot.
It wasn’t just Arsenal’s Champions League form that has been remarkable, as their Women’s Super League (WSL) form has faltered at times as well. Their win at Everton last weekend showed signs of improvement and they continued that form into this match in Belgium. The Gunners managed Leuven’s transitions fairly well and when they moved up the pitch, they created something. The side do need to improve in some of their decision making in front of goal at times, as many shots went straight into the keeper’s hands.
The remainder of the Gunners’ Champions League campaign must prove that they can live up to their status in global women’s football. The draw for the knock out phase takes place on December 18 at 12pm BST, and is being streamed live on UEFA.com.
