Arsenal v Lyon: five key factors in the Women’s Champions League semi

The Montemurro-Slegers connection

The former Arsenal manager Joe Montemurro, who left the club at the end of the 2020-21 season, returns to the Emirates Stadium when Arsenal host the eight-time European champions Lyon on Saturday in their Champions League semi-final first leg. Montemurro, who led Arsenal to a first Women’s Super League title in seven years in 2019, was previously back in N5 in 2023, where his Juventus team lost 1-0 in the Champions League. Arsenal look very different, on and off the pitch, to the club he left. They upped their investment in and commitment to the women’s side after a review towards the end of Montemurro’s tenure, but a face familiar to him sits in the home dugout. While with Arsenal Montemurro was paired with Renée Slegers on the Uefa coach mentor programme in the early stages of the former Netherlands international’s coaching journey. Montemurro describes her as “a perfect fit for Arsenal”: “She really has brought back a level of belief in the squad and who they are. It’s a reflection of her. She’s very confident in what she does. She’s very strategic in how she goes about things. I’m so happy for her, happy she was given the opportunity and took it because it’s a very big job but she seems to be handling it well.” He said with a laugh: “I must have taught her well.”

View image in fullscreen Joe Montemurro congratulates his team after defeating Wolfsburg earlier in the competition. Photograph: Eurasia Sport Images/Getty Images

Formidable forwards

Arsenal boast an enviable forward line, their five goals against Leicester on Tuesday a demonstration of their depth, with four goalscorers despite the absence of Alessia Russo and Chloe Kelly, who withdrew injured from the England squad in April. It is hoped both will be fit to face Lyon, who have their own formidable forward line that will test Arsenal’s No 2 goalkeeper, Manuela Zinsberger, with Daphne van Domselaar injured playing for the Netherlands. The Champions League record goalscorer, Ada Hegerberg, is always a threat in a competition that seems, at times, to be her playground. The Haitian forward Melchie Dumornay has scored 19 goals across Ligue 1 (15) and the Champions League this season, Kadidiatou Diani is Lyon’s top scorer in Europe with five and the midfielder Lindsey Heaps is their second-highest scorer in Ligue 1 on 11. Eugénie Le Sommer and Tabitha Chawinga have also contributed goals in Europe for Lyon, who have scored 25 goals and conceded two. On the threat of Dumornay, Heaps said: “I always think: ‘How the heck would I play against her?’ That’s the big question for their backline. How do you want to play against our front three? With the things that they can do they can make it really difficult in all areas.”

View image in fullscreen Ada Hegerberg completed the rout of Bayern Munich in the last round. Photograph: Catherine Steenkeste/Getty Images

What has Montemurro brought Lyon?

“He’s done a really great job just bringing us back to Lyon’s style and giving us the freedom to play, but with a few tactical adjustments here and there for certain games,” said Heaps, a US international. “It’s the vibe, the freedom to play. We nail down little bits of the structure and how we want to play, positionally where we want to be and filling roles, but then there’s the freedom to bring out your qualities and your strengths. When you have that bit of freedom it brings a lot of confidence.” Montemurro, whose character is always praised by Arsenal players who worked under him, believes finding the right levels of pressure and fun are the key. “It’s us being prepared, excited and happy with a little bit of pressure,” he said. “If we put too much pressure on the team, things aren’t going well, you don’t see things straight, you don’t adjust properly. If you don’t put enough pressure on the team it takes it a little bit easy. It’s really about us, having the team be selfless, with a little bit of humility and smiling while they want the ball and want to keep the ball.”

The fanbases

The energy from the stands could be vital. Crowds of 30,000 to 60,000 at the Emirates Stadium are increasingly common and it is not just the scale of the attendances there that is important but the atmosphere those fans create. Arsenal have an engaged and enthusiastic fanbase that increasingly feels impactful on the pitch. Lyon have struggled, despite their phenomenal dominance of women’s football in France and their Champions League successes, to significantly grow their crowds. The record attendance at the Groupama Stadium for the women’s side is 38,466 for their 2024 Champions League semi-final against Paris Saint-Germain, but sustained five-figure crowds have been lacking. Lyon have also struggled to grow a travelling contingent, whereas Arsenal fans are likely to travel in impressive numbers for the second leg on 27 April.

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View image in fullscreen Arsenal fans enjoy the victory over Juventus earlier in the competition. Photograph: Andrew Boyers/Action Images/Reuters

Can Arsenal reach a first final since 2007?

Leicester’s manager, Amandine Miquel, who managed in her native France before joining the Midlands side, certainly thinks so. After Arsenal’s 5-1 defeat of her team on Tuesday she said: “Overall, Arsenal are the better team. Lyon focuses too much on individuals; if you block those individuals you can stop their chance at scoring.” Arsenal have shocked Lyon before, earning a thrilling 5-1 win at the Groupama before a 1-0 defeat in London when they topped their Champions League group in 2022-23. “That game is very much in the past,” said Heaps. “That’s one of those games where a team comes and imposes themselves. They have such incredible players and individuality – the uniqueness of some of their individuals, that’s very exciting for a team – but then also the team play is very good. I rate them very high, I respect them so much, so I think that’s what makes this game very exciting. You have two teams that love to have the ball and love to play but also have played in really big games and know what’s at stake as well.”

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