Arsenal midfielder Lia Wälti says that Wednesday’s opponents TSG 1899 Hoffenheim are always a difficult team to play against.
The Gunners travel to Germany to contest their final group match. Jonas Eidevall’s side will qualify for the quarter-finals as long as they don’t lose by five or more goals.
Midfielder Wälti is no stranger to Germany with the player having previously spent five years at 1. FFC Turbine Potsdam. When reviewing previous battles with Hoffenheim, the player said that they are always difficult opponents.
“Hoffenheim always had a good squad which was made up of young players,” Wälti told FAWSL Full-Time. “It was always quite hard to play them, I can’t remember a game when we were clearly beating them.
“I think we need to be aware of that tomorrow and bring our game on the pitch. We are definitely not going to underestimate them.”
Wälti will play club football in Germany for the first time since leaving Turbine Potsdam in 2018 on Wednesday evening and she admits that she is excited to return.
“I’m really excited,” said the Arsenal midfielder. “I always look up to the German league, I think that it is still one of the best leagues in the world.
“When you look at the table, you can see that they (Germany) still have a lot of good teams in the league and they can steal points off the big teams which are currently still Wolfsburg and Bayern.
“I’m really happy to be back.”
The UEFA Women’s Champions League group fixture between TSG 1899 Hoffenheim and Arsenal kicks-off at 8pm on Wednesday evening. The match will be available for fans to stream live on DAZN.