Arsenal will be hoping to finally seal their qualification for the quarter-finals of this season’s UEFA Women’s Champions League when Lyon are the visitors to the Emirates Stadium on Thursday evening.
The Gunners are three points ahead of Lyon and are five clear of third-placed Juventus going into Matchday 5 of the group stage. Jones Eidevall’s side are very much on the verge of securing their place in the last-eight.
Ahead of Arsenal’s latest European fixture against reigning champions Lyon, FAWSL Full-Time having been looking at the facts and figures provided by UEFA. Here are three key facts which relate to The Gunners’ meeting with the French giants.
Arsenal’s victory in Lyon a game-changer?
Arsenal stunned Lyon on Matchday 1 when they won 5-1 in France. The heavy defeat for the French side was one of just two in their 12 UEFA Women’s Champions League matches against English clubs (W7 D3). Lyon have never lost an away game in England (W3 D2). Arsenal have made a mockery of the history books once, surely they can’t do it again can they?
The Gunners may need to score more than once
Lyon have failed to score in just one of their last 41 European games – a 1-0 loss at Bayern Munich in last season’s group stage. In the reverse fixture against Arsenal, Lyon found the back of the net at a time when they were very much under pressure and on the ropes. There are lots of quality players in this Lyon side and they will strongly fancy themselves to score goals at the Emirates Stadium.
A meeting of two veterans of the European game
Lyon and Arsenal are the only two teams that have played more than 100 matches in UEFA competition. This is the 128th game for the French side and the 103rd for The Gunners. Between them, they have won the competition nine times in its various forms.
The UEFA Women’s Champions League group fixture between Arsenal and Lyon kicks-off at 8pm on Thursday evening. Tickets remain on-sale and can be purchased by clicking here.
Statistics: UEFA Information Kit
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