Juventus tweaks ‘a guessing game’ for Arsenal says Slegers | OneFootball

Arsenal’s interim head coach Renée Slegers says that it is a guessing game when it comes to what Juventus will change when the two sides meet at the Emirates Stadium this evening.

The Gunners recorded an emphatic 4-0 win in the reverse fixture in the UEFA Women’s Champions League group stage last week.

Juventus will have learned lessons from that defeat but Arsenal’s interim boss Slegers says that it is difficult to know how the Italians will adapt their game plan when they arrive in North London.

“They know us very well now and we know them very well,” Slegers said when speaking in the pre-match press conference. “I think it’s a guessing game of what they will tweak and what they will do differently. We’re also a little bit further into the group stage now. What’s their mindset? What do they want to achieve in this game and how will they try to achieve it?

“We’ve been going through a couple of scenarios of what we think they might do. I think we have three or four scenarios in our heads, so we have to be prepared for all of them. From a coaching perspective, it’s fun [to play the same team twice] because you have one performance and you play against the exact same opponent and the challenge you have in front of you is to try to do better.”

Arsenal exceeded expectations in recording in four-goal victory in Italy a little over a week ago but Slegers says that there will be no complacency going into the return fixture.

She said “It was a hard game for us to play. It was 1-0 for a long time and we scored three late goals, so they got a chance early in the game.

“I don’t think there’s any sign of complacency amongst us. We know how hard it was and in the end, we got a big result. It took us so much to get there, both physically and psychologically, so I don’t think there’s any complacency in the camp.”

Arsenal’s UEFA Women’s Champions League group stage fixture against Juventus kicks-off at 8pm. Tickets remain on-sale and can be purchased by clicking here.