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Arsenal face OH Leuven once more in the UEFA Women’s Champions League on Wednesday.
This time they go into their round of 16 second leg clash at Meadow Park 4-0 up – knowing that they are close to the quarter-finals before they even kick off.
And Arsenal head coach Renee Slegers told the media on Tuesday that they know what to expect from these particular opponents.
“On one hand, it’s easy because we’ve played this opponent twice,” she said. “On the other hand, it’s a different scenario now and they might do things differently, and we’ll have to anticipate that. Of course, we took a result that we’re happy with away, it’s 4-0 now.
“So we’ll have to manage the game really well and be prepared that they will come out and do something different.”
And there was a hint that she too might do something different with her team selection.
“We want to keep as many players as possible active for us. I think that’s what we’ve done really well this block so far. We have two more games left to play before the international break and we want to optimise the squad. Of course, for tomorrow we’re going to pick our best team and then for the Bristol City game [in the Women’s FA Cup this weekend] as well.”
Renee Slegers: Arsenal are focused on details
But Slegers also warned against complacency, adding: “Of course we know the scenario and that is important for us to know going into the game and what we want to achieve and how we want to do it.
“But the most important thing is that we keep our standards really, really high, regardless of the competition or scenario. And that’s important in the moment if we do all those humble actions on the pitch, because we know that sets the standard for us and gives us a good opportunity to be successful.
“But also, long term, if we do this consistently well and we focus on the details and we are humble about the details, consistently, then we think over time we develop as a team. So that will be no different tomorrow, so everything we do tomorrow is going to be our goal, which is of a really nice standard.”
