Arsenal 'alive' in semi-final despite first-leg defeat

Arsenal face a mammoth task.

Overturning a deficit away from home against a club who have made winning in Europe their trademark will not be easy, but the Gunners have belief.

"We are alive," says Gunners midfielder Mariona Caldentey.

Arsenal looked like they would travel to Lyon for the second leg of their Women's Champions League semi-final with a clean slate after Caldentey made it 1-1 from the penalty spot with 15 minutes left at Emirates Stadium.

But eight-time winners Lyon bounced back immediately, with Melchie Dumornay's sharp finish giving the eight-time champions a one-goal advantage.

"We wanted to win in front of our fans, we wanted a better result," Caldentey told DAZN afterwards.

"It's one goal and it's 90 minutes, so we are alive. And we will have our chances - we just need to take them. We need to keep believing and we will go for it. We will do it. It's just one goal."

Since Arsenal won their first and only Champions League title in 2007, French side Lyon have won the competition a record eight times.

Against such serial winners, you need to take your chances. Arsenal could not.

They had more shots than their opponents, but only managed four on target from their 14 attempts.

"They know they created more than enough chances to come away with a lead in this game," ex-England midfielder Fara Williams told TNT Sports.

Beth Mead and Frida Maanum failed to hit the target from close range on multiple occasions, the woodwork denied Alessia Russo, while Christiane Endler denied Caitlin Foord.

"We create chances and get numbers in the box - we just couldn't get the ball in the net," said Slegers, who watched her team put five past Leicester in the Women's Super League four days ago.

"We are not going to change those things in a week. We have been really good with our clinical finishing before. I trust the team that we can score those goals from those opportunities."

While Arsenal had nine shots in Lyon's box and threatened Endler's goal constantly, the visitors were forced to take aim from range.

But when better opportunities appeared, the French side took them.

Even then, there was work to do. Kadidiatou Diani had to squeeze the ball past Manuela Zinsberger and into the far corner with pinpoint precision, while Dumornay had to beat both Emily Fox and Steph Catley to the ball before expertly lifting it over the Arsenal keeper.

"Lyon are world class. The margins were very fine. Arsenal dominated the ball - they had a lot of touches in Lyon's box. The biggest difference is they weren't clinical," former England defender Anita Asante told TNT Sports.

While Arsenal will be disappointed with the result, Slegers' side will take confidence from their ability to create so many chances against Europe's elite.

"You will be excited about the amount of opportunities," former Liverpool forward Natasha Dowie said on BBC Radio 5 Live.

"It would be a different game if you come away and lose without those opportunities. It's very unlike them not to take those chances."

Lyon have conceded just three times in nine Champions League games this season, while they remain the only unbeaten team in the competition.

However, former Arsenal defender Asante, who won the Uefa Women's Cup - as it was then called - in 2007, believes the Gunners can cause an upset.

"Arsenal's home record at the Emirates has now been broken, but the opposite can happen for them," Asante said.

"They can go to Lyon and cause an upset. The good thing is they know they can dominate the ball. Now it's about being clinical."

Lyon boss Joe Montemurro, who managed Arsenal for three-and-a-half years before leaving in 2021, said he was "astounded" by the growth of the club since his departure and stressed that the semi-final tie remains in the balance.

"I am just astounded at 40,000 people at the Emirates, a beautiful game of football, a spectacle. That's what I am so pleased about, I am so pleased that since I left there has been three or four years of amazing growth."

He added: "It's not over yet. This thing is not over. Maybe the pressure has been taken off Arsenal, maybe.

"They're 2-1 down, they're coming to Lyon. Whatever happens, happens. That's a dangerous scenario and they are a good team."