Arsenal maintained their stellar run of form under interim boss Renee Slegers by beating Juventus in the Women's Champions League.
Frida Maanum, Stina Blackstenius, Mariona Caldentey and Caitlin Foord all scored to ensure Arsenal are now unbeaten in five matches since Slegers took over following Jonas Eidevall's resignation.
They were made to toil on the road to their impressive win, with Juventus regularly causing problems for them to deal with at the back and proving dangerous on the counter-attack.
Yet the Gunners always looked more promising and were finally rewarded for their attacking persistence before the break when Maanum slotted in from close range to round off an excellent passing move.
Substitute Blackstenius added another with a fine solo goal, charging into the box after a pass from Caldentey before beating Pauline Peyraud-Magnin at her near post.
Spain forward Caldentey made it three when she reacted quickly inside the area to send an effort past the Juventus goalkeeper, after Lina Hurtig and Foord kept a chance alive.
Arsenal's goal haul was not yet complete, though, and Australia international Foord rounded off victory when she tapped in a Kyra Cooney-Cross delivery.
The win means Arsenal stay second in Group C after three games, three points ahead of their third-placed Italian opponents and three points behind leaders Bayern Munich.
Arsenal boss Slegers said "it is still early" but her side are happy with what they have done so far in the Champions League, with their next game in the competition at home to Juventus on Thursday, 21 November (20:00 GMT).
"We all knew it wasn't going to be easy against Juventus, but we played a game of great intensity and got the result we wanted," Slegers told Uefa.
"We knew we had some great game-changers on the bench and that probably made the difference."
While the group stage is only at the halfway mark, the battle for second place - and qualification for the knockout stages - looks likely to be between Juventus and Arsenal, and the Gunners now have the upper hand.
Slegers' impressive run continues in hard-fought win
Juventus applied the early pressure and showed Arsenal that they would have to work in pursuit of victory, with the hosts forcing Daphne van Domselaar to make a brave save to deny Sofia Cantore.
Arsenal, though, soon managed to get into gear and persistently troubled Juventus’ defence, particularly with energetic play on the wings.
Full-back Emily Fox has shone in recent months for Arsenal and did so again, combining good overlapping runs with moments where she drifted inside to launch attacks for Slegers’ side - and also nearly scored when she rattled the crossbar in the second half.
Juventus produced some good passages of play, whether keeping the ball on the ground to produce intricate moves or launching long balls to cut out the Arsenal midfield, but lacked the necessary end product.
The hosts eventually tired and Arsenal, given a new lease of life by their substitutes, took advantage to finish with a scoreline which did not tell the full story of Juventus' efforts - but did highlight the Gunners' ruthlessness.
"It's a really important win, but we need to keep working hard," added Arsenal winger Caldentey.
"I think it's more about the team than the individual players. In every game we have played, the players coming off the bench have helped the team and that was the case tonight, too."
Arsenal have performed consistently well since caretaker Slegers took the reins and while she has not been explicit about wanting the job on a permanent basis, her results are beginning to stake a claim.
Source: BBC
BDST: 1006 HRS, NOV 13, 2024
SMS
