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Slegers targets Lyon scalp in pursuit of Arsenal European glory / Photo: © AFP/File
Slegers targets Lyon scalp in pursuit of Arsenal European glory
Renee Slegers' Arsenal will go into the first leg of their Women's Champions League clash against European giants Lyon on Saturday with "belief and bravery" after a remarkable turnaround on her watch.
The 36-year-old former Dutch international was placed in temporary charge of the Gunners after Jonas Eidevall resigned in October following a poor start to the Women's Super League (WSL) campaign.
Ten wins and a draw earned her the permanent job and she has not looked back since.
No WSL team have won more points (24) or scored more goals (34) than the Gunners since the turn of the year.
Under Slegers, Arsenal have taken 40 points from 15 WSL games, one more than leaders Chelsea's total over the same period.
Despite their blistering form, the Gunners look unlikely to catch Sonia Bompastor's quadruple-chasing side, who are three points clear at the top of the table with a game in hand as they chase a sixth straight title.
But Arsenal have a European pedigree none of their domestic rivals can match as the only English team to be crowned continental champions, back in 2007.
And Slegers' team have shown they can perform under intense pressure this season.
They set up their semi-final against Lyon after storming back from a 2-0 defeat in the first leg of their last-eight tie against Real Madrid to win 3-2 on aggregate.
Eight-time European champions Lyon, who knocked out Bayern Munich in the last eight and are currently top of the French Premiere Ligue, will be a tough test but Slegers said the Emirates factor could help her side.
Arsenal made the home for their men's team also the venue for the majority of women's games for the first time this season after attracting huge crowds last season.
"I think this is such a special place, especially with so many fans," Slegers said after this week's 5-1 hammering of Leicester at the stadium.
"I think if we have the belief and we hit our highest level, I think we can do special things.
"Huge respect for Lyon and everything they've already proven in the Champions League, the qualities they have in a team.
"It's going to be a big challenge, but we can't go into a semi-final not believing that we can make something happen, so we will definitely go in there with belief and bravery."
Arsenal are in remarkable goalscoring form and their record at the Emirates is staggering -- they have won the past eight games there in all competitions by an aggregate score of 31-2.
Slegers, who was Eidevall's assistant at Arsenal, was upbeat after the crushing Leicester win but is realistic about the challenge in front of her team.
"It's very positive," she said. "It's everything we wanted. So that's good, but we are also realistic and we understand that the challenge on Saturday is going to go up a couple of levels."
The Arsenal boss said she was confident that forwards Chloe Kelly and Alessia Russo, neither of whom featured against Leicester, would be fit to face Lyon.
Russo is Arsenal's top-scorer this season, scoring twice in the quarter-final second-leg comeback against Real Madrid, while Kelly provided two assists in that game.
The winner of the two-legged semi-final will progress to face either Chelsea or defending champions Barcelona in the final in Lisbon on May 24.
R. Borges--JDB
