Arsenal manager Renee Slegers has confirmed the side will be without the first choice centre-back pairing of Leah Williamson and Steph Catley for their Champions League quarterfinal first leg against Chelsea, with Caitlin Foord and Kyra Cooney-Cross also set to miss out.
The two teams have never played each other across two legs or in a European competition and the occasion marks the first time two teams from the same city meet in the Champions League.
Due to the timing clash with the Asian Cup in Australia, Arsenal will be without their Australian trio of Catley, Foord and Cooney-Cross as they returned to English soil only on Monday morning.
“They’re staying at home today,” Slegers told a news conference on Monday. “They’ll be in for a short session, some gym work tomorrow, but they won’t be available [for the game] tomorrow.”
The trio will likely be available for the Women’s Super League [WSL] game against Tottenham on Saturday providing they come through training with no issues or injuries.
England captain Williamson is also due to miss the crucial knockout game after picking up an issue with her hamstring.
“Leah Williamson is not going to make it for tomorrow. She’s progressing well, but too early,” Slegers said on Monday.
The Dutch coach added that the plan is to have Williamson back at some point in this block, before the April international window.
“We just have to be smart and we have to find the right moment and when her body is fully ready to have a game, then of course,” she added.
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Olivia Smith was absent from training on Monday morning, however Slegers did not rule out her participation, citing the Canadian has been on an individual training program.
“There’s a lot of individual management with the short turnaround. You didn’t see Liv [Smith] on the pitch, but everyone’s on the individual programs,” she said.
With the momentous occasion, and plenty of history between the two rivals, Slegers believes that harnessing the emotions and intensity of these games, while remaining controlled and composed, will work in Arsenal’s favour.
“I think for us, [the intensity] is one of our strengths. It’s a big occasion, of course, but we know we’re at our very best [when we’re] task orientated. That’s one of the big strengths in our team,” she said.
“We want to stay in control for as much as possible because we know that we can make the best decisions on the pitch, but of course there’s passion as well, and that can give us the couple of extra percentages.
“If you ask me my role, I want to stay as controlled as possible and as composed as possible for us the full 90 minutes, because I think that’s going to help the team make really good decisions and the passion and the fire will be there anyway because we’ll play the Champions League quarterfinal against Chelsea.”
