Pre-Match Analysis: Arsenal to seek win in Champions League
Selina Cerci heading the ball towards net versus Manchester United (Photo by David Price/Arsenal FC via Getty Images)
Kaster Shepherd
Kaster Shepherd
Arsenal will take on HB Køge in the UEFA Women’s Champions League league phase on Tuesday evening, in what will be their first game in the European competition this season.
The Gunners will be hoping to have a better start to the league phase in Europe compared to their lack-luster start in the Women’s Super League in their home game against Danish side HB Koge, which would be a significant bolster in the competition standings.
Arsenal exited the Champions League campaign in the semi-finals in 2025/26 with a 4-3 defeat on aggregate to French giants OL Lyonnes. Renée Slegers side will be hoping to improve on their previous nature in Europe and reach the final in Warsaw in May 2027.
Securing the three points will not be easy for Slegers’ side after their recent form in their home league competition, but the European competition is where Arsenal and Renée Slegers flourish.
Last Time Against HB Køge
The last time the Gunners faced HB Køge in the Champions League was in the 2021/22 season where Arsenal defeated the Danish side a whooping 8-1 on aggregate. Of those eight goals, Arsenal only have three players currently still playing for the side: Steph Catley, Caitlin Foord and Lotte Wubben-Moy.
Pre-Match Analysis: Arsenal to seek win in Champions League
Lotte Wubben-Moy scoring for Arsenal versus HB Køge in the Champions League on November 17, 2021 (Photo by David Price/Arsenal FC via Getty Images)
It will not be easy for the Gunners to get a win, with HB Køge being the champions of the Danish league and having qualified for the Champions League through two different qualification rounds.
Arsenal have the head-to-head advantage with two wins compared to HB Køge’s zero but the Champions League is a competitive competition where upsets happen every match week, though Arsenal will look to continue their success in the competition.
Slegers in the Champions League
Renée Slegers took over from Jonas Eidevall in October 2024 with her first Arsenal game being in the UEFA Women’s Champions League against Vålerenga, which the Gunners won 4-1.
Renée Slegers versus Manchester United (Photo by David Price/Arsenal FC via Getty Images)
Renée Slegers versus Manchester United (Photo by David Price/Arsenal FC via Getty Images)
That led to Slegers being dominant in the competition in her first season coaching the Gunners, leading Arsenal to victory in Lisbon in 2025 and the semi-finals in 2026.
Slegers has only lost a handful of times within the competition, to the same few clubs that evade the Gunners once a season: OL Lyonnes thrice, Bayern Munich twice, and both Real Madrid and Chelsea once. However, of those games, only two were at home, where Slegers has made Arsenal almost impenetrable in the Champions League.
Though Slegers also proved that she can do come backs within the Champions League, with the 2024/25 season as a reminder that despite Arsenal going 2-0 and 2-1 down to both Real Madrid and OL Lyonnes respectfully, they had a 3-0 come back against the Spanish team and a whooping 4-1 win over the French champions in the second leg.
The Dutch manager is a mastermind when it comes to being in Europe, having previously coached FC Rosengård in the Champions League also. It is no surprise when Slegers gets to coach the attacking football she wants to see from the Gunners to unlock their ability to score goals within the competition and ultimately turn over any deficits that the North London side face.
Arsenal and Slegers will look to continue the form within the Champions League, especially at home and in a competition where they see so much talent that the Gunners also get to show off.
Lack of Goals
Arsenal have had a lacklustre start to their Women’s Super League campaign, where they have won only one game versus Brighton and Hove Albion and drawn twice: to Crystal Palace and Manchester United.
In that time, Arsenal have scored only twice through Lisa Baum and Smilla Holmberg which is concerning to fans watching the Gunners on how their Champions League campaign will start.
Arsenal’s inconsistencies in front of the goal have led to only two goals being scored, from their first shot on net versus Brighton and Hove Albion to their 58th shot versus Manchester United. It is not for a lack of trying, per say, it is a lack of picking the right moment to shoot.
The Gunners strikers will have to have found their shooting boots between Saturday’s league game versus Manchester United and Tuesday’s Champions League opener versus HB Køge to really put their foots on the pedal in the European competition.
Stina Blackstenius versus Manchester United (Photo by Sarah Ray-Gain/Getty Images)
Stina Blackstenius versus Manchester United (Photo by Sarah Ray-Gain/Getty Images)
A choice for Slegers is who is the starting striker against HB Koge? Is it an out of form Alessia Russo? Stina Blackstenius who works better when she comes on as a super sub? Or Selina Cerci, who has played 20 minutes for Arsenal since making her competitive debut against Manchester United? Could it be a mixture of two of them? Slegers will have minimal time to find what combination of players to go with on Tuesday evening.
Arsenal cannot rely on their goals to come from two 19-year-old prodigies within the Champions League, and should look at who else in the squad can provide goals for the Gunners.
Fans will want to see Arsenal shooting and scoring some goals, hopefully to kick start the Gunners into goal-scoring form as well as walking away from the game with three points on the road to Warsaw.