Arsenal Women marked their first ever trip to Camp Nou with a 1-1 draw against Barcelona in the Champions League on Thursday evening. Frida Maanum put the visitors ahead in the first half, and her compatriot Caroline Graham Hansen equalised after the break.

Maanum repays Slegers' faith

Renee Slegers, speaking to the press afterwards with the opening question from Arseblog News, said Maanum had been out injured but had told her beforehand that she was ready to start. "She was so good for us," the manager said.

'Resilience, discipline, clarity'

Slegers was pleased with how her team carried out a counter-attacking plan against opponents she described as very hard to defend against because of their quality in possession. She said the performance showed elements the squad must take forward, choosing the words "resilience, discipline, clarity, communication, leadership, bravery" to sum it up.

She also felt a point was a reasonable outcome, saying it is "really difficult to go to Barcelona away" and that while she wanted all three, the draw was acceptable. Slegers noted that playing this way was very different from Arsenal's usual approach and described it as a boost to the team's process.

London City next

Attention now turns quickly to Sunday's fixture against London City, which Slegers said poses similar challenges because of the quality of the opposition. She explained that selection for Barcelona had been based on readiness across the board, with the players who started performing strongly.

Photo: Arne Müseler via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0 de, resized.