Arsenal continue the defence of their UEFA Women's Champions League title when they welcome FC Twente to Meadow Park in a Matchday 5 clash on Tuesday night. Renee Slegers' side have been woefully inconsistent this term, but recent wins over Real Madrid and Liverpool have brightened the mood.
Corina Dekker has taken FC Twente to joint-top of the Eredivisie Vrouwen, but with only two points in the UWCL, they are in need of a win in Europe.
Here's everything you need to know about Tuesday's game.
How to watch
The match will be broadcast on Disney+ in the UK and Australia, Paramount+ in the U.S. and FanCode in India. You can also follow ESPN's live updates.
Key Details:
Date: Tuesday, December 9 at 8 p.m. GMT (3 p.m. ET; 1:30 a.m. IST (Wednesday) and 7 a.m. AEDT, Wednesday)
Venue: Meadow Park, Borehamwood
Referee: Michalina Diakow (Poland)
VAR: Pawel Malec (Poland)
The Russo/Blackstenius conundrum continues to baffle
Renee Slegers has fashioned this Arsenal team to be built around Alessia Russo's qualities as one of the best centre-forwards in the game. Her ability to hold-up play, as well as find the target with regularity has made her crucial to the Dutch manager's plans. Russo has played almost every minute of Arsenal's season so far, and it's no surprise that she leads the team with 10 goal involvements (8G, 2A).
She was at her sparkling best as a no.9 against Real Madrid, as Arsenal mounted a comeback win via Russo's headers. However, against Liverpool in the Women's Super League, Russo wasn't able to take much advantage of their high backline, only for Stina Blackstenius to come into the picture and score the winner with her eighth goal involvement of the season (5G, 3A)
Blackstenius is a curious figure for Arsenal - scorer of important goals (including one that won them the UWCL last season) - she's just as likely to fluff her lines with the easiest of chances. That was the case when she came on against Liverpool, but her penchant to keep going saw her score one of her trademark 'pirouette and shot' goal as Arsenal won late. Her ability to stretch defences is a crucial weapon in Slegers' arsenal, but playing Blackstenius comes with a compromise.
Russo has to drop back into the support striker role when Blackstenius features, and with Kim Little's absence compounding matters, Arsenal's best player has had to drop deeper and move further away from goal, and in doing so, thus reduces the side's goal-threat. It's a delicate balancing act for Slegers and the sooner she figures out the ideal way to platform both players, the better.
Could Jill Roord haunt Arsenal again?
It never really came together for Jill Roord at Arsenal. Despite glimpses of her undoubted talent, the global pandemic complicated her acclimatization, and she eventually moved to Wolfsburg. Even when she returned to the WSL with Manchester City, Roord struggled with life in England, as she 'fell out of love with football' in addition to injuries.
Now back home (and in love with the game once more) Roord's a pivotal part of the club where she grew up, scoring, creating and defending with aplomb as Twente flourish in their domestic league. She returns to England with a shot at causing her former club plenty of anguish once more. Roord played a crucial role in knocking Arsenal out of the 2021-22 UWCL, scoring for Wolfsburg while also flitting neatly between the lines as the Londoners lost out in midfield.
Roord's in-game intelligence might prove crucial in the middle of the park again, although Twente are unlikely to dominate the game like Wolfsburg did. Her penchant for making the right choice in transitions could be Twente's trump card, and Slegers will have to ensure that her system can keep Roord quiet.
Williamson, Little's leadership crucial in much-welcome return for Arsenal
It's no secret that Arsenal look very unlike UEFA Women's Champions League winners this season. A spate of injuries has unbalanced Slegers side, and there's an air of fatigue within the squad, who gave their all last season en-route winning Europe's biggest crown. There's even a cloud of uncertainty around the side, whose heads have dropped when faced with setbacks this season.
Leah Williamson and Kim Little have been Arsenal's go-to characters in the difficult moments over the last few years, and in their absence, the club have all-too-often eased off when hit with setbacks. Slegers hinted as much after the Liverpool game, with Arsenal's intensity clearly dropping, only for Blackstenius to bail them out.
Thankfully for Arsenal, Little came off the bench against Liverpool, and Williamson is in line for a run-out as well after training with the squad. Twente can be awkward opponents, and Slegers will need her leaders to bring their trademark intensity to the field.
Arsenal face a must-win UWCL game to turn their season around
Fourth in the WSL table, eight points behind leaders Man City, as well as tenth in the UWCL table, four points behind leaders Barcelona. It's fair to say Arsenal's dream-like state after winning the UWCL in the summer has received a rude awakening.
Frustratingly, while Arsenal have been hit with bad luck, it seems like a fair bit of their problems are of their own making. Slegers has persisted with Frida Maanum in the #10 role despite the Norwegian being clearly out of form, and her need to shoehorn all of her creative midfielders into the side has meant Mariona Caldentey has had to play much deeper this season. Granted, Caldentey is excellent wherever she's put on the pitch, but one feels Arsenal would be better served using her creativity closer to goal.
While many of Arsenal's players have been inconsistent this season, Emily Fox and Olivia Smith have constantly been performing in every game and they'll be crucial if Arsenal are to win against Twente and inject some form into this Arsenal side - who can win three on the trot for only the second time this season. Lose against Twente, and Arsenal will face the real possibility of crashing out in the UWCL's league phase.
FC Twente can use the Chelsea template for their first UWCL win this season
Twente might be sitting atop the 2025-26 Eredivisie Vrouwen standings, but they have yet to win a game in the UWCL so far, with two draws and two losses. Given Arsenal's form this season however, Twente could fancy their chances of picking up a first win. In fact, Twente could have already defeated Chelsea in October's UWCL clash had things gone their way.
That game saw the Dutch side prepare a low block and absorb all of Chelsea's pressure before hitting them in transitions. Roord and Danique van Ginkel combined superbly for the latter to give Twente the lead against Chelsea and they were set up for a shock victory. However, a rare loose tackle gifted the WSL giants a penalty and Twente lost out on a chance for all three points.
A low block could stifle Blackstenius' penchant for running in behind, although it could play into Russo's playmaking prowess. Keep it tight however, and Twente could conceivably keep Arsenal out. Slegers' side have been fortunate with some results of late, and should Twente score first, there is a real chance that Arsenal may not have the resources to mount another comeback.