Arsenal look to tame Lyon

Having held Olympique Lyonnais in front of a passionate crowd in France last week, holders Arsenal LFC are hoping their fans can also "create quite a hostile environment" when the second leg of their UEFA Women's Cup quarter-final is played at Borehamwood tonight.

'Attacking threat'
The Gunners lifted the trophy for the first time at the venue just north of London last season and must avoid a defeat or scoring draw if their title defence is not to come to an abrupt end at the hands of the French champions. After the first leg England international Alex Scott told arsenal.com: "There was definitely a feeling of being away from home in that atmosphere. Certain things did not go our way but we know we can regroup now for the home leg and try to be more of an attacking threat. We know we have more options up front."

Regrets
Scott was certainly impressed by the Lyon attack, but hailed a fine defensive performance from Arsenal. "All their front line were internationals, either for France or Brazil, so we feel we defended well because there was no doubt that we had to be on top of our game. But perhaps that is the best they could play. We definitely had more chances in the first half. We went on to hit the woodwork and their keeper came out and missed a few chances. In the second half they were more attacking, they came at us. But we should have won it."

Team to beat
Arsenal are learning about being the team to beat, and called on the club's support to turn out in numbers tonight. "We know that with our fans we can create quite a hostile environment ourselves," she added. "We have a lot of people who always come down but ever since the [FIFA Women's] World Cup we have been getting really good crowds."

Abily available
England prevented France from reaching the finals in China, and Lyon's international contingent would no doubt like to exact revenge. One of them, Camille Abily, is again available to start with an adductor injury having restricted last season's French Players' Player of the Year to a 27-minute cameo last week. Coach Farid Benstiti said: "The game in London could be easier for us, considering the first-leg result. We were not surprised by Arsenal's game. They're a strong, technical team, but we have a chance to advance against them."

Perfect starts
Neither team has played a league fixture since the first leg a week ago today, and both have perfect records from their outings so far - meaning something has to give tonight. Lyon captain Sonia Bompastor said: "The European Cup, especially against Arsenal, is another level. We had a tough first half last week but improved in the second. If we repeat what we did at home, but score, we will go through."