Arsenal vs Juventus match facts

Arsenal will be looking to consolidate their fine start to the 2022/23 UEFA Women's Champions League as they welcome Juventus to the Arsenal Stadium boasting a two-point lead at the top of Group C.

That advantage was preserved on Matchday 3 when the London side drew 1-1 in Turin, Vivianne Miedema heading in her 27th European goal to equalise a fine individual strike from her fellow Dutch striker Lineth Beerensteyn, who had put Juventus ahead nine minutes earlier.

Arsenal, whose most recent FA Women's Super League title came under current Juventus head coach Joe Montemurro in 2018/19, missed out by a point to Chelsea last term, while reaching a competition record 14th European quarter-final, where they were eliminated 3-1 on aggregate by Wolfsburg (1-1 h, 0-2 a).

The Gunners confirmed their group stage place this season with a narrow round 2 victory against last season's Eredivisie runners-up Ajax, triumphing 1-0 in Duivendrecht thanks to a Miedema strike after they had been held 2-2 at home in the first leg.

Jonas Eidevall's team made a remarkable start to Group C, inflicting the heaviest European defeat ever on eight-time champions Lyon on Matchday 1, goals from Caitlin Foord (13, 67), Frida Maanum (23) and Beth Mead (45 and 69) ensuring the Londoners became the first away side to score five in a competitive match in Lyon. That stunning victory was supplemented by a 3-1 home win against Zürich.

Juventus, in their first season under Montemurro, clinched their fifth Serie A title in a row last term, but were eliminated in the last eight of the UEFA Women's Champions League by eventual winners Lyon, losing 4-3 on aggregate despite a 2-1 comeback victory in the Turin first leg. They had reached the quarter-finals after finishing as runners-up in Group A behind Wolfsburg, pipping 2020/21 finalists Chelsea to second place via a three-way tie-break.

The Turin outfit qualified for this year's group stage with a 3-1 aggregate win against Danish champions HB Køge (1-1 a, 2-0 h), having beaten Luxembourg's Racing Union 4-0 and Israel's Qiryat Gat 3-1 in round 1.

Like last season, Juve kicked off this season's group campaign with a win in Switzerland – 2-0 at Zürich – before 1-1 draws in Turin against both Lyon and Arsenal.

Arsenal will go through if they beat Juventus and Lyon do not win against Zürich; Juve cannot go through or be eliminated on Matchday 4.

Arsenal's record against Italian opposition is now W5 D2 L1 with wins in each of the four fixtures before Matchday 3, the two most recent against Fiorentina in the 2019/20 round of 32 (4-0 a, 2-0 h).

Juventus have been paired with English opposition in Europe just once before, in last season's group stage, when they were beaten 2-1 at home by Chelsea before drawing 0-0 away. They did face Arsenal in an August 2018 friendly at Meadow Park, the Gunners winning 5-0 with four Miedema goals and one by Kim Little.

Players to watch

Stina Blackstenius

The Swedish striker joined Arsenal on a free transfer in January 2022 and has already reached double figures in FA Women's Super League goalscoring terms as well as scoring the London club's first goal this term in the UEFA Women's Champions League – at home to Ajax in round 2.

The 26-year-old's second and final season with BK Häcken, in 2021, proved extremely productive as she topped the Damallsvenskan listings for both goals (17) and assists (eight).

A Swedish champion with Linköping in 2016 and Häcken (then Kopparbergs/Göteborg) in 2020, Blackstenius also won the domestic cup with both clubs.

Her one previous foreign club was French side Montpellier, with whom she played in 2017 and 2018.

A long-serving international for Sweden, she made her debut in 2015 and has represented her country at five major tournaments, collecting two Olympic silver medals and finishing third in the 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup.

Lineth Beerensteyn

The Netherlands striker opened her UEFA Women's Champions League goalscoring account for Juventus with a superb solo strike against Arsenal in Turin on Matchday 3.

It was her 12th European goal but her first for Juventus, the 26-year-old having previously scored four in 2016/17 for Twente and seven over her five seasons with Bayern München.

A winner of the 2020/21 Frauen-Bundesliga with Bayern, Beerensteyn joined Juventus on a three-year contract in the summer.

She scored three goals in her first two Serie A games for the reigning Italian champions – two in a 6-0 win away to Como and one in a 3-3 home draw with Inter.

A fringe member of the Netherlands squad that won UEFA Women's EURO 2017 on home soil, she has since established herself as a regular international, helping the team finish runners-up at the 2019 Women's World Cup.

Key facts

Montemurro was in charge of Arsenal between 2017 and 2021, guiding the club to the FA Women's Super League title in 2018/19 having won the League Cup the previous season.

Juventus goalkeeper Pauline Peyraud-Magnin was at Arsenal from 2018 to 2020, and was first choice under Montemurro in that 2018/19 title-winning season.

The Matchday 3 fixture was Montemurro's first meeting with Arsenal since leaving the club in the summer of 2021.

The Gunners have failed to score in only two of their last 22 UEFA Women's Champions League matches.

Arsenal have scored three or more goals in five of their last eight group stage fixtures.

Juventus have lost only two of their last 19 European matches (W12 D5).

Juve are unbeaten in their last seven UEFA Women's Champions League matches (W3 D4).

The Turin team have failed to score in just one of their last 19 UEFA Women's Champions League fixtures.