Playing through the press and preventing high turnovers: How Arsenal can beat Lyon again

Renee Slegers' side face eight-time winners in repeat of last year's Champions League semi-final

Arsenal’s Mariona Caldentery slides in on Lyon’s Melchie Dumornay in last year’s semi-final second leg. Credit: Getty Images

For the second season in a row, Arsenal are set to lock horns with Lyon at the semi-final stage of the Champions League.

In what has become something of a classic fixture, this will be the third time in the space of 12 months that the two sides have faced each other, and the sixth in the competition’s history.

When the teams met at the same stage of the season this time last year, Renee Slegers’ side came into the tie as clear underdogs. This time around, they approach it as European champions. Whether this shifts the dynamic on the pitch remains to be seen, but something that may have a more tangible effect on proceedings is the evolution that Lyon have taken under Jonatan Giraldez.