Thank you very much for joining me. Here is Suzanne Wrack’s report from a chilly Emirates.
Montemurro speaks to the Juventus team in a big huddle on the pitch. I think they want to go inside and get warm, Joe.
Driving home for Christmas comes on at the Emirates. Lovely.
Full-time: Arsenal 1-0 Juventus
Vivianne Miedema’s goal was the difference in a tight game lacking in clearcut chances. The important thing for Arsenal is they are on the verge of securing a spot in the knockout stages.
90+2 mins: Juventus show the level of urgency they should have offered about 20 minutes ago. For some reason, Boattin decides to whack a shot from 30 yards and it goes well over the bar.
Arsenal waste some time by replacing Foord with Beattie.
90 mins: Three minutes added on.
88 mins: Cantore rolls Wubben-Moy far too easily but Walti is across to help and is fouled for her efforts.
86 mins: Nobbs wins a corner for Arsenal on the left and they take an age to put it into the box. The goalkeeper punches it as far as McCabe on the edge of the box. She volleys it straight back but her shot is blocked.
84 mins: Wienroither gets to the byline but her cross pings against the sidenetting.
82 mins: Grosso pings a shot from about 30 yards but Zinsberger gets everything behind the bouncing ball.
Nobbs should give Arsenal more control in the centre of the park and an extra barrier as Juventus chase an equaliser.
80 mins: Nobbs is on for Blackstenius, allowing Miedema to move forward to the central striking role. Pedersen is off and Gunnarsdóttir on.
78 mins: Catley swings in a corner from the right to the front post but Juventus get rid after a couple of headers and a volley.
Nobbs is coming on for Arsenal.
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76 mins: Juventus are back to slowly passing the ball around the back but it does come good thanks to a quick pass from Pedersen. They move it forward and a cross comes in from the left but Zinsberger is there to claim.
73 mins: An Arsenal corner is punched out to Miedema who hits a rising shot well over.
The attendance is announced as 6,592.
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71 mins: Juventus are getting on top of Arsenal, who seem to have dropped a little deep to combat their opponents. The result is that Blackstenius is looking isolated, so when they do clear, it comes straight back.
69 mins: Beerensteyn defeats a couple of Arsenal defenders but her cross is hit blindly and is cleared.
67 mins: Juventus are trying to be more efficient in possession but frankly are getting nowhere.
65 mins: Catley and Foord combine well on the left, allowing the former to overlap and swing in a cross but it is straight at the goalkeeper.
Cantore replaces Caruso for Juve.
63 mins: Boattin pings a shot from a mile out and it flies a long way over.
Williamson heads off and is replaced by Rafaelle. I guess this was pre-planned.
61 mins: Beerensteyn sends a cross into the box, it is going straight out of play but Catley heads it behind for a corner. Not a clue why no one gives her a shout to leave it. The corner is cleared but Arsenal could have avoided the risk.
59 mins: Juventus are upping the tempo but it is still too easy for Arsenal to keep the ball.
57 mins: It is Foord causing problems once again. The ball lands at her feet inside the box and she takes a snapshot which Peyraud-Magnin does well to get down to.
55 mins: Beerensteyn has the ball on the edge of the box but is tackled by Wienroither. The Juventus winger stays on the floor and takes her time to get up.
Down the other end … Foord gets the ball inside the box and finds a pocket of space but her cross is straight at a Juventus defender, allowing the keeper to pounce on the loose ball.
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53 mins: The Juventus press is frankly pathetic. Arsenal just walk through it. If you are going to press, it is a good idea to at least run at your opponent.
51 mins: Boattin swings it into the box from the left. Sembrant wins the first header but Arsenal manage to get it clear.
McCabe slides in to stop an attack and injures herself in the process. She hobbles away without a booking.
49 mins: Juventus are going a bit more direct in the early stages, essentially because everything took so long in the first half They win a corner, their first of the match.
47 mins: Blackstenius gets down the right and pulls the ball back from the byline for Foord to attack. Juventus take a few attempts to get rid and eventually are given a free-kick in their own box but Asante believes it should be a penalty for a foul on Foord …
Second half
Here we go again!
Cernoia is on for Bonansea.
Whamageddon! They are playing Last Christmas at the Emirates.
Half-time: Arsenal 1-0 Juventus
Not a second of injury-time is played because I assume the referee wants a hot drink. It is a deserved lead for Arsenal.
44 mins: Juventus look vulnerable on the counter and have already required a few last-ditch tackles to keep Arsenal out. The latest sees another clever ball from Miedema to Blackstenius but the striker’s shot is once again blocked by a defender.
42 mins: Juventus have a chance to counter but Girelli sends her cross straight out for a goal-kick.
40 mins: Catley’s sends a corner into the box which Peyraud-Magnin flaps. Juventus do eventually clear after blocking a volley. Arsenal could do with a second before the break here.
38 mins: Juventus are not offering much in the way of a press either. The players are in the vicinity of Arsenal’s defence but without any real intention of winning the ball back. Arsenal play it out from the back and Miedema slides the ball into the channel for Blackstenius but her shot is blocked.
36 mins: Juventus keep trying to play it out from the back and it really is not working. In the end Peyraud-Magnin goes long and Arsenal pick up the loose pass. Maybe they can find a happy middle ground.
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34 mins: Grosso gets down the left flank and eventually puts in a cross but it is whacked clear.
32 mins: Juventus try to pass it out from the back but Catley gets the ball back, allowing Miedema to slip it to Blackstenius in space inside the area. The striker takes a touch but shoots wildly over.
30 mins: Every Juventus do is so slow that Arsenal have everyone in place to ensure the attack goes nowhere. Juventus are playing like they are jetlagged.
28 mins: Zinsberger plays a pass out to the left but no one is there, resulting in Catley sprinting back to prevent the throw-in.
26 mins: They are continually discussing how cold it is in north London. Do players still use liniment?
24 mins: Foord picks the ball up 30 yards from goal, takes a few touches and takes aiming with a bouncing shot which Peyraud-Magnin does well to turn behind.
22 mins: Juventus take the sting out of proceedings with a couple of minutes of slowly knocking the ball around. I think they need to move the ball quicker to test Arsenal.
20 mins: “I hadn’t seen this official match ball before,” emails Peter Oh. “The maker claims that its design was inspired by “the darkest depths of the universe”. Kudos to them, but did they really need to look that far? Plenty of dark depths to plumb among the world’s organizers of the sport and those who seek to use it to spread their influence and power.”
It is very shiny, like the head of a certain football administrator …
18 mins: The goal was all too easy for Arsenal. Juventus need to up their tempo or Arsenal could dominate.
GOAL! Arsenal 1-0 Juventus (Miedema, 16)
Blackstenius gets down the right and has time to pick her cross. She sends a flat ball into the box, Peyraud-Magnin decides to dive in an attempt to divert it away but misses it completely, allowing Miedema to volley into an empty net at the back post.
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14 mins: Arsenal are moving the ball quicker than Juventus but they cannot claim to be in control of possession.
12 mins: Caruso is too clever for Walti, who does what she can to bring her down on the halfway line.]
Arsenal briefly think they have opened the scoring through Blackstenius but she is two yards offside when Foord passes the ball to her inside the box. The finish is nice but the flag is up.
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10 mins: Wienroither plays a through ball for Foord to chase and she almost gets there but Peyraud-Magnin slides out to beat her to it by a split second.
8 mins: Arsenal win a corner on the left after Blackstenius controlled a header in the box but the Juventus defence put her under pressure and clear. The first corner produces a second, which also comes to nothing after Catley overhits her cross.
6 mins: A lovely Juventus move sees Caruso produce the nutmeg before sliding the ball out to Bonansea, who crosses for Caruso but her low shot from 12 yards is well saved by Zinsberger. A let-off for Arsenal.
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4 mins: Maanum looks to slip the ball through to Blackstenius in the area but her pass is a poor one and goes out for a goal kick.
2 mins: Juventus enjoy most of the early possession but without using it particularly efficiently.
“Really great to see Leah Williamson back,” emails Charles Antaki. “The pairing of Wubben-Moy and Beattie was okay last week, but Beattie isn’t that mobile, and Wubben-Moy’s distribution isn’t as sharp or creative. A welcome return.”
Kick-off
Peep! Peep! Peep! Here we go!
As Suzanne Wrack showed earlier, it is very cold in London. There is a decent enough crowd inside the Emirates for the match but I would not like to estimate how many in such a large stadium.
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Just turned the Christmas tree lights off because they are reflecting off the TV. My daughter is fuming.
Dazn’s coverage on YouTube begins mid-sentence. What a weird operation this is. On the upside, the Guardian’s Anita Asante is on co-comms.
Looks warm at the Emirates.
Thermals, merino socks, waterproof insulated North Face shoes, hoodie, heated gilet, coat with zip-in layer, snood x2, hat, rechargeable hand warmers x2. Suzanne 1-0 Cold. pic.twitter.com/wIOt3sPQRu
— Suzy Wrack (@SuzyWrack) December 7, 2022
Jonas Eidevall on the match: “Everton was a good game because the way Everton play required our full focus, in order to deal with their different formations, that was good. There are similarities between Everton and Juventus and we use that in preparation, there are things we have prepared we can use for both teams. The wide players for Juventus, Beerensteyn and Bonansea, are very skilful players. They are very fast in transition and we saw that with their goal.
“Beerenesteyn is a top international player, her pace and movements in the final third is of an extremely high level and she has shown that over many years both in the Dutch National Team and at Bayern Munich and now Juventus. It doesn’t come as a surprise and it’s definitely one of the big threats we will have to handle in this game.”
Juventus’ Arianna Caruso is hoping to dent Arsenal’s Champions League hopes and boost her own side’s tonight.
“All the games from here to the end of the group are decisive that’s why our victory over Inter was so important, we had to win and that’s exactly what we did - I hope it gives us a spark,” Caruso said.
“The level in Serie A has risen and this helps because it prepares us better and allows us to take on even the toughest of Champions League opponents. Tomorrow we will need courage, we shouldn’t be afraid of anything. It will take a lot of energy and a lot of heart.”
Speaking of women’s football in Italy …
Starting lineups
Arsenal: Zinsberger; Wienroither, Williamson, Wubben-Moy, Catley; Wälti, Maanum, Miedema; McCabe, Blackstenius, Foord.
Subs: Marckese, Beattie, Rafaelle, Maritz, Iwabuchi, Nobbs, Agyemang
Juventus: Peyraud-Magnin; Lenzini, Sembrant, Salvai, Boattin; Pedersen, Grosso, Caruso; Bonansea, Girelli, Beerensteyn.
Subs: Aprile, Forcinella, Lundorf, Duljan, Gunnarsdóttir, Zamanian, Cernoia, Schatzer, Rosucci, Cantore, Bonfantini
Hello
An Arsenal win this evening would put them on the verge of qualifying for the knockout stages. They have seven points from three matches, including a 1-1 drawn in Turin against tonight’s opponents Juventus. The game tonight is being hosted at the Emirates, a fitting venue for two greats of European football.
Arsenal could be bolstered by the return to the starting XI of Leah Williamson and Rafaelle. They both started the weekend' victory over Everton on the bench but should be fit to start this time around.
Juventus are led by head coach Joe Montemurro, known for his four years in charge at Arsenal. He won a WSL title and an FA Cup. “My return to London is great,” Montemurro said. “I had some more memorable moments here. Now I only want to see a great performance from this great Juve. We have to give it our best shot.”
Let’s hope for a cracker!
Kick-off: 8pm GMT
