Arsenal Women's winger Caitlin Foord has labelled Lyon as a 'strong' side whilst manager Jonas Eidevall echoed this sentiment but went on to claim that this opening UEFA Women's Champions League clash will be a good 'reality check' for where his side is at in the early part of 2022-23.
The Gunners narrowly qualified for the group stages of this season's competition after defeating Ajax over two legs by an aggregate score of 3-2. Their reward for passing the test posed to them by the Dutch outfit is a reasonable group which Eidevall's side have a good chance of qualifying from. Placed in Group C with Juventus, Zurich and Lyon, a top-two finish alongside their first opponents is a realistic expectation for what should be expected of the north Londoners this year. A point at the very least away to a serial winning side in France and beyond would be seen as a very good start.
"Yeah, I don't really think about things in those terms," Eidevall said when responding to a question about Lyon's imperious home form ahead of this one. "I always think that we have an obligation to represent Arsenal and to do our very best. To be honest, it doesn’t change what we think of Lyon, and that's the same for me. Me, personally, I was here in 2013 with a team I coached in Sweden."
