Live Blog: Arsenal Women take on Valerenga in Oslo for penultimate Champions League group game
Renee Slegers has named a change Arsenal side in the Norwegian capital
The Gooner Fanzine's Suzy Lycett is pitchside at the Intility Arena. Credit- Suzy Lycett @boodlepim
Live BLog Thursday Dec 12th
Please stand-by, this page will automatically update with live commentary and comments
NEW! Subscribe to our weekly Gooner Fanzine newsletter for all the latest news, views, and videos from the intelligent voice of Arsenal supporters since 1987.
Please note that we will not share your email address with any 3rd parties.
Full time: Valerenga 1-3 Arsenal!
90+1' Four added minutes. 1-3
88' They're shooting from everywhere now! This time it's Thomsen, and just over the crossbar. 0-3
88' Lindwall again! How close was that. She takes the ball down well outside the area and her half-volley just creeps wide of the post. 1-3
85' Valerenga have one back! Great finish by Lindwall after Thomsen floated the ball in, it took a deflection off of Codina and Lindwall volleyed past Zinsberger. 1-3
84' Freya Godfrey comes on for Kyra Cooney-Cross! 0-3
82' Zinsberger is called into action, saving well from Stolen Godo. Hurtig then fires over from outside the box. 0-3
82' Off the post from Blackstenius! She can't seem to buy a goal tonight but not for the want of trying. 0-3
77' Kathrine Kuhl comes on for Mariona Caldentey. 0-3
74' Chance! Great football again as Maanum plays Hurtig into the box, and her cutback is met by Kafaji and blocked well. 0-3
70' Hurtig finds space in the box and tries to chip Enblom but the goalkeeper saves well. 0-3
68' Substitutions for Arsenal as Katie Reid, Alessia Russo and Caitlin Foord are replaced by Laura Wienroither, Lina Hurtig and Rosa Kafaji. 0-3
64' McCabe swings in a corner from the right and Wubben-Moy heads straight at the goalkeeper. 0-3
59' And a chance for her hat-trick! nblom saves well down low and then denies Blackstenius' rebound with her legs. 0-3
58' GOAL! Braces in consecutive games now for Alessia Russo, a first-time cushioned volley from Foord's cross that was palmed into the roof of the net by Enblom. 0-3
56' Excellent cross from McCabe in towards Blackstenius who had made a good run, but couldn't angle her shot on target. 0-2
53' The impressive Reid is up inside the Valerenga penalty area and her tame shot is blocked. 0-2
50' Zinsberger gathers down low from Thomsen's sneaky free-kick that looked to catch her out at the near post. 0-2
49' Maanum tries her luck from range as Arsenal take a quick free-kick but she can't hit the target. 0-2
46' The second half is underway. 0-2
The teams are back out for the second half, Arsenal unchanged. 0-2
Valerenga captain Janni Thomsen speaking to DAZN at half-time: "The high pressure is not working and the low block is not working. Right now we have a lot to improve."
Russo and Maanum the goalscorers and Arsenal are in firm control. A couple of half-chances for the home side but Arsenal have moved the ball really well.
Half time: Valerenga 0-2 Arsenal!
44' Good defending by Reid to stop across and challenge Saevik, who had turned Wubben-Moy inside out there. 0-2
41' Mariona gets into the box but her pass is just too hard for Reid to run on to. Goal kick. 0-2
38' Acrobatic attempt from Tvedten to pull a goal back from Stolen Godo's cross, and it's not far wide. I would take a while to get back up if I attempted that... 0-2
37' GOAL! Frida Maanum scores on her return to Oslo! Foord drives into the box and squares for Maanum, and her first-time effort is deflected past Enblom! 0-2
35' Foord slides through Maanum and her attempt to get to the ball turns into a late foul on the defender. 0-1
32' Looked like Tvedten had brought down Blackstenius but the referee waved play on and Codina was able to mop up the Valerenga attack. 0-1
27' Daisy Goodhand and I talked yesterday on the podcast about just how well-rounded Russo is as a forward player, and scoring that goal cutting in from the left wing is a perfect example. She offers something across Arsenal's frontline and that's so valuable. 0-1
25' GOAL! Neat footwork from Maanum who finds Russo, and Arsenal's number 23 scores yet again, burying her effort into the far corner! 0-1
24' Foord's low cross finds Maanum and her shot is over the crossbar. 0-0
20' And now Maanum shoots from the edge of the box but her effort takes a hefty deflection and Emblom can saunter across to claim the ball. 0-0
19' Saevick breaks over the halfway line but Arsenal are back in numbers. She is able to get into the box but Foord stands her ground well to defend. 0-0
17' It's all Arsenal the moment and any chances for Valerenga are likely to come from Arsenal mistakes, as was the case in the reverse fixture. The Gunners are moving the ball around very efficiently. 0-0
12' Nearly a chance for Arsenal as Russo breaks into the box and looks to square the ball but Enblom smothers well. 0-0
10' Zinsberger's attempted long ball hits the back of a Valerenga player and Tvedten can turn and shoot, but her effort is straight at a relieved Zinsberger. 0-0
9' McCabe's cross is headed away and Reid goes for goal from the edge of the box, with her shot wide of the top right corner. 0-0
7' Worth pointing out that we're on an artificial surface at the Intility Arena so the ball should zip across the turf. 0-0
2' Reid starts at right-back, Mariona partners Cooney-Cross in central midfield again with Russo on the left wing. 0-0
1' Underway in Oslo! 0-0
Looks like Reid is the tallest player on the pitch- will offer threat if she goes up for corners, particularly with the success of Cooney-Cross' set-pieces on Sunday. No surprise to see McCabe in short sleeves with no gloves...
Arsenal are wearing red shorts rather than white, with Valerenga's kit blue and white! I have to say, I'm a fan of the extra red!
Here come the teams! Time for the Women's Champions League anthem, in which Katie Reid displays she is probably the tallest player on the pitch.
Roughly 3,000 will cheer on Valerenga at the Intility Arena, and the teams are in the tunnel!
Over 1,000 Arsenal fans will cheer on the Gunners in the Norwegian capital, with hundreds of local Gooners set to make plenty of noise.
Maanum: “We’ve seen clips from the game against Bayern, we played against them at the Emirates too. They’re a physical team, they never give up, they will give a hundred percent through the whole game, so we expect a physical battle. Obviously we want to have the ball, create a lot of chances from that, and I expect a tough game.”
Arsenal midfielder Frida Maanum returns to her home city of Norway, and said she is expecting a physical game against Valerenga: “I play with a few of the Valerenga girls in the national team, there’s not loads of them, but there’s a few of them. I know their strengths, I know their weaknesses as well. Obviously I try to feed that back to the coach and the players to help the team perform."
That's 90 days between the group stage finishing and knockout stages beginning! A long time to wait.
I still find it crazy that after the group stage concludes next week, the Women's Champions League doesn't return until mid-March for the quarter-finals, the draw for which is in February.
Arsenal bounced back from the defeat to Bayern Munich in their opening game by beating Valerenga at home and doing the double over Juventus to seal qualification to the quarter-finals with two games to spare.
Valerenga come into the game bottom of Group C, with their only point a notable 1-1 draw at home against Bayern Munich. Arsenal beat the Norwegian champions 4-1 in Renee Slegers' first game in interim charge.
And Manu Zinsberger replaces Daphne van Domselaar in goal. Arsenal have kept 5 clean sheets in their last 6 outings in all competitions, with van Domselaar making some excellent saves in the process.
Stina Blackstenius starts upfront, with Alessia Russo likely in a deeper role.
So Renee Slegers hands 18-year-old defender Katie Reid her first competitive Arsenal start, and it looks like it will come at right-back. Steph Catley and Leah Williamson are replaced in the centre of defence by Laia Codina and Lotte Wubben-Moy.
Valerenga subs: Erichsen, Grinde-Hansen, Lindwall, Sesay, Arnesen, Enger, Klech.
Valerenga: Enblom; Olsen, Kovacs, Horte; Heidarsdottir, Tennebo, Vickius, Thomsen; Tvedten, Saevik, Stolen Godo.
Arsenal subs: Van Domselaar, Williams, Fox, Williamson, Catley, Mead, Kafaji, Hurtig, Kuhl, Wienroither, Godfrey, Harbert.
Arsenal: Zinsberger; McCabe, Codina, Wubben-Moy, Reid; Maanum, Cooney-Cross; Mariona, Russo, Foord; Blackstenius.
Team news is in, and for the first time, interim manager Renee Slegers has wrung the changes!
Good evening and welcome to our live coverage of Arsenal Women's penultimate UEFA Women's Champions League group stage game, as the Gunners take on Valerenga in Norway.