Beth Mead: Arsenal not taking Oud-Heverlee Leuven clash lightly despite securing qualification

16th December 2025 Oliver Taliku

BBC SPOTY 2022, Beth Mead. Vivianne Miedema

Arsenal have already secured a spot in the last 12 of the Champions League, but Beth Mead and her teammates still want to finish the league phase as high as they can.

The Gunners have a chance of finishing in the top four with a win which would automatically send them into the quarter-finals.

Arsenal aiming to finish strong

The reigning Champions League winners will be looking to make a statement on Wednesday night as they play their final game in the league phase.

Arsenal have been fairly subdued in Europe so far this season and they will be disappointed to finish outside the top four.

Renee Slegers’ side can still finish in the quarter-final spots but they will need to win convincingly against Oud-Heverlee Leuven and hope other results go their way.

Beth Mead, who played a key role in last year’s European success, spoke to the media ahead of the game and insisted Arsenal are aiming for a strong finish.

“I mean, for us, we need to win the game,” she said. “Obviously, we’re in a good position right now, but again, Leuven have something to play for. It’s not fully guaranteed for them right now [going through] so we know it’s going to be a tough game. We’ve got to get the three points, that’s what we aim to do.

“Again, this block, we’ve started off well and again, we want the three points moving forward. We want to finish as high as possible and that’s what we’re going out to do tomorrow.”

To finish in the top four, Arsenal need two of Juventus, Chelsea, Real Madrid, Bayern Munich and Wolfsburg to drop points.

Although it is a big ask for the Gunners to avoid the playoffs, finishing fourth is still possible and the reigning champs will have hope right until the final whistle on Wednesday.

Beth Mead not taking Belgian opposition lightly

Although Oud-Heverlee Leuven are on the brink of elimination from the Champions League, they have faced some tough opponents in the league phase.

The Belgians have only lost one game in Europe with their sole defeat coming to Barcelona.

“We’ve watched them play against Barcelona and other teams. We know what they’re about. We know what we have to do and bring to the game to win the game. We’re looking forward to it. It’s another Champions League night to play in.” Mead continued.

“I don’t think you ever take any Champions League game lightly. It’s always a pleasure to be able to play in one. I’m very excited to test ourselves against very different opposition again.”

Oud-Heverlee Leuven picked up points against Roma, PSG, FC Twente and Paris FC in an encouraging campaign.

A draw against Arsenal would be enough to see the club secure a shock qualification to the knockouts.

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About Oliver Taliku 460 Articles
Olly Taliku has worked with highly respected sports and gambling websites where he has produced hundreds of articles, as well as being published with Burton Albion and Chesterfield FC. At Burton Olly worked closely alongside the women's team, producing mainly matchday content including reports and interviews. He also has experience as an accredited Premier League and EFL writer for Prost International where he worked during the 2021/22 season to produce matchday content as an on location reporter. Olly specialises in women's football as well as long form SEO content plus news and tips. While he enjoys writing about all football, Olly supports Arsenal passionately as a lifelong fan of the club.

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