Renee Slegers’ Arsenal play FC Twente in their penultimate Champions League group stage game on Tuesday night.
The Dutch manager paid her respects to the team from her home nation, but assured that her team has belief they can win the game.
Arsenal will respect Twente
There is no doubt that Arsenal have a better team than Twente on paper, but that certainly doesn’t guarantee them three points on Tuesday night.
Renee Slegers credited this week’s opposition who managed a shock draw against Chelsea in the Champions League at the beginning of October.
“I think they [Twente] are capable of playing the game in different ways,” Slegers said. “They play it a certain way in the league at home in the Netherlands and then they have really strong game plans for high-level European opposition.
🔙 to Champions League action. pic.twitter.com/Q5W392lAMA
— Arsenal Women (@ArsenalWFC) December 8, 2025
“I think you saw that in their game against Chelsea, Benfica, Leuven, all very close games.”
The Gunners desperately need points to stay in contention for the knockouts but they do have two fairly straightforward fixtures to end the league phase.
While Slegers knows that Twente will be a challenge, she has full confidence in her team getting the win on a ‘special’ night for the manager.
“Of course, we are going to come out with high belief in ourselves because we know we’re a really good team but we’re also respectful of what they do and I think they will come out with the belief in themselves. They also need the points.
“It’s definitely special for me to play against a Dutch team.”
There have been reports of a ‘splintered’ changing room at Arsenal this month and after a win against Liverpool, the team will be keen to put those rumours to bed on a more permanent basis.
Slegers is preparing to welcome back vice captain Leah Williamson on Tuesday night which is certain to boost morale in the squad.
Turning 🆙 the tempo for FC Twente.
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— Arsenal Women (@ArsenalWFC) December 8, 2025
Can Arsenal retain their Champions League title?
Arsenal have already made their title defence harder than it needs to be this season.
The WSL side lost to two European giants in Lyon and Bayern Munich which has seen them drop to just two points off instant elimination.
A win against Real Madrid last time out got the club back on track but they will need to win their last two games now to guarantee a spot in the knockouts.
Of course it is still very early in the Champions League and there is plenty of time for the Gunners to get rolling in Europe this season.
With that being said, losses to Lyon and Bayern won’t fill fans with confidence ahead of what would be a tough knockout round should they make it there.
