UWCL: Renée Slegers and Laia Codina preview Arsenal clash vs OH Leuven | OneFootball

Laia Codina and Renée Slegers are ready to face the next challenge in Arsenal’s UEFA Women’s Champions League title defence. The reigning champions are up against OH Leuven in the round of 16 this week.

The two-time European champions will travel to Belgium on Wednesday night as they hope to set up a quarter-final with Women’s Super League rivals Chelsea.

Arsenal are heading into their UWCL first leg play-off in a confident mood following their 1-0 victory over Manchester City on Sunday afternoon. However, head coach Renée Slegers is determined to ensure that confidence does not become complacency.

Despite becoming the winners of the inaugural FIFA Champions Cup earlier this month, Slegers’ message remains clear: focus on the process, not the hype.

“We’ve done well against the top teams in the WSL and we’re proud of that. But it’s about staying in a controlled middle — never too high, never too low — because the next challenge is always around the corner,” the manager told the media.

Arsenal defending their UWCL title

For the first time in her career, three-time UWCL winner Codina is not chasing Europe’s biggest prize, she is defending it.

At 26 years old, Codina has a trophy cabinet that many would dream of. The defender came through the youth ranks at Barcelona, before making her senior debut in 2019 against Sporting de Huelva. Just four days later, she made her debut on the European stage. Her maiden UWCL title came in the 2020/21 season when Barcelona stunned Chelsea 4-0 to win their first title.

The 2023 Women’s World Cup champion was loaned out to AC Milan the following season, so could play no part in Barcelona’s title defense. Upon her return to Spain, she added a second European title after Barcelona came from 2-0 down to defeat VFL Wolfsburg in Eindhoven.

Relishing the challenge of midfield

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In recent weeks, Arsenal fans have witnessed Codina being deployed in midfield. A centre-back by trade, the Spanish international is relishing the opportunity.

“For me it’s challenge, and I think everyone around me knows that I love challenges,” Codina said. “Because I played in Barcelona, I think that is a little bit easier because I kind of try to understand what’s going on, on the pitch. I’m a player that likes to communicate a lot.

“I like to always find solutions for everything and I’m enjoying it when I have the opportunity to play in that role. I like to feel that I’m learning something new as well, that I’m growing and improving as a player.”

Having played in defence her whole career, the Spaniard hails the importance of her defensive mind: “I know what the centre-backs need because I’m a centre-back. So second balls, box-pocket runs. I think I can give something different in the team. When I play as a six, I try to ask the centre-backs what they want from me.”

Laia Codina’s time at Arsenal so far

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One of the things that has helped Codina settle in London is the presence of Mariona Caldentey. The defender notes that the pair — who lived together during their time in Barcelona — often speak Catalan to one another.

“To have Mariona here, it just feels like home. To be here in Arsenal together, we won the Champions League together again. Probably three years ago, we wouldn’t have ever imagined it. We also won the World Cup, so yeah, it’s nice to have her in our team.

“Just looking at each other, we understand each other, the way she plays. I don’t know, it gives me so much calm and it’s easy. So I’m glad to have her here, she’s a top player in the world and one of the best for sure.”

Arsenal win the inaugural FIFA Champions Cup

After defeating both FAR Rabat and Corinthians, Arsenal were crowned champions of the inaugural FIFA Champions Cup. As part of their victory, the Gunners are permitted to wear a golden patch on their shirt. Getting its first outing in the victory against Manchester City, it’s safe to say that Codina approves.

“It feels so good to wear that badge. I think that we still don’t realise what it means. We know we’ve achieved a big thing, but football goes so fast. We have to think after the Champions Cup, we had to think about City. Now we have Leuven, then we have Brighton.

“Maybe this summer we’ll realise a little bit of everything. but yeah it felt good. We were talking in the changing room that we had that badge on the shirt. We were the first ones to win it, so making more history in the club.”

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Respect for OH Leuven

The sides met earlier in the UWCL campaign, with Arsenal coming out 3-0 victors. However, the Gunners’ head coach is expecting a very different contest this time around.

“What they did against us before the new year was different approaches. I think they gave us some time on the ball in the first half, second half they were much more aggressive. This is a different scenario when there’s two legs to play, 180 minutes. I’m sure they will try and create things with fast attacks, with counter-attacks and we will want to stop that.”

Arsenal will host OH Leuven in the second leg of the play-off next Wednesday, but Slegers is wary of reading too much into a home advantage.

“We respect who they are and leading the table in Belgium and good performances in the Champions League. Even though we came away with a 3-0 win here last time, we’re very humble for the challenge.”

In their first season in the competition, OH Leuven have impressed viewers. They registered their first European win against FC Twente, while racking up draws against Paris FC, Roma and PSG. This strong league phase campaign ensured the Belgian side a place in the play-offs for a chance to reach the quarter-finals for the first time in their history.

Problem-solving culture at Arsenal

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One of the standout themes of Slegers’ tenure has been Arsenal’s ability to fix issues quickly. Whether it’s playing out from the back, defending transitions or improving their clinical nature in front of goal. For Slegers, this comes down to a strong internal culture.

“We have fantastic staff, in our tech staff, the analysts, seeing what’s happening in our games, how we can tweak things, the player qualities that we have. I think we have a great collaboration in the tech staff.”

She believes this collaboration has ensured Arsenal’s players are now capable of adapting in-game without constant instruction from the sidelines.

“We’ve been building, working hard to build this culture over time to be very reflective, be good at problem solving on the pitch. The players don’t need us in the moment and I think they have been brilliant as well. There’s a lot of intelligence in the squad.”

Renée Slegers wants Arsenal to build momentum

Slegers acknowledged her side’s strong run of from since the turn of the year, but ensured it is something which must be actively maintained.

“You have to work hard to keep that momentum, so I think that’s what we’ve done somehow in the challenging times. Especially if I look since January, we didn’t get the win against United in the League Cup. The way we respond as a team, it’s been so good.”

Arsenal will hope to continue this momentum as they take on OH Leuven in the first-leg of their UWCL play-off on Wednesday evening. The sides will meet again the following Wednesday to decide who advances into the quarter-finals.

For viewers at home, you can watch every match of the UEFA Women’s Champions League, live on Disney+ as part of existing customer subscriptions.

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