Ahead of our UEFA Women's Champions League match at home to Benfica, the head coach speaks passionately about you - our supporters - and how you deserved victory last Saturday. Now Renée knows this is the time to start building on that momentum.

Good evening and welcome to Meadow Park for what promises to be an exciting UEFA Champions League clash with Portuguese champions Benfica. We’re excited to face a new challenge this evening and bring all the momentum from the weekend with us.

Let’s make Saturday’s success against Tottenham Hotspur the beginning of something. We have been on such a frustrating run of games and to be able to break that cycle on Saturday, at the north London derby no less, meant so much to all of us. 

You all deserved that win. Your dedication to this team throughout a difficult start to the season has been nothing short of incredible and we are all so grateful for your support. We wanted to make sure you knew that. 

The supporters were on our minds all week in the lead-up to the match. We’d spoken within the group about how everyone wanted to play for something bigger than themselves, and there’s no greater symbol for that than a sold-out away end of nearly 4,000 people. So we said: let’s do this for you. In times like these, actions speak louder than words. 

You could see that when Leah sprinted to you the moment the final whistle blew, with Isabella Damm and Amy Liddiard right there in the crowd alongside you. Saturday was an outpouring of relief, but it was also more than that. It was a sign of the connection we share. You are all a part of this team. 

There was a lot to be happy about on the pitch at the weekend, with a lot of brave performances to celebrate, but we remain pragmatic. It required another comeback to get the three points, which is a pattern we need to break free from. Saturday was a good step towards the consistency, intensity and cohesion we want to bring to every match, but it is far from mission accomplished. For this win to really mean something, we must capitalise on the energy we built together and back it up with good performances. How do we get back to being Arsenal? One game at a time.

A midweek game is good for momentum, but it also means we can’t dwell on this victory for long. Our focus has turned back to the Champions League immediately, with a familiar opposition. When we travelled to Benfica last season, I was really impressed by the team’s performance. Particularly in the first half, Benfica demanded a lot of patience from us in the final third, but through a combination of problem-solving and game-changers, we found a way to win. But we will not underestimate them. 

That is such a crucial mentality because, as we’ve seen already this season, there are matches where luck isn’t on your side and dominance doesn’t automatically translate to goals. We found a way then, we found a way against Spurs, and now it’s our responsibility to maintain that. 

We can’t wait to play for you again this evening. Let’s take the fight and passion from Saturday and keep it going. 

Enjoy the match, and COYG!