Arsenal Women vs HB Køge: Champions League Preview, Team News & Predicted Lineup

Tonight Arsenal begin another Women's Champions League campaign, with Danish champions HB Køge coming to Meadow Park, and I'm really glad we've got another game so quickly because I don't really want to spend any more time talking about Manchester United!

We've done that, we've analysed it to death... let's all just move on.

Tonight is a different competition, a different opponent, and I think an opportunity for Renée Slegers to start showing us just how much depth and quality there is in this Arsenal squad.

Because this is where rotation has to begin.

Selina Cerci has now made her Arsenal debut. Géraldine Reuteler has been training with the squad for several weeks. Smilla Holmberg came off the bench on Saturday and completely changed the game state. Chloe Kelly didn't start against United. Kyra Cooney-Cross, Frida Maanum, Lotte Wubben-Moy and Taylor Hinds are all available.

So I'd be very surprised if Arsenal simply rolled out the same team again - but this isn't a free hit either.

HB Køge are top of the Danish league. They've won seven of their opening eight matches, beat FC Midtjylland 4-0 on Saturday and came through Champions League qualifying without losing a single game, including a 2-1 aggregate win over PSV Eindhoven. They've also scored in each of their last ten European matches. 

Arsenal should expect to win this game, but they will need to earn it, and I think Tuesday gives Renée Slegers an opportunity to do two things at once: start the Champions League campaign with 3 points and begin finding out what some of these new combinations can give her.

Because there's one combination in particular that I really want to see. Can you guess what that is?

Selina Cerci through the middle and players on either side of her whose first thought is to put the ball into the box first time.

We'll get to that in a bit. First things first, though — who exactly are HB Køge?

Who are HB Køge?

So, HB Køge.

If you don't follow Danish football very closely, this is probably a name you recognise from European competition rather than a team you know a huge amount about.

But they're coming to Meadow Park in very good shape.

They're currently top of the Danish league, having won seven of their opening eight matches; they beat FC Midtjylland 4-0 at the weekend, and they've already had to earn their place in this competition.

Køge came through qualifying unbeaten and then beat PSV Eindhoven 2-1 on aggregate to reach this stage, so they've already played meaningful European football this season. They've also scored in each of their last ten European matches.

And there's some proper experience in this team.

The obvious name is Nadia Nadim. She's 38 now; she's played in England, France and the United States; she's won more than 100 caps for Denmark, and she's still scoring goals. She got two against Fortuna Hjørring recently, so Arsenal certainly can't treat her as someone whose best days are behind her and she certainly cannot be ignored.

They've also got Ireland international Kyra Carusa in attack, Rikke Madsen and Jereko, with former Arsenal defender Simone Boye bringing plenty of experience at the other end of the pitch.

So I don't think this should be framed as Arsenal against a team who are coming to Meadow Park hoping to hang on.

Køge are winning football matches, and unlike Arsenal they are scoring goals. They've already negotiated their way through European qualifying, and they'll arrive with absolutely nothing to lose.

There is obviously a big difference between the level Arsenal operate at every week and that of the Danish league, so, as I said, Arsenal should be expected to win this game.

But that's a bit different to assuming it'll be easy.

The most useful thing Køge can do for Arsenal tonight is to force them to play with purpose from the start, because I'd really like to see Arsenal impose themselves on this game, not spend the first half figuring out how they're going to win it.

Where can Køge hurt Arsenal?

The first thing Arsenal need to absolutely respect is that Køge will be quite happy to make the game uncomfortable.

They've got bags of experience through the middle, players willing to press, and forwards who can punish Arsenal if possession is turned over in the wrong areas.

Nadia Nadim is the obvious one because she gives them real presence around the penalty area. Arsenal can't allow her to spend the evening competing for second balls or attacking deliveries into the box.

Kyra Carusa gives them something slightly different. She's mobile, aggressive without the ball, and willing to press defenders, so if Arsenal rotate the back line as I expect, those players will have to be sharp in possession from the beginning – and that's probably the biggest warning for Arsenal.

They must not make this game more difficult than it needs to be.

Køge should spend long periods without the ball, which means when they do win it they'll be looking for moments when Arsenal's shape has opened up. Lose possession cheaply with both full-backs high and suddenly you've given them exactly the sort of game they'll want.

The other thing I'd be wary of is allowing the first 20 minutes to drift.

Køge arrive in form and with a lot of confidence. Let them settle, let them win a few challenges, let Nadim get involved and suddenly a team that arrived as the underdog starts believing there's something here for them.

I'd like Arsenal to take that belief away very quickly.

Move the ball fast, force them to defend the width of the pitch, and keep putting them under pressure until something opens up.

Arsenal don't need to approach this game cautiously — they need to approach it seriously.

What Arsenal need to do?

For Arsenal, I think the instruction for tonight should be fairly simple: play forward when the opportunity arises.

I'm not interested in going back over the last two league games again, but there is one lesson worth carrying into this one. Arsenal don't need every attack to be perfectly constructed before someone tries to make something happen.

Against Køge, I'd like us to establish the tempo early.

Move them around quickly. Switch the play before they can shuffle across. If there's space behind a full-back, attack it. If the cross is on, put it in. If somebody can run at a defender, let them.

Which brings me neatly to Selina Cerci. I think she has to start.

We've been patient while she's worked her way towards full fitness, and we've now seen her make a huge impact from the bench. Tonight gives Renée an opportunity to see what this Arsenal attack looks like with Cerci leading it from the very start.

But if you're going to play her, play to her strengths.

That's why I'm very tempted by Chloe Kelly on the left and Smilla Holmberg on the right.

You'd have two players whose natural instinct is to attack from wide areas and put the ball into dangerous positions, with Cerci in the middle looking to attack those deliveries. Kelly can fire those crosses in from the left, Holmberg showed us at the weekend how quickly she'll get forward and deliver from the right, and suddenly Cerci has service coming from both sides.

It would also give Arsenal a very different front three.

There's an argument for Holmberg at right-back instead, especially if Renée wants another attacking player higher up the pitch. But after the impact she made further forward against United, I'd really like to see what happens if she's given the chance to start there.

The other change I want is Géraldine Reuteler.

She's had time now; she's been training well, and she made the bench at the weekend. At some point, Arsenal need to start integrating one of the most interesting signings of the summer into the team rather than continually telling us what she might eventually give us.

This feels like the perfect opportunity.

Get her into midfield, get her on the ball and let us see those quick combinations and that movement between the lines that made her such an interesting player in the first place.

Because rotation tomorrow shouldn't mean weakening Arsenal; with this squad, it should mean changing the questions we're asking the opposition.

Rotation and the midfield

The midfield is where I think Renée faces the biggest decision.

Georgia Stanway and Mariona Caldentey have already carried a lot of responsibility, and with the fixture schedule tightening, this is exactly why Arsenal built such a deep squad.

So I'd 100% rotate.

I'd bring Kyra Cooney-Cross back into the starting eleven, and I'd start Reuteler alongside her, with Frida Maanum playing higher up.

That gives you a midfield that looks quite different, but doesn't feel experimental.

Kyra can take responsibility for progressing the ball from deeper areas. Reuteler gives you someone who wants to receive it in tighter spaces, move it quickly, and then move her box to box when necessary. And Frida gives you those forward runs beyond Cerci and, importantly, another player willing to shoot from distance if Køge start defending tight around their own penalty area.

I'm particularly interested in Reuteler because we've spent so much time since she arrived talking about where she might play.

It’s time to find out.

Renee I am begging you, please don't give her ten minutes at the end of a game that's already been decided. Give her an hour or more, and let her begin developing relationships with the players around her.

The same applies to Cerci.

This is where having this level of squad depth becomes really useful because Arsenal shouldn't need Stanway, Mariona, Russo and Blackstenius to start every important game just because they're established players.

By the same token, rotation doesn't mean you make eleven changes and hope everyone works it out.

Maintain enough continuity for the players coming in, give them a clear role, and use the bench if the game requires it.

Because after Køge, the games won't stop coming.

Renée needs more than eleven starters, and tonight is a very good opportunity to start building them.

My predicted Arsenal XI

So, let's put the team together.

I'm going to stick with Misa Rodriguez in goal. She's playing well, and I don't see any reason to change the goalkeeper just for rotation's sake.

At the back, I'd give Emily Fox a rest and start Smilla Holmberg at right-back. Lotte Wubben-Moy comes into central defence, and if she’s fit again, I'd give Elisa De Almeida her first start alongside her. Taylor Hinds starts on the left.

That gives us a completely different back four, which is a lot of change, but these are players Arsenal will need throughout this Champions League campaign.

In midfield, Kyra Cooney-Cross sits deepest with Géraldine Reuteler alongside her and Frida Maanum ahead of them.

Then my front three would be Chloe Kelly on the right, Selina Cerci through the middle and Caitlin Foord from the left.

So:

Misa.

Holmberg, Wubben-Moy, De Almeida, Hinds.

Cooney-Cross, Reuteler, Maanum.

Kelly, Cerci, Foord.

Now, I know I've spent the last few minutes talking about Kelly on one side and Holmberg providing service from the other, and I've then gone and put Smilla at right-back, but I think this is potentially still a dangerous (in a good way) set up for Arsenal. 

Holmberg can still get forward, and she means that Kelly doesn't have to stay glued to the touchline either, and if those two can combine and overlap on the right, you've got two very good deliveries of the ball coming from that side without sacrificing another attacking position.

On the other side, Foord gives you someone who'll attack her defenders, plural because she always seems to have two or three stuck to her, with Hinds providing the width behind her.

And everything in front of them is built around Selina Cerci.

Get bodies around her, get those balls into the box earlier. Let Maanum arrive from midfield and give Reuteler the freedom to find space around the penalty area. Cooney-Cross is the wildcard with her ability to look for the loose balls outside the area and potentially crack one in from 30 or 40 yards out.

Most importantly, let's please just see something different.

Arsenal have assembled a squad with different types of players for different types of games. Tonight we need to start finding out what some of those combinations can do.

Time for Arsenal to show what they can do

So that's my team and, more than anything, tonight feels like a huge opportunity.

Obviously Arsenal need to win. It's our first Champions League game of the season, we're at Meadow Park, and we should be expecting to start the campaign with three points.

But I also want to see Renée use the squad she's built.

Køge deserve respect. They're arriving in form, they're scoring goals, and they've already fought their way through qualifying to get here.

But Arsenal should be the ones setting the terms of this game.

Start quickly, move the ball with purpose, and make Køge spend the evening worrying about us rather than letting them grow into it.

Then let's see what Selina Cerci can do when she's got players around her who want to put the ball into the box without hesitation.

I'd love to see your starting eleven for tonight, and, in particular, what you'd do with Holmberg. Right-back again, or would you push her further forward after what we saw against Manchester United?

I'll be back after the final whistle.