Benstiti sees Arsenal 'weaknesses'

Olympique Lyonnais coach Farid Benstiti will look to exploit Arsenal LFC "weaknesses" as they two sides meet in the UEFA Women's Cup last eight.

Last-eight debut
Playing in their first quarter-finals, the French champions have reason for confidence ahead of the home leg, with goals from Katia and Shirley Cruz giving them a 2-0 league win against Evreux AC in their most recent league game - their seventh win in as many league matches, which left them six points clear of Juvisy FCF at the top of the table.

Different ball game
However, Benstiti felt league results would count for little against the European champions. "These sorts of games won't prepare us for Arsenal," said the coach, who will once more call on Emeline Mainguy after the goalkeeper recovered from dislocating a shoulder last month. "We are preparing in training as it's a whole different level of competition."

Old rivalry
With the two sides containing a number of internationals, Benstiti felt that England's play-off win against France ahead of the 2003 FIFA Women's World Cup finals might prove an incentive for his side. "Arsenal are 80 per cent of the England team, Lyon are 80 per cent of the France team," he said. "England knocked us out of those World Cup play-offs. The girls here want revenge for that."

Arsenal flaws
While Arsenal will go into the match as favourites, Lyon have scored 31 goals in the first two rounds of the competition, conceding just once, and Benstiti feels optimistic. "They are a good team," he said. "They game is similar to the that of their boys' team: short, attack-minded but with a couple of weaknesses. If we are steady in defence, our strikers will have some opportunities to score." He added: "I don't think they can defend under pressure. We'll see how they react."

'Dig deep'
The holders, however, have been in ominous form recently, scoring 28 goals and conceding only two since securing first place in Group B1 in the qualifying round with a 3-3 draw against ASD CF Bardolino Verona on 16 October. England striker Kelly Smith scored Arsenal's third goal in that game but recognises a significant improvement will be required against Lyon, saying: "If we repeat that performance against Lyon, it could be embarrassing for us. We don't want that because we are the holders of this and we want to retain the trophy. It's now time to dig deep, continue working hard in training and get back to playing at the top of our game."

Need to improve
Arsenal manager Vic Akers echoed those thoughts, calling for his players to raise their game despite opening their defence of the UEFA Women's Cup with a 4-0 defeat of Alma KTZH and following up by dismantling SV Neulengbach 7-0 before the Bardolino blip. "Lyon will be a tough game," said Akers. "I have always said they will be a side to look out for and if we play anything like we [did against Bardolino] then we will undoubtedly get beaten."