RENEE SLEGERS insisted Arsenal are ready to take Lyon on in the first leg of their Women’s Champions League semi-final at Ashburton Grove tomorrow.

Arsenal, who remain the only English side to have won on Europe’s grandest stage, are looking to take the title for a second time and the first since 2007.

Slegers’s side booked their place in the last four by overturning a first-leg defeat against Real Madrid with a stunning 3-0 home comeback.

They will now face a Lyon team, managed by former Arsenal head coach Joe Montemurro, bidding to win the Champions League for a record-extending ninth time.

But on the eve of their fixture, which will be in front of an anticipated crowd in excess of 40,000 in north London, Slegers said: “We know tomorrow is our chance and there will be an enormous crowd.

“It is a huge moment, we want to go for it, and we will take the opportunity by the throat.

“We understand the challenge we are facing because Lyon is a very experienced team and they have been here many times before so we have huge respect for their coach, their players and their history, but this is exactly where we want to be.

“Lyon are still a very strong side, but we have the hunger and belief that we are going to play to the best that we can, and even though we have huge respect of their threats, we believe we can do something tomorrow and we are going to go for it.”

Alessia Russo scored a brilliant brace in Arsenal’s 3-0 victory against Real Madrid in the second leg, and the England international will be available to play against Lyon.

Both Russio, who has six goals across eight matches in the Champions League this season, and team-mate Chloe Kelly, were injury doubts after they failed to feature in Arsenal’s Women’s Super League victory against Leicester on Tuesday.

But Slegers said: “Alessia and Chloe will be fully available tomorrow so that is great. Both players have been working really hard with the medical team to get to this point so that they will be available for a lot of minutes.”

Slegers also revealed her side are ready to draw inspiration from Mikel Arteta’s players, who secured their passage through to the semi-finals of the men’s competition with a 2-1 win in the Bernabeu earlier this week.