While Arsenal will be disappointed with the result, Slegers’ side will take confidence from their ability to create so many chances against Europe’s elite.
“You will be excited about the amount of opportunities,” former Liverpool forward Natasha Dowie said on BBC Radio 5 Live.
“It would be a different game if you come away and lose without those opportunities. It’s very unlike them not to take those chances.”
Lyon have conceded just three times in nine Champions League games this season, while they remain the only unbeaten team in the competition.
However, former Arsenal defender Asante, who won the Uefa Women’s Cup – as it was then called – in 2007, believes the Gunners can cause an upset.
“Arsenal’s home record at the Emirates has now been broken, but the opposite can happen for them,” Asante said.
“They can go to Lyon and cause an upset. The good thing is they know they can dominate the ball. Now it’s about being clinical.”
Lyon boss Joe Montemurro, who managed Arsenal for three-and-a-half years before leaving in 2021, said he was “astounded” by the growth of the club since his departure and stressed that the semi-final tie remains in the balance.
“I am just astounded at 40,000 people at the Emirates, a beautiful game of football, a spectacle. That’s what I am so pleased about, I am so pleased that since I left there has been three or four years of amazing growth.”
He added: “It’s not over yet. This thing is not over. Maybe the pressure has been taken off Arsenal, maybe.
“They’re 2-1 down, they’re coming to Lyon. Whatever happens, happens. That’s a dangerous scenario and they are a good team.”
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exeter.one newsbite last confirmed 11 hours ago by Emily Salley
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