Leah Williamson believes the experience of playing games at Emirates Stadium has ensured Arsenal Women will not be overawed by tonight’s Champions League showdown with Wolfsburg.
Arsenal are in Germany for the second leg of their quarter-final, with the tie finely poised following last week’s 1-1 draw.
That game took place at the Emirates, while tonight’s will be staged at Wolfsburg’s Volkswagen Arena, where their men’s team play but the women have not since 2013.
Around 11,000 tickets have been sold, with further sales expected on the gate, and Williamson believes Arsenal are prepared for what awaits them after tasting the big-match atmosphere at the Emirates.
“You can only prepare for those [big] games by doing it before,” said Williamson. “We’ve had that luxury this season. We’re comfortable there and it doesn’t derail us. A game like tonight, which may have caused a bit of energy around the fact it’s at a big stadium, is now something we’ll just take in our stride.
“Those things [big crowds] are becoming a little more normal to us now, which is the way we want the game to be growing.”
Arsenal were due to play at the Emirates last weekend but their north London derby was called off due to a Covid-19 outbreak in the Tottenham squad.
That postponement meant the Gunners had the weekend off, and boss Jonas Eidevall has used the extra time to his advantage.
“Of course, we were really disappointed not to play a game that we were very much looking forward to playing,” he said.
“But we had a restructure and reschedule of the whole weekend and replaced it with some more focused training instead.
“It leaves us well prepared for the game [against Wolfsburg]. It’s very hard to reach the semi-finals in the most prestigious club tournament, but this is where we want to be.”
