Stellar Arsenal sink Leuven but must settle for playoffs

Arsenal secured a seeded spot for the Champions League knockout playoffs with a comfortable victory away at OH Leuven.

- Sophie Downey

Olivia Smith, Beth Mead and a Saar Janssen own goal saw Renée Slegers' team secure their fourth win of the campaign to round off the inaugural league phase.The similarities between the last two European campaigns for Arsenal are striking. Last Christmas, Arsenal secured qualification in their penultimate group game in Oslo, a result that kickstarted their run to lifting the coveted trophy in Lisbon back in May. Slegers' side have mirrored that journey this year, albeit via the new Champions League format; wrapping progression up with a game to go despite faltering in the league, leaving only their finishing position up for grabs.

Automatic qualification for the quarterfinals was still a possibility for the Gunners but they would be relying on others around them to slip up. With all final league phase games kicking off at the same time, they needed a result to at least stay in position for the seeded playoff spots.