The French defender, Laura Agard, was interviewed by the website Serie A mon Amour and had some nice words to say about Arsenal and their chances in the Champions League.

Her club, Fiorentina, met the Gunners in the UEFA Women’s Champions League Round of 32 with Arsenal winning  6-0 on aggregate

Laura is a very experienced player who has played 165 League games in France, was part of the Lyon squad that ended up as runners-up in the 2012/13 Champions League and was capped by France at u17, u19, u20 and B level. She was also called up twice for the senior squad but did not get a chance to play.

Here is what she was asked – “You have been impressed by Arsenal in the last 32 round of the UEFA Women’s Champions League. What did you make of the Gunners strengths?”

And her reply, “I think Arsenal are a team that do not play like a typical English team. They have a technical, direct style of play. They have kept the same core of players for two or three season now. I was surprised to see an English side that was so strong technically. There was a big gap physically and technically between them and us.

“I am looking forward to see how far they will go in the competition and I think they might be the surprise team in the Champions League.”

With the news that Lyon’s main striker Ada Hegerberg will be out due to an ACL injury, Arsenal might find it a little easier to beat Lyon in the semi-final, should they first beat PSG in the quarter-finals, of course.

The home game will be played at Borehamwood FC on 25 March and the away leg at the Stade Jean-Bouin in Paris on April Fool’s Day.