Arsenal head coach Renee Slegers has said she feels her players must embrace the challenge of another Women's Champions League semifinal showdown with OL Lyonnes as they look to continue their title defence.
The Gunners meet the French side again at the same stage of the showpiece European competition, with the first leg at the Emirates Stadium on Sunday.
Lyonnes were edged out 5-3 on aggregate last season as Arsenal overcame a first-leg deficit to win 4-1 in France, before going on to lift the trophy with victory against Barcelona in the final.
The Gunners, though, were beaten 2-1 by Lyonnes in their opening European fixture of this season's league phase at Borehamwood in October.
With her side having gone through the play-offs against Leuven to then battle past Women's Super League rivals Chelsea in the last eight, Slegers has said she knows another tough encounter is ahead.
"It is going to be challenging for both teams, trying to win, getting to the final across two legs," the Arsenal boss said. "But we embrace the challenge and we look forward to it."
Slegers added: "We know the extreme power that they possess -- they are very explosive and front-footed.
"We have faced that now three times in a year, but we have to do it all over again and I think absolutely there has been learnings from those three games."
Slegers confirmed Arsenal defender Steph Catley remained unavailable because of a calf problem, while England forward Beth Mead will not be involved for personal reasons.
In the quarterfinals, Lyonnes overcame Wolfsburg after losing the first leg in Germany, winning through 4-1 on aggregate following extra time to book another clash with the Gunners.
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"We know Arsenal are a top side, but we are not really thinking about the opponent, we are focused on ourselves," Lyonnes midfielder Lily Yohannes said on UEFA's website.
In the other semifinal, Bayern Munich host Barcelona in the first leg at the Allianz Arena on Saturday.
Bayern were thrashed 7-1 away to Barca on matchday one of the Champions League but have since been on an unbeaten run of 26 games through all competitions and saw off Manchester United in the quarter-finals.
Last season's runners-up Barcelona swept past Spanish rivals Real Madrid 12-2 on aggregate.
Bayern Munich coach Jose Barcala told a press conference: "We respect Barcelona, but what happened in the past belongs there - we are not the same team we were in October.
"What we can influence is our own performance - we want to show what we can do on the pitch, show our best version."
