Juventus 1 Arsenal 1: Miedema scores while the Gunners remain at the top of the Champions League group by denying Juve a win in Turin

JONAS EIDEVALL praised Vivianne Miedema’s fighting spirit after Arsenal endured a scare against Joe Montemurro’s Juventus.

Just when it looked like the Gunners were about to face another unlucky night after losing to Manchester United, the striker sealed a 1-1 draw.

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Miedema’s second-half equalizer put WSL on target for the first time since their brace against Tottenham in the Emirates in September.

Their goal on Thursday night came three weeks after their club and country granted a time-out ahead of the Gunners’ 4-0 win over Leicester on November 6.

The Dutch star also missed out on 2-0 and 4-0 friendly victories against Denmark and Costa Rica.

Arsenal boss Eidevall said of Miedema’s recharge break: “I think it’s always about finding the balance between freshness and continuity in training and games.

“You obviously have to find that balance.”

On the Arsenal ace’s first goal of the Champions League group stage, Eidevall added: “I’m delighted with their goal.

“You could see that Viv fought really hard today with the team on the pitch and we need that.

“You could see in difficult moments in the game where we kept thinking positively, we always thought about the next action, we always thought about the team first and that was really pleasing to see.”

Arsenal, struggling with injuries with skipper Kim Little and Beth Mead among their key players, had the most shots on target.

Stina Blackstenius had twice on target in the first half, forcing a first-class block from former Gunners goalkeeper Pauline Peyraud-Magnin in the 38th minute.

And Caitlin Foord forced another final rescue ditch in the opening moments of the second half, earning a corner.

But Eidevall’s side were caught with a counter-attack as Juve took the lead at Turin’s Allianz Stadium.

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And they did so with a clean finish from Miedema’s Dutch teammate Lineth Beereynsteyn, who was put through by Cristiana Girelli.

But Arsenal, anxious not to suffer a second defeat in five days, struck back in the 61st minute.

Frida Maanum’s corner kick found Miedema, who headed home before Peyraud-Magnin prevented Foord from a dramatic late winner.

The 1-1 draw keeps Arsenal top of Group C ahead of their clash with Juve in the Emirates on December 7.

And it denied former Gunners boss Montemurro a chance to win one against his old club, who hopes to return to winning ways next Saturday in the WSL against Everton.

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