Women's Champions League: Rivals will 'dread' drawing Arsenal - Joe Montemurro
- Published
Joe Montemurro's Arsenal side won the Women's Super League last season
Arsenal boss Joe Montemurro says the other Women's Champions League quarter-finalists will dread facing his side just as much as they dread a hard draw.
The Gunners demolished Slavia Prague 8-0 on Thursday to reach the last eight with a ruthless 13-2 aggregate victory.
The quarter-final and semi-final draw will be made on Friday, 8 November.
"It's now a lottery. We know one of the big teams is going to come up soon and we have to be prepared. We have to beat whoever is there," Montemurro said.
"As much as we sort of dread meeting the Lyons and so on, I'm pretty sure they'll dread meeting us too.
"We're not just here to fill up numbers. We're here to go all the way."
Holders Lyon have won the competition four seasons in a row and are among the most formidable of the seven sides the Gunners could face in the quarter-finals, which begin in March.
Last season's beaten finalists Barcelona are also through, along with their compatriots Atletico Madrid, who knocked out Manchester City on Wednesday.
Scottish league winners Glasgow City won on penalties on Thursday to join German giants Bayern Munich and Wolfsburg, as well as two-time finalists Paris St-Germain, in the draw.
Unlike the draws for the first two knockout rounds, no sides will be separated by seeding.
The Gunners are in the competition this term for the first time since 2013-14, having finished outside of England's top two since 2012's summer season, until winning the domestic title last season.
Asked if he was considering adding to his squad in January before the quarter-finals, Montemurro said: "As this stage, no. We're quite happy with the balance of the squad.
"We have fluidity, with players who can play in lots of different positions.
"We play this brand of football to make sure we control what we want to do. We can bring different players in and they can still stick to the same system.
"We want to put the team out of their comfort zone. I'm very happy with the growth of the squad. We play now with a little bit more maturity and comfort."
BBC Sport has launched #ChangeTheGame to showcase female athletes in a way they never have been before. Through more live women's sport available to watch across the BBC in 2019, complemented by our journalism, we are aiming to turn up the volume on women's sport and alter perceptions. Find out more here.