Beth Mead says Arsenal are ready for the "challenge" of playing in the Women's Champions League as the holders, after getting their first win of the season against Benfica.

Arsenal needed two second-half goals to earn their 2-0 victory in Lisbon, with Mead opening the scoring in the 57th minute, before Alessia Russo sealed the win late on.

It was a big win for the reigning champions, who saw their title defence get off to a rocky start after a 2-1 defeat to Lyon, a game in which they had taken the lead.

Arsenal are now 10th in the new-format league table, sitting in the play-off spots after the first two games.

"Once you win it, everyone wants to beat you. And, ultimately, we've got up our game again," Mead told Disney+.

"We had an up-and-down Champions League season last season, and obviously, we don't want to play out like that again.

"But we're looking forward to the challenge. We've got to step up to the challenge, and we've got to be even better than we were last year."

Arsenal dominated for the most part, finishing the match with 68.2% possession and 13 shots, worth 1.8 expected goals (xG).

However, they had to be clinical, scoring with their only two shots on target, while Daphne van Domselaar had to make four saves to preserve her clean sheet.

Head coach Renee Slegers admitted that Arsenal struggled in the first half to break down Benfica but praised her side's patience.

"A good atmosphere, great stadium, great pitch," she told Arsenal's media channels. "It was a nice Champions League night.

"The first half, I think we spent a lot of time in their half. We didn't really move the ball quick enough to create big chances with the possession we had, but I think we did well out of possession and nullified their threat. We had to stay patient, work on the details.

"I'm so happy with the early goal in the second half, and then the energy of the game changers coming in, bringing new energy, bringing new qualities. And then the second goal was really nice for us, of course. Coming from a set-piece, that was really good."