Arsenal Women victorious in close-fought Champions League Final

After 18 years, Arsenal Women have won the Champions League once again since their 2007 campaign. Comparing their 12 conceded goals to Barcelona’s 19 goals scored in each team’s respective last three games before the monumental final, the odds were stacked against the English team. But, after a fierce performance from the Gunners, they left Lisbon with another star on their badge and the second European trophy of any English club in the women’s game.

Arsenal’s journey to the final can only be described as tumultuous, having to first survive the qualifying stages they were not able to overcome the previous year after finishing third in the WSL in the 23/24 season. A 5-2 defeat to Bayern Munich in early October, days before manager Jonas Eidevall resigned from his position, put them in a precarious position in the group stages, but after Renee Sledgers took the reins, their luck seemed to turn around. It wasn’t until their first leg against Real Madrid, losing 2-0 away, that the fear of leaving yet another Champions League campaign became more real under the new manager. Despite entering the second leg with a deficit, the Gunners managed a fantastic turnaround at the Emirates stadium, thrashing Real Madrid 3-0 in order to continue to the semifinals of the competition, where they faced the eight-time Champions League winning giants Olympic Lyonnais. Once again, the first leg proved challenging, but a stunning comeback performance in Lyon had Arsenal’s place in the final secured.

Arsenal managed to claim their second European title and cement themselves in English, Arsenal and footballing history

Prior to the match, the buzz around the game was electric. Arsenal invited members of the original 2007 team for a lunch, showing just how important the team reaching this milestone is to this club, and showered the current team with notes from fans and staff to support them in their challenge. The underdogs of the match, yet they managed to suffocate the opposition on the pitch, pressing high consistently and halting every opportunity Barcelona had. Reaching half-time goalless was a feat in and of itself, but the second half displayed Arsenal’s full potential when the substitutes, Beth Mead and Stina Blackstenius, had immediate impact and ultimately scored the winning and only goal in the 74th minute. Caldentey to Mead to Blackstenius. 1-0 to Arsenal. The Arsenal fans were in the minority this match, with Barcelona fans being the loudest and largest, but they still managed to defeat the defending champions and claim their second European title and cement themselves in English, Arsenal and footballing history.

Clearly a huge moment for the club, Renée Slegers commented commented after the game how “proud” she was of the team and their performance. “…you can have all these ideas in your head and show videos and use your tactics board and all those things, but when the moment is actually there, to then execute this in a Champions League final, it says so much about the players,” she continued. Under her managerial reign, Arsenal maintained a strong defence and a constant threat. “…the way we managed the game…was unbelievable… We were spot on in the crucial moments.” She is the first ever Dutch manager to have won a Champions League trophy in the women’s game.

The impact of the win will undoubtably continue to improve the status of women’s football

The teams phenomenal display of football, in particular from defender Leah Williamson, ensured their victory, with a powerful and unmoving defensive performance that did not allow Barcelona to be as threatening as they usually are. At the post-match celebration at Armoury Square by the Emirates Stadium, Williamson commented on the difficulty of defending against Barcelona. “It was a bit of an onslaught at times but we did good, we stuck at it as a team, we had a game plan and everybody delivered.” “ My club, my Arsenal, Champions League winners, European Champions, let’s go!”

Arsenal’s captain, Kim Little, who has led the team since 2018, and has made over 300 appearances for her club, notes how “special” this win is both for women’s football and for her personally. Naming it “the best moment of [her] career”, she says, “the club won it in 2007 and I signed the year after that. To still be at the club now and see how much it has done to progress the women’s game and invest in us as players and as a club, it is truly special.”

The impact of the win will undoubtably continue to improve the status of women’s football, not only in general, but specifically in England. Arsenal have shown that an English club can claim victory over Spanish, French, and German giants, and permanently cemented their worth as Champions of Europe.