This weekend in Lisbon, Arsenal raised the UEFA Women’s Champions League trophy.
The Gunners came into the final against Barcelona as the undoubted underdogs. However, this position and the stage of a big game seem to be exactly where Arsenal thrives. They came out aggressively putting the favorites on the backfoot for almost the entire first half. Their pressure kept Barcelona’s typically dominant midfield of Alexia Putellas, Patri Guijarro, and Aitana Bonmati relatively quiet. Additionally, Polish striker Ewa Pajor, who’s been having quite the season, was unable to make her typical impact. It’s not as if Barça didn’t have their chances, though. Particularly in the second half it felt like it was only a matter of time before Arsenal would lose its grip on the game. Barcelona seemed to get their footing a bit more, maintaining a constant wave of pressure against Arsenal’s backline. However, there was a forcefield around the Gunners’ goal who’s name is Leah Williamson. Barcelona has so many scoring threats that dealing with their offensive pressure is difficult. If you mark one of their players, another one who’s just as threatening opens up. Despite this, Williamson maintained laser focus and kept Arsenal in the game. In the 67th minute, Beth Mead and Stina Blackstenius came in and within ten minutes forcefully ripped control back into Arsenal’s hands. They combined to put away the only goal of the game. From there, Arsenal was able to hold on for the remainder of the match to earn the title of Champions of Europe.
As a Chelsea fan this matchup felt like a bit of a shoulder shrug in terms of having a preferred winner going in. The storylines of the resulting Arsenal win, though, are undeniable. I don’t think anyone expected Arsenal to be in this position considering where they were at the beginning of the season. They got off to a rocky start in both the Women's Super League and Champions League leading to Head Coach Jonas Eidevall stepping away from the team in October. From there former Assistant Coach Renée Slegers took the helm and turned the team around. They ended the WSL season in second, managed to top their group in Champions League, came back from behind on aggregate in their quarterfinal and semifinal matchups against Real Madrid and Olympique Lyonnais, and finally, defeated the defending champions for the ultimate prize. There’s players like Chloe Kelly who was barely playing at Manchester City and was considering taking a break from football when a loan to Arsenal revitalized her love of the game and she made a tremendous impact. She helped Arsenal win the Champions League while Manchester City ended their season unable to qualify for the tournament next year. Spanish international Mariona Caldentey won her third consecutive Champions League title having moved to Arsenal in the offseason. Often underappreciated and underrated during her 10 years at Barcelona, she quickly became one of the English side’s MVPs. She expressed mixed emotions as she took in the grandiosity of Arsenal’s accomplishment as her friends and former teammates were distraught. Then of course there’s Leah Williams. A lifelong Gooner who was a mascot in 2007 when Arsenal last won the Champions League and 18 years later she lifted the trophy for the club.
It’s hard not to feel joy for 36 year old Renée Slegers, former player turned manager who had to end her playing career early due to injury. She turned Arsenal around when they needed it most and cemented herself in club history. She appears to have a promising coaching career ahead of her. At the beginning of the year the “interim” tag got removed from her title and she’ll be maintaining the reins for the 2025/26 season. It will be interesting to see what she does with an offseason and full season completely in charge with the momentum of this season behind the team.