Up until last season, Arsenal’s 2007 triumph in the Champions League remained the outlier for English clubs, as Barcelona and Lyon passed Europe’s most glamorous honour back and forth from every season from 2016 to 2025.
That 2007 victory felt easy to consign to a bygone era, a legacy of Arsenal’s historic pre-eminence in the game. Even in an age of increased Women’s Super League strength, English teams just weren’t good enough to compete with the best in the world.
That was until May last year. After the seismic achievement of beating Barcelona 1-0 in the final at the José Alvalade Stadium last May, the Gunners looked primed to take a step forward.
Given their domestic form last season, winning the Champions League was both surprising and unprecedented for a side that parted company with Jonas Eidevall in October 2024.
Renée Sleegers had seemingly alighted on a formula to extract the maximum from an ageing squad featuring some of the game’s most recognisable figures. “That’s a proper manager” was Chloe Kelly’s caption on an Instagram post of the cigar-laden trophy celebrations, posing with an arm around her coach. Arsenal’s second-placed finish in the WSL was their highest for three years. Olivia Smith joined in the summer for a record fee.
What followed that glorious triumph has been somewhat strange. After nine league matches, they were fourth, eight points off the top. They lost two of their first three Champions League matches as holders. Murmurs of dressing room division and a lack of strategic direction surfaced. Would an upwardly mobile club still be so reliant on the talents of a 35-year-old Kim Little? Arsenal’s European success once again looked anomalous, the last reflexes of a winning team.
But this week a much-changed side thrashed Leicester 7-0 at the Emirates. It is highly unlikely, but Arsenal remain with a shout of winning their first WSL title since 2019. So they arrived at the Groupama Stadium with a 2-1 aggregate lead and in high spirits.
Lyon started fast. The eight-time winners – by far the most dominant force in this competition’s history – were never going to roll over. Early scares culminated in a penalty given by VAR after a scruffy challenge from Lotte Wubben-Moy on Melchie Dumornay. Wendie Renard remonstrated with the referee over a contentious call for the third time in the tie, then stepped up to take the penalty. It was one of those sliding doors moments where you fancied Arsenal might have ridden their luck and the storm of early Lyon pressure. Daphne van Domselaar initially appeared to save the penalty well, but play was recalled because the keeper stepped off her line too soon.
Renard dispatched the retake, and with that turned the momentum of the tie. Lyon took a deserved 2-0 lead through Kadidiatou Diani before the break.
Arsenal came again, Alessia Russo appearing miraculously at the back post to level the tie with 15 minutes to go.
Newsletters
Choose the newsletters you want to receive
View more
For information about how The Observer protects your data, read our Privacy Policy
It was a semi-automated offside call that decided things. When Jule Brand struck from close range, the goal was initially chalked off. Checks followed. Slegers watched on, anxiously sweeping the hair from her face. The goal was given.
Arsenal couldn’t make it to back-to-back Champions League finals. But they are still a team worthy of these occasions. European success won’t save them this time, but they may yet pull their season from the fire.
Photograph by AP Photo/Laurent Cipriani