The wondergoal that changed everything for Arsenal in the Women’s Champions League
You must have seen the goal by now. You must have. If not, go and find it, and drink in its four seconds of angular magnificence. It’s the goal that changed everything for Arsenal, on the night they truly made the Emirates their home in the Women’s Champions League.
There have been so many nearly-moments in this competition, some of them here. Occasions where Arsenal didn’t look up to this level or ready for this stage. This could have been another: Arsenal were 10 years without a Champions League semi-final, Bayern Munich arrived on the back of a 14-match win streak, and with a one-goal advantage.
How Frida Maanum changed that. How Lia Walti changed that, with her first-time pass through to Stina Blackstenius to start it all. Then there was the lay-off to Leah Williamson, intricate and precise, leading to the flick. How the Arsenal captain saw Maanum is another question, but it formed a neat square on the edge of the Bayern box. Maanum took two steps back and swung, the shot rising perfectly, completing a sequence of meticulous touches, an exhibition of trigonometry.
Yes, Bayern had played themselves into trouble, not once but twice. In what was a cagey start to the second leg, the German side looked to draw Arsenal out and were beginning to exert control in a quarter-final that had been finely poised since last Tuesday night in Munich. But Arsenal raised it here to a level here that Bayern simply could not match, their only threat coming from a flurry of corners early in the second half. In the end, Tuva Hansen’s loose ball out from defence was when it started to slip away.
From there Arsenal were outstanding, their attacking play sublime, as Jonas Eidevall’s side blew the Bundesliga leaders apart. Victoria Pelova, whose introduction on the right side of Arsenal’s attack helped change the tie, was a menace and pinned back the dangerous Klara Buhl. Katie McCabe and Caitlin Foord overwhelmed Maxi Rall on the opposite flank. Blackstenius, playing with freedom and confidence, pieced it together. Williamson, Manuum and Walti operated superbly - so much of their play was instinctive and one-touch.
Bayern were stunned, dazed by the sight of Arsenal in full flight. Blackstenius made it two with a header from close range after McCabe skipped past Rall and produced a wonderful, dinked cross to the six-yard line. Williamson went close with a back-post header, set up superbly by Foord. Blackstenius hooked wide before Lotte Wubben-Moy’s sliced cross struck the bar, with Maria Luisa Grohs beaten. The Bayern goalkeeper could have conceded four of five by half time.
The regret from Arsenal, for all of their scintillating play, was that they didn’t reach the four or five their play deserved. Bayern remained in the tie on the scoreboard. They threatened from set-pieces but offered little else, despite the lingering sense of unease that comes with a slender one-goal lead. Arsenal created fewer moments of danger after the break, but the quality remained devastatingly high. McCabe went close after a dazzling run. Foord should have buried Bayern after a delightful flick from the brilliant Maanum, who had set the Gunners on their way.
How Arsenal needed a moment like that. The Gunners performed well in Munich and did everything but score, with two shots cleared off the line and another thudding off the post at the Allianz Arena. Arsenal lost captain Kim Little to injury in the opening 10 minutes, as the ball squirmed and slipped out of reach on a lightning fast surface following a flurry of heavy rain at the Emirates. Bayern were beginning to put passing sequences, sucking out any momentum, but then Williamson pushed into midfield. The England captain was immense and Arsenal started to play on a different level.
The rest of the Champions League will take notice. The semi-finals have been something of a closed shop in recent years and only six teams, including Bayern, have reached the semi-finals since 2018. Arsenal are there now and will have nothing to fear when they face either Paris Saint-Germain or Wolfsburg. The Emirates will rise too, as it did tonight with a record attendance of 21,307 in the competition. Arsenal only managed a quarter of that this time last year, as they suffered a familiar exit in the quarter-finals. But their fortunes in Europe have now changed, on the night where Arsenal truly arrived.
