Author: Kristina Němcová (@stinanemcova)
No Gooner will ever forget May 24, 2025, and the words "It's Arsenal. It's Arsenal. Champions of Europe!" Arsenal was considered a complete underdog in the final and almost dropped out of the competition twice. What path led to this dream moment?
In the previous section, we recalled how Arsenal reached the knockout stage. It was not an easy journey. Already in the group stage, they suffered a heavy 2:5 defeat to Bayern Munich, and the Gooners were also troubled by Juventus, against whom they were unable to score at home for a long time.
Despite a few setbacks, they ultimately won their group with a two-point lead over Bayern Munich, and their first opponent in the quarterfinals was Real Madrid. The famous white ballet is overshadowed by Barcelona in the Spanish Liga F, but it is still a very tough and complex opponent full of interesting players, such as young star Linda Caicedo.
The Arsenal players themselves found this out on March 18, when they suffered another heavy defeat in Madrid in heavy rain. It was difficult to play on the rain-damaged pitch, and the Arsenal players did not perform well. In addition to the disappointment of the pitch conditions, there was also concern that their quest for the trophy would end in the quarterfinals, as Real Madrid had scored two goals at home against Arsenal.
However, the Arsenal players still had another 90 minutes to play at home at the Emirates in front of their own fans. The first half did not bring a goal for Arsenal, time was running out, and nerves were fraying. The players faced the task of scoring three goals in 45 minutes, which is no easy task.
It's hard to say what was said in the locker room during the break, but it clearly had an effect. Alessia Russo scored in the 46th minute to make it 2:1, and Mariona Caldentey, a former Barcelona player, equalized three minutes later to make it 2:2.
Now, one goal was enough to avoid a penalty shootout. And Alessia Russo delivered it in the 59th minute. The only thing missing from a perfect evening for the English striker, who joined the club in 2023 as a free agent, was a hattrick, which was denied her due to offside. However, we believe that she did not mind at all, given that she played a key role in advancing to the semifinals. Like the men's team, the women knocked Real Madrid out of the Champions League quarterfinals and faced the French team.
While the men faced PSG, which proved to be their final stop, the women faced the much-feared Lyon, a club that has won an incredible eight Champions League trophies. The Gooners also suffered a loss in the form of an injury to their goalkeeper Daphne van Domselaar, who had to be replaced by Manuela Zinsberger. It was van Domselaar who had been a great support to the club in previous matches.
This time, Arsenal started on their home soil. Unfortunately, it didn't work out for them. Kadidiatou Diani opened the scoring. In the second half, Mariona Caldentey managed to equalize, but the illusion that the rematch in France would be evenly matched was shattered by Melchie Dumornay, who increased the score to 2:1 in the second half.
This time, the Gooners were only one goal down, but the rematch was played away on the opponent's field. Moreover, Lyon is one of the most feared and toughest opponents. The only thing Arsenal could look forward to was the return of van Domselaar to the goal after injury and the previous experience that nothing is lost until the final whistle blows.
And so it was. Hope dawned right at the start, when Frida Maanum shot at goal in the fifth minute and the ball went behind home goalkeeper Edler. The score was level and Arsenal had hope. And once again, it was the Russo/Caldentey duo who were responsible for turning the score around in added time in the first half.
Arsenal went into the half-time break feeling excited. They were in the lead and the dream final was within reach. More precisely, only a clean sheet and 45 minutes stood between them.
And as is usual, Alessia Russo scored again in the 46th minute, and Caitlin Foord secured a comfortable lead with another goal. The final was now within reach. Lyon managed to reduce the deficit slightly at the end of the match with a goal from Dumornay, but they couldn't do any more than that.
The footage of Chloe Kelly, Katie McCabe, Laia Codina, and Manuela Zinsberger tensely counting down the last seconds separating their club from the Champions League final subsequently became iconic and went viral. The players ran joyfully onto the pitch to enthusiastic chants of "Vamoooos."
Arsenal reached the Champions League final for the first time in 18 years, even though they had to come from behind twice in the playoffs. The fairy tale could have been even better. We already know that the fairy tale had a happy ending for Arsenal. We'll discuss that in the third part.
