Hello, Arsenal Women aficionados!
It was nervy, it was intense, it was end-to-end football and the Gunners came out on top, despite Chelsea’s best efforts and pressure. Arsenal Women are heading to the UWCL semifinals for the third time in the last four seasons, establishing themselves as a true continental powerhouse in the process, very much in alignment with their pedigree and stature.
Nüsken’s late goal was not enough for Chelsea to overturn the two-goals deficit they took home from their trip to the Emirates Stadium, last week, and while the hair-pulling incident involving Alyssa Thompson and Katie McCabe marred the end of the encounter, the game at Stamford Bridge was highly competitive yet fair and correct, overall. Both teams played hard and went for it throughout the 95 minutes, both had chances to score and both hit the post once, with the ball dancing on the line before heading away from goal.
Photo courtesy of Arsenal.com
Both teams can be proud of their performances over the two legs, and surely this tie will be remembered as one of the tightest yet most entertaining in recent years, which is great for the UWCL and women’s football in general.
Renée Slegers opted against introducing an extra midfielder in place of a striker, hoping to exploit the space behind Chelsea defensive line, and went with a very offensive setup with Alessia Russo, Olivia Smith and Caitlin Foord behind Stina Blackstenius. It was a bold, risky call but the correct one (in my opinion) that sent a clear message to the team: they were not going to sit deep and defend with their backs to the wall, but they were defend from the top and make sure Chelsea knew that they could hit anytime, from anywhere.
The Blues had a lot of chances, very much like in the first leg, and surely can have some regrets about their finishing even without considering Daphne van Domselaar’s outstanding saves, but the visitors had their fair share of chances too, and should have probably done much better with some of the counter-attack opportunities they made for themselves.
There were moments, mostly towards the end of the second half, when they found themselves in 4v4 or even 4-3 situations but failed to pick the right pass, of didn’t show enough conviction with their shots. In a night when several players delivered strong performances, Renée Slegers was probably the best of the lot thanks for her choice before and during the game.
Well done, Renée!
Arsenal Women will play either OL Lyonnes or Wolfsburg, who are coincidentally the last two opponents they played at this stage of the competition, with the Germans taking their one-goal lead to France for the return leg, on Thursday night.
SUPER DAPHNE
Renée Sleger’s decision to select Daphne van Domselaar instead of Anneke Borbe, who has been outstanding in her recent outings, was surprising but very inspired. The Dutch shot-stopper, who didn’t cover herself in glory against Tottenham over the weekend, produced three world-class saves to deny Chelsea and prevent the tie to become even more insufferable that it was.
Photo courtesy of Arsenal.com
The former Aston Villa player was especially impressive when she palmed Nüsken’s header against the post, going full stretch to get enough contact on the ball, and while she was lucky that the ball didn’t go in after hitting the stick, she summoned that luck with a powerful jump and her strong hand.
After a sensational season in 2024/25, Daphne van Domselaar’s form dipped alarmingly this campaign, especially in the opening weeks when her mistakes were as blatant as they were unexpected; then she suffered a big injury and struggled to find a good rhythm, so her performance against Chelsea came at the perfect time, both for the team and for the player herself. It was a nice reminder of her outstanding quality both as a shot-stopper and with ball distribution, as well as her ability to command the penalty box.
Sure, it felt harsh on Anneke Borbe as she was enjoying her football after being propelled from third choice to the starting goalkeeper, but the Dutch is one of the best in the world in her role, so it is just natural to field your best players when they are available.
Hopefully this big performance will serve as a platform for Daphne van Domselaar to enjoy a strong end of the season and help the Gunners in their quest for unprecedented back-to-back success in Europe and a 15th FA Cup.
HAIRGATE AT STAMFORD BRIDGE
Everything happened very quickly, with the game already very tense going into the final minutes, and I had to look back at it several times to form an opinion about the incident involving Alyssa Thompson and Katie McCabe.
Although I believe that the Irish was genuinely going for a shirt pull, it is undeniable that she got the hair, instead, and I struggle to understand how the referee didn’t blow the whistle at all, and how VAR didn’t investigate that.
If the roles were reversed, I would be fuming. There is no shame in admitting that Arsenal Women and Katie McCabe got away with one, at Stamford Bridge, and should consider themselves lucky that they didn’t have to endure the final minutes reduced to ten players.
That said, I believe that the right outcome would have a been a foul and a yellow card because I don’t see any malice of violent conduct from the defender, but a shirt-pull (worth of a yellow card, by the laws of football) that went very bad.
There is still a possibility that Katie McCabe gets a ban through a retroactive look at the incident, if categorized as violent conduct, so Arsenal Women and the player are not yet off the hook for this one.
It would be a shame if this incident became the focal point of any discussion about a thrilling, entertaining and quality football game, because Wednesday’s night showdown was the best possible advertising job for the UWCL and women’s football in general, both because of the physical efforts done by the players and the technical level on show by players like Nüsken, James, Kerr, Russo, Mariona and many others.
Photo courtesy of Arsenal.com
“WERE WE AWAY FROM HOME?”
This was Lotte Wubben-Moy’s cheeky answer when asked about the support from Arsenal fans at Stamford Bridge, and it is easy to see why the England defender was so impressed with the away end.
Despite being obviously outnumbered in south London, the Arsenal supporters were louder and “outsang Chelsea fans tenfold” to quote Lotte Wubben-Moy, showing once again that they are by far the most loyal, the most vocal and the most present fanbase in the United Kingdom.
Beyond posting great attendance numbers on regular basis and registering record attendance after record attendance, the Arsenal Women supporters have quietly built their own universe and became their own force.
Photo courtesy of Arsenal.com
It must be said that the club worked extremely well to help consolidating the fanbase, promoting and marketing the games and the Arsenal Women world overall, taking down any barrier between the men’s team and the women’s team in their noble quest for equal exposure and equal consideration (equal pay is a different matter…), proving that the “one club” message they were promoting wasn’t a buzzword, but a true target.
The support from the fans proved to be a major contributor to the team’s success, both at Meadow Park and the Emirates Stadium, the latter becoming one of those intimidating places where visitors cannot play with their usual freedom and calmness.
NEXT UP
No rest for the Arsenal Women team, who will host Brighton at the Emirates Stadium on Sunday, in what will be the last game before the international break.
I guess we can expect a little drop from the players after such a demanding game away at Chelsea, but there is a place in the FA Cup semifinals at stake, and hopefully the team will give a final push.
Renée Slegers can rotate thanks to the squad depth, and give players a rest before the break: we could see Smilla Holmberg, Taylor Hinds, Victoria Pelova a start, with players like Chloe Kelly and Beth Mead (who has been recalled to the England team) playing a lot of minutes, too.
Speak to you soon!
Italian living in Switzerland, Gooner since mid-nineties, when the Gunners defeated my hometown team, in Copenhagen. I started my own blog and podcast (www.clockenditalia.com) after after some experiences with Italian websites and football magazines. Covering Arsenal Women with the occasional rant about the boys.
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