Arsenal Win 'ultimate Trophy' With 'more To Come'

Captain Kim Little says Arsenal's Women's Champions League triumph is nan "best moment" of her career, while Gunners head Renee Slegers believes this is conscionable nan commencement for nan club.

Substitute Stina Blackstenius scored nan only extremity arsenic Arsenal hit reigning champions Barcelona 1-0 in nan Lisbon final.

It is simply a 2nd title for nan only English women's broadside to beryllium champions of Europe, adding to their 2007 victory.

"It felt for illustration this was our year," said Little. "It's genuinely special, winning nan eventual trophy.

"It's decidedly nan champion infinitesimal of my career. I've been astatine nan nine a agelong clip - I signed a twelvemonth aft they won successful 2007 truthful to still beryllium astatine nan nine and spot really overmuch it has done to advancement nan women's game, it's very special."

This was a trophy nan Gunners could not person expected to triumph erstwhile they began nan title successful nan first qualifying information backmost successful September.

The last was their 15th lucifer of a rollercoaster campaign.

A humiliating 5-2 nonaccomplishment to Bayern Munich successful October was then-manager Jonas Eidevall's past European crippled successful complaint pinch Slegers moving up from adjunct coach, firstly arsenic interim head earlier being awarded nan occupation connected a full-time ground successful January.

"It's been a awesome time," she said. "There are truthful galore things that person happened and truthful galore difficult times we've gone done together. We've ever fought backmost and nan belief was increasing each azygous day.

"Of people we're going to bespeak and return it in. We've achieved thing tremendous but there's moreover much successful this team. That's almost nan scary part."

Little and England skipper Leah Williamson were 2 of nan Gunners champion players successful Portugal and they jointly lifted nan trophy amid nan celebrations connected nan pitch.

For Williamson, who held nan Women's Euros trophy aloft 3 years agone pursuing England's 2-1 triumph complete Germany astatine Wembley, it was a typical infinitesimal astatine nan nine she has ever supported.

When Arsenal won nan title successful 2007, a 10-year-old Williamson had been 1 of nan mascots for nan 2nd limb lucifer against Swedish broadside Umea.

"Eighteen years is simply a agelong clip to hold for something," said nan now 28-year-old. "I've won each home trophy pinch Arsenal now truthful connected a individual level I'm proud of that.

"We turned up to effort and do a occupation and we did it and we're taking nan trophy home. I person a norm not to look astatine nan scoreboard and I collapsed it 3 times."

Barcelona, who won nan title successful each of nan past 2 seasons, put Arsenal nether unit for ample parts of nan final.

However, nan 67th-minute preamble of Beth Mead and Blackstenius proved important arsenic nan England guardant group up nan Swede to people nan winning goal.

"A batch of happy tears," said an affectional Mead, who celebrated pinch her family. "I'm proud of being capable to do what we did and spot my dada astatine nan end.

"It's been a unsmooth fewer years, evidently missing my mum [who passed distant successful January 2023] and it's nan first clip I've had a large last without her being here. She very overmuch was watching complete me."

Former Gunners defender Jen Beattie said: "Arsenal came into this arsenic complete underdogs. You're talking astir a squad that has dominated, won nan past 2 Champions Leagues, stormed to nan final, unthinkable aggregate scores against Bayern Munich and Chelsea - who dominated nan WSL this year.

"To triumph nan Champions League, you're marking your spot successful history. They will go legends."

Former England midfielder Izzy Christiansen, speaking connected BBC Radio 5 Live, said: "I honestly could not beryllium happier for Arsenal. This is an outrageous achievement.

"Against nan European champions, to execute nan gameplan to nan cleanable grade of measurement. The processes were location and nan value was there. They produced nan unthinkable, they destroyed Barcelona.

"Arsenal defended for illustration existent warriors and it is nan astir unthinkable story. They merit each ounce of this. Nobody will judge nan effect this will have."

Karen Carney was portion of nan Arsenal broadside that won nan 2007 title and felt nan Gunners' latest accomplishment would motivate early generations.

"Maybe this group has inspired nan adjacent small woman to deliberation she tin spell and triumph a Champions League," she said.

"I support going backmost to Leah Williamson being a ballgirl. Who's going to beryllium that adjacent small woman to assistance it? It's perfectly brilliant."

There are plans for a ceremony successful London connected Monday and erstwhile Arsenal striker Ian Wright, speaking connected TNT Sports, said nan accomplishment had "saved nan club" aft nan "embarrassment" of nan men's broadside failing to triumph a trophy successful 2024-25.

He added: "We've sewage thing to celebrate. Of people they request a parade.

"Nobody gave them a chance. Even I was saying it's going to beryllium tough.

"They [Barcelona] mean 4 goals a game.

"We needed to people goals to make judge we hit them, successful nan extremity it was only one. Everyone wrote them off. They merit everything they are getting, each nan accolades.

"This is simply a magnificent achievement. Look really acold it's come. I retrieve erstwhile nan Champions League was astatine Boreham Wood. Look wherever we are and Arsenal winning it, it's amazing."