Arsenal crashed out of the Champions League in dramatic and heart-breaking circumstances, as an error at the back from Lotte Wubben-Moy lead to Pauline Bremer bundling home a 119th minute winner to settle a thrilling contest that had lasted over two legs and almost 30 minutes of extra time.
From Lower Saxony to North London, this was a Semi Final for the ages, with two teams who could not find themselves in more contrasting circumstances. Wolfsburg, now boasting a fully fit squad with the return of Popp, are such frequent visitors to the Semi Final stage that one must wonder if they are due a loyalty card in honour. Experience at this level flows through the team and the club, but also a level of underachievement, having only claimed two UWCL titles, often struggling to usurp the titan of Lyon during their assault on Europe.
For Arsenal, this was a first dance at this level since 2013. Not only do they lack experience, they also lack the players, with 4 first team players ruled out for the season, and Caitlin Foord also not able to get fit in time (How Arsenal missed her wing play on the night). Yet despite being down to their barebones, robbed of their star quality, Arsenal have soldiered on. The setbacks have fostered a sense of defiance within the squad, a refusal to accept their situation as a cause for failure, to use it as an excuse for failing to succeed. It has seen them fight back to win a Conti Cup Final, mount a stirring comeback against Man City, rescue the tie against Bayern, and in the first leg away at Wolfsburg, claw back a 2-0 deficit to level the tie, and give themselves a fighting chance back at Emirates Stadium. Arsenal were a lightweight boxer, overcoming the odds and fighters twice their size to, who had now found themselves in the ring with a seasoned pro where surely their plucky race would final end. This was David vs Goliath, spirit and courage vs experience and ruthlessness. But Arsenal would not be in fight alone.
Since the end of COVID restrictions, the return of fans to stadium, and the promise by the club to do better after the ESL farce, Arsenal have been making the first steps towards utilising Emirates Stadium as a frequent venue for the Women’s team.
4 games were shown last season (2x WSL, 2x UWCL), and this was upped again with 3x WSL games this season, and more importantly, Arsenal’s entire UWCL campaign (after the play-offs). WSL attendances had been strong, but UWCL had lagged behind. But after their thrilling comeback win over Bayern Munich, the chance to potentially witness Arsenal achieve something remarkable was too good for fans to look away, especially after their courageous 2-2 draw in the first leg.
i’d just like to say that this is such brilliant marketing and i really, really love my club 🥲🫶 pic.twitter.com/8eqH9frc2h
— el (@mybadwosotakes) April 28, 2023
A brilliant online marketing campaign helped the tickets flow, until confirmation came the day before the match, that the Emirates Stadium had managed to sell out a Women’s game for the first time. It was the accumulation of a lot of hard work by those at the club, the players and the fans over the last 2 years, leading to this momentous achievement. And every one of them made their voices heard, generating an incredible atmosphere that helped carry the team though an intense, absorbing, gripping showdown.
Last night was a special one ✨ pic.twitter.com/meOFtcxkKO
— Nancy Baker (@NanceBaker) May 2, 2023
The 60,063 sell-out crowd had barely sat in their seats when they were stood up in indignation, as a lengthy VAR check threatened to gift Wolfsburg a penalty withing the first minute, thanks to a handball by Wubben-Moy. A tight offside call ultimately spared her, but it also hinted at the cruel twist of fate to come. Arsenal fed of that stroke of luck, and were gifted another when Hendrich, chasing the ball back to her keeper, floundered under pressure from Blackstenius. Stina picked her pocket, rounded the keeper, and slotted home to send the home fans into ecstasy.
What a start, @SBlackstenius 🤩 pic.twitter.com/OxzQ7BljOq
— Arsenal Women (@ArsenalWFC) May 1, 2023
Another lengthy VAR check followed, but it only hyped the crowd up further when the goal was allowed. For the first time in the tie, Arsenal were ahead, and had the chances to extend it further. McCabe and Pelova had darts through the middle but lacked the pace to clear the chasing defence. A scramble at a corner saw Stina swivel and shoot, only to fire directly at Frohms. It was a costly miss. A cheap concession of a free kick from Maritz gifted Wolfsburg a set piece opportunity, and from it, Jill Roord fired a low drive past her former teammates and the dive of Zinsberger to once again level the game just at end of the half.
Arsenal responded in the second half in electrifying fashion, scoring what would have been one of the goals of the game. A slicing pass from Frida, the Wolfsburg defence in full retreat, a well weighted cross from Maritz, and Blackstenius was on hand to smash home the volley to put Arsenal ahead once more. Alas, it was not to be, as this time, Arsenal’s VAR luck ran out, as Maritz was offside in the build-up.
The momentum swung back to Wolfsburg, and they began to squeeze the pressure further with a succession of corners, until Popp got a near post glance on one to put Wolfsburg back in control of the tie.
𝗣𝗼𝗽𝗽ing up in the box 💥@alexpopp11 with her 150th goal for the She-Wolves 🟢#UWCL // @VfL_Frauen pic.twitter.com/fCVxSKnwlF
— UEFA Women’s Champions League (@UWCL) May 4, 2023
In response, Jonas made the changes, taking of Maritz (who was on a yellow) and Stina (who had an issue with her quad), for Wienroither and Hurtig, fresh from return from injury. Lina Hurtig has barely featured for Arsenal this season, due to a mixture of form and injury, and it showed as she struggled to integrate properly with the Arsenal attack. The tie at this point was Wolfsburg’s for the taking, and yet, just like in the first leg in Germany, they failed to kill the tie. Svenja Huth was guilty of a passing up a glorious opportunity, dragging a shot wide when clear on the right of the box.
Jonas shuffled his formation, moving to a back 4 and making Jen Beattie an auxiliary striker, a throwback to the early years of her career. The change worked, as from a set piece, Wubben-Moy recycled a cross into the box, and Beattie was there to glance home the equaliser. Despite the protestations from the Wolfsburg players, as one of their players lay prone in the box, and two lengthy VAR checks, the goal stood, re-igniting the passion in the crowd, installing belief within them that this Arsenal side could still achieve the unbelievable.
Arsenal made it to the bell, relived that, despite everything, they were still in the contest, still fighting away, still landing the hits. But now that lightweight boxer had gone that one round too many. Bloodied and bruised, a cut right lip and a swollen left cheek, one eye half closed, body swaying as they attempted to find their balance in the game. You couldn’t blame them if they opted to throw the towel in there and then. But Arsenal’s stubborn streak just wouldn’t let this contest end, even as players fell around them, be it Beattie suffering with cramp, or Wienroither being forced to exit on a stretcher with another confirmed ACL injury. They still believed that the now seemingly impossible was still possible. All they needed was a chance.
Laura Wienroither suffered a ruptured anterior cruciate ligament at Emirates Stadium on Monday evening.
We're all thinking of you, Laura ❤️
— Arsenal Women (@ArsenalWFC) May 4, 2023
And in extra time, Arsenal had the chances. Hurtig almost had her ‘moment’, when she met Frida’s low cross with a toe poke, only for Frohms to instinctively save with her foot. McCabe went closer, seeing her looping cross crash off the bar. But as the minutes ticked down, as the final whistle drew nearer and the prospect of a penalty shootout loomed ominously on the horizon, Arsenal faltered. Lotte Wubben-Moy attempted to check pass her pressing attacked, as she had done all game to good effect to generate space. On this occasion, the move failed. Her pocket was picked, the defensive line was in taters, and the low cross was stabbed at the back post by Bremer, leading to scenes of jubilation on the Wolfsburg bench, whilst the Arsenal players lay scattered on the turf. It was a devasting blow to the solar plexus, which saw the Gunners finally collapse onto the canvas, as their brave, battered side were finally beaten in the cruellest of circumstances.
To blame the defeat on Lotte would be grossly unfair, as defensive mistakes had plagued this tie long before Lotte’s error sealed the game. It was an error between Rafa and Jen that led to Wolfsburg going 2-0 up in the tie in the first leg. It was a soft and needless free kick conceded by Maritz to gift Wolfsburg a route back into a game Arsenal had control over. What will infuriate Jonas is that this was a game Arsenal could have won, and the only reason Wolfsburg were kept in the tie was because mistakes inflicted by themselves. The coup de grace came about purely from fatigue. Mental and physical fatigue, not just in this game, but over a gruelling series of matches, with no room for rotation or change, with an injury crisis only worsening as the few that remain are pushed beyond their limits out of necessity. And all this in a tie where Arsenal were always chasing, always catching up. Across the 210+ minutes, they had their noses in front for only 30 of them, never able to take control, never able to pull away and settle. Their pluck and courage warranted a 30-minute final crack at it, and maybe even the lottery of penalties. But on a balance as fine as the margins of the game itself, Wolfsburg did enough to warrant passage to Eindhoven. And in truth, out of the two sides, a full-strength Wolfsburg are more likely to give Barcelona a game over Arsenal’s patched up and proud side.
Written by Adam Salter
