There’s just one place to begin this morning and that’s with yesterday’s unimaginable 1-0 win over Barcelona in Lisbon.
A 74th minute aim from substitute Stina Blackstenius, arrange by fellow sub Beth Mead, was sufficient to win the Champions League and crown what’s going to go down as an historic season for Arsenal Ladies. I’m not going to enter all of the nuts and bolts of the sport and the efficiency, I’ll depart that to those that do it much better than me, however to beat this Barcelona crew you’ve started working so arduous and have everybody play at one thing near their greatest degree. That’s what we received.
Big credit score to Renee Slegers and her employees, and as captain Kim Little stated afterwards, they executed the sport plan completely. This was no fluke, this was each single particular person concerned with this crew giving their most. An incredible collective effort which was sufficient to beat in all probability the perfect crew on the planet and to change into Champions of Europe.
I gained’t lie, and I’m certain in case you watched it you’ll have felt the identical, the final a part of the sport felt like an eternity. I couldn’t assist consider how in 2006 we have been principally that near doing it in Paris just for that sport to slide away from us, however we have been defensively so robust, brilliantly organised, and when the 700000 minutes of added time have been up and the ref blew the whistle, I felt very emotional. Not simply because this was a large success for the membership, the supervisor, the gamers, and the followers, however there have been a few different facets in play for me. Let me clarify.
Again in February, our pals and neighbours misplaced their daughter to most cancers. She was simply 19, mad about soccer and never simply watching both – she was a improbable participant too. Her sickness robbed her of that, however throughout that interval she had unimaginable help from the likes of Louise Quinn, Katie McCabe, and others, and there have been journeys to see Arsenal Ladies that have been made particular with behind the scenes stuff. Her mother and father and her brother have been in Lisbon yesterday and within the stands with the Arsenal followers. So, for Aidan, Emma and Con, I used to be so invested on this sport turning out the proper manner.
Protected travels residence you guys, and that was one for Freya ❤️
The opposite one is a bit nearer to residence. Again in 2011 when Arseblog’s future was very a lot on a knife-edge for causes I’ve defined earlier than (OleOle!), I recommended to Tim Stillman that we do a bit extra across the girls’s crew. He was very a lot open to that and already anyone whose data and help of the crew was principally second to none. So, we arrange our devoted Arsenal Ladies part on Arseblog Information.
It took a while to construct an viewers. Initially, we’d get a variety of feedback like ‘Who cares about girls’s soccer?’, and ones which have been way more pejorative and downright sexist. There was some fairly grim stuff, I’ve to let you know, most of which by no means will get seen or will get revealed as a result of we now have methods of filtering that type of crap out. Nevertheless, it took longer than it ought to have for some folks to grasp that in case you don’t like girls’s soccer or tales about Arsenal Ladies, you don’t should click on on them or learn them.
Simply transfer on. Look ahead to the following story. It’s not necessary. Don’t waste everybody’s time by saying ‘Who cares?’. And right here we’re in 2025, and so many individuals care. There’s a massive viewers and big help for Arsenal Ladies which is rising 12 months after 12 months. There’s a podcast which is actually widespread, a weekly publication too, and probably the most in-depth protection of the crew you’ll discover anyplace.
And that’s right down to Tim. He’s received nice entry and nice relationships to offer the depth of protection that he does, however that’s as a result of he has put within the arduous yards and the arduous phrases for years and years and years. Lisbon away profitable the Champions League is likely to be the fruits of nicely over a decade crappy practice journeys to sit down in dodgy grounds to have folks say ‘Arse … Weblog?’ prefer it’s a grimy phrase when he checks into the press field.
Arsenal performed 15 video games to win the Champions League this season, from early qualifying rounds all the way in which to the ultimate, and I believe I’m proper in saying Tim was in any respect of them, residence and away. So, whereas there was some success and trophies alongside the way in which, that is one thing a bit further, one thing particular. He has finished a lot to assist generate curiosity in Arsenal Ladies, to make it straightforward for folks to seek out the knowledge and protection they should drive that curiosity, and by advantage of writing and producing a lot top quality stuff that I’m so proud to present a platform to on this web site.
Chapeau, as they are saying. To Tim, and Jamie and Jason who’re a part of the crew out in Lisbon this weekend too, and all of the contributors down the years. I hope you all had an awesome night time, and let’s hope there’s heaps extra to come back. I liked seeing Ian Wright on the market too, a beautiful supporter and advocate for the ladies’s sport for thus a few years, and boy was he having fun with himself. Rightly so!
I really feel like I’ve barely scratched the floor of all of it. The celebrations have been wonderful, and the post-game interviews on TNT Sports activities have been nice. I notably favored Karen Carney simply throwing down her mic to go and seize folks to come back and speak to them, and the way can I not point out Katie McCabe dropping a stable ‘f*cking’ on reside TV? Shades of Freddie Ljungberg’s ‘It’s f*ckin glorious’, after which a couple of minutes later Leah Williamson joined the membership. Simply wonderful.
— Keithy (@metalgiroud.bsky.social) 2025-05-24T18:15:35.893Z
Anyway, when he will get again, I’m certain Tim could have a podcast with all of the precise evaluation of the sport itself somewhat than the event, however for now, there’s a bit of video under of him and Jamie in Lisbon attempting to make some late-night sense of all of it.
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There’s, in fact, the ultimate Premier League sport of the season immediately, and offering I can discover a stream, we’ll have all the same old protection, reside weblog and so forth, in a while. There doesn’t appear a lot level in previewing it, there’s nothing at stake, and hopefully it’s a pleasant kickabout on the South Coast and three factors for the Gunners to complete off the 2024-25 marketing campaign.
Proper, I’ll catch you later for that sport, for now, take pleasure in your Sunday. Benefit from the highlights and the images and the movies, and luxuriate in that Arsenal Ladies are Champions of Europe.
❤️
