Arsenal stars react after historic Champions League triumph over Barcelona

Image credit: Getty Images

So many Arsenal players have reacted to the Gunners stunning 1:0 win over defending Champions Barcelona to bag the 2025 Women’s Champions League title.

Barcelona came into the final game on the back of a stunning 8:2 thrashing of Chelsea in the semi-finals. Arsenal at the other end had to work hard to overturn a 2:1 deficit at the Emirates stadium to Lyon with a 4:1 thrashing of the eight times European Champions at the Parc Des Princes.

Arsenal captain Kim Little expressed her pride and joy after leading her team to a historic 1-0 victory over Barcelona in the Champions League final. “We knew coming into this game we had to basically be perfect. One of the best teams [Barcelona] in Europe in recent years. It is very special for me,” Little said, according to TNT Sports. “I have been at the club a very long time and we have had incredible periods where we have been successful.

The club won it in 2007. I signed a year after that, so to still be at the club after that long period and to see how much it has done to progress the women’s game and invest in us as players and as a club. It is truly special to be sitting here now off the back of winning the ultimate trophy. Definitely the best moment of my career.”

Little also praised her team’s execution of their game plan, saying, “We spoke a lot about the rotations [of Barcelona] and how best to deal with them. We tried some different things during the week that didn’t work well. Tried to play against that with our players and we changed it until we could accept a lot of their runs and movement, but also allow them to mostly play in front of us. It was kind of the perfect execution of a game plan. Which as a footballer is one of the best things.”

READ MORE: Why Arsenal may back out of Real Madrid’s Rodrygo chase

Arsenal midfielder Mariona Caldentey, who played against her former side Barcelona, was overjoyed with the win. “We played very well, especially defensively. We suffered a lot because to play against Barcelona and these players is very difficult, but we defended well and played a bit on the counter, which is not our style but we knew that was what would help us to win,” Caldentey told DAZN. “It served us well. We knew we were going to suffer and that they were going to play a lot, dominate the ball and we were not going to have much of it. We had to make this change of approach against them because they are the best in the world at it, and we defended very well.”

Caldentey also praised her team’s talent and dedication, saying, “We are a very talented team with a lot of weapons and at the end of the day this is football and anything can happen. For what we achieved in the knockout rounds against Real Madrid, against Lyon, we deserved to be here. At the end of the day it is a 90-minute game, we knew we could do it and we did.”

Arsenal boss Renee Slegers was thrilled with her team’s performance, saying, “We knew that decision making was going to be key, for the players on the pitch and us as staff. The whole staff has prepared everything so well with so much detail that and we knew in the moment we had to make the decision from the side line. What to do, what not to do, what to change and what nor to change. The ones on the field, the ones that came in, everyone did so well.”

CLICK HERE TO JOIN THE NOW ARSENAL WHATSAPP GROUP CHAT NOW!

Slegers also praised the impact of her substitutes, saying, “We made a change to a back five, brought in players that could defend the box and they did it ever so well. You need a bit of luck but I think that luck comes from us doing so well in the different phases of the game and I am so happy and proud of everyone.”

Goalscorer Stina Blackstenius was ecstatic about her team’s win, saying, “I just can’t believe it – all of it. It was such a team performance from the very beginning until the very end and I just can’t believe it – we won the Champions League and we get to celebrate it. It hasn’t sunk in yet.” Blackstenius also praised her team’s journey, saying, “I’m so proud of our journey, how we came here and how we managed the game today.”

Former Arsenal striker Ian Wright was delighted for the team, saying, “I’m delighted for them, nobody gave us a chance really, especially after the last couple of games we’ve played. I was worried for them with the amount of goals we were conceding. But today Leah, Steph at the back, everybody. I don’t want to mention any names because they’ve all done the job that needed to be done.”

Fara Williams, a former Arsenal midfielder, praised the team’s consistency and mentality, saying, “For Arsenal it has never been in question how good they are as a group of players or individually how good they are, the question has always been the consistency, a little bit the mentality. We’ve heard Renee Slegers say when she took over, the shift in their mentality and that’s what they’ve needed. They’ve shown consistency from the takeover and it’s something they need to take into next season if they are to really compete with this Chelsea team.”

Kelly Smith, a former Arsenal striker and current coach, praised the team’s hard work and dedication, saying, “What this team has done this year is phenomenal.

NEXT ARTICLE: Kevin De Bruyne says one Arsenal player was ‘so good ‘ in Manchester City goodbye speech