Hello, Arsenal Women aficionados!
Arsenal Women are WORLD CHAMPIONS! The Gunners got the best of Corinthians after a fierce battle and brought home the inaugural FIFA Women’s Champions Cup trophy, writing their name in the history books.
On top of the being and first and only English club to lift the UWCL (twice), Arsenal will forever be the first ever club to lift the FWCC trophy, which adds to the club’s list of records.
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Photo courtesy of Arsenal.com
After gliding past AS FAR from Morocco with a thumping six-nil win on Saturday, Renée Slegers’ team were presented with a more complex challenge when Corinthians took the pitch, at the Emirates Stadium. The Brazilians, who stunned Gotham FC in the semifinal, showed great organization, energy and physicality to peg Arsenal back twice during normal time, the last through a very generous penalty awarded with seconds remaining, following a challenge from Katie McCabe on Gisela Robledo.
It took Caitlin Foord’s moment of magic towards the end of the first half of extra time to bring the FWCC trophy home, with the Australian released through the left channel by Frida Maanum, who won the ball in midfield and orchestrated a lethal counterattack.
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Photo courtesy of Arsenal.com
Caitlin Foord drove into the box and, instead of cutting in on her right foot, chose to strike with her left foot and aim for the near post, which seemed to surprise the goalkeeper.
BIG EARNINGS, BIG INVESTMENTS?
It was one of the most discussed topics, leading to the inaugural edition of the FIFA Women’s World Championship, and while it somewhat “soils” the narrative, it is true that the unprecedented money prize at stake (£ 1.7m) represented a very good reason to take the competition very seriously.
Along with the trophy and having their names written in the history books, Arsenal Women are bringing home a fat check that hopefully will help the club building a squad capable of mounting a sustainable title challenge against the likes of Chelsea and Manchester City.
The club is already at the top of the European football pyramid in terms of revenue, with a stunning £ 5.9m earned through matchday, twice as much as Chelsea and Barcelona, so they seem to be in a very healthy position to improve their squad and add the missing pieces that would take the team to the next level, starting from next season.
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Photo courtesy of Arsenal.com
The unexpected UWCL triumph and the first FWCC trophy should serve as the springing board to go and bring home the WSL title, rather than the pinnacle of Renée Slegers’ tenure.
NO TIME TO REST
I hope the players will celebrate their latest achievement, but not too long, and not too hard: February is going to be a pivotal month for the club, as all-important games will pile up in the coming weeks.
First, Arsenal will host Manchester City at the Emirates Stadium, then they will play the two-legged UWCL playoff against OH Leuven to book their place in the quarterfinals, where Chelsea awaits.
In between, they will travel to Brighton, and on the 22nd they will welcome Bristol City to Meadow Park in the fifth round of the FA Cup.
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Photo courtesy of Arsenal.com
Getting in the quarterfinals of the UWCL and continuing the quest for a fifteenth FA Cup will be paramount to keeping the season on track and ensure that the club stay competitive on every possible front, especially now that the WSL and the League Cup are gone.
There must be a feeling of envy, among the players, seeing Manchester City putting an end to Chelsea dominance in the league in such a spectacular fashion, and I can’t help but wonder if players feel and believe that they could be those taking the champions down, rather than Manchester City.
Getting another big win would surely help building this belief, so the hope is that we will see the best version of the Arsenal Women team, very much like we did against Chelsea and Corinthians.
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Photo courtesy of Arsenal.com
NEXT UP
As said, no time to rest for the Gunners, as they welcome Manchester City to the Emirates Stadium on Sunday, 8th of February. Vivianne Miedema’s team crushed Chelsea last weekend and basically sealed their first title since 2016, putting an end to Chelsea’s dominance over the last six seasons.
It could well be a matter of who handles the “big win hangover” between Arsenal and Manchester City, but Arsenal Women will have much more at stake because they saw Tottenham and Manchester United win and putting pressure on the race for the UWCL places, so they might have that little bit of motivation to edge the elected-champions.
Beating Manchester City after defeating Chelsea at Stamford Bridge would be a massive achievement, but the Citizens are on an astonishing streak of thirteen consecutive league wins, after losing the opening game at Chelsea, and are heavily favourites to grab the three points.
Speak to you soon!
Logo Twitter - 21-22 - Trasparente
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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