The roles in the most recent UEFA Women's Champions League final seemed pretty much defined in the run-up to the match: three-time winners Barcelona faced Arsenal, who had last ascended the European football throne in 2007. While half of Europe were betting on the Catalan favourites, the Gunners ended up causing quite an upset by being crowned the queens of Europe.
On Tuesday evening (18.45 CET, get your tickets now!), FC Bayern Women host the reigning Champions League winners at the Allianz Arena. fcbayern.com takes a look at the Gunners' glorious history, their current form and previous encounters with FCB.
The record chasers from the English capital
Vic Akers, the then Arsenal men's team kit man, discovered his passion for women's football at a time when the sport still had to contend with many social prejudices. However, the London native would not be deterred: in 1987, he founded Arsenal Ladies Football Club and moulded it into the most successful club in English women's football during his 22-year tenure as head coach.
Under his leadership, the Gunners celebrated a host of impressive successes, including three domestic trebles (championship, cup, league cup). In the 2006/07 season, the team also achieved a historic feat: Arsenal became the first club in the history of women's football to secure the European sextuple consisting of the Women’s Premier League, the FA Women’s Cup, the UEFA Women's Champions League (then UEFA Women's Cup), the FA Women's Community Shield, the FA Women's League Cup and the London County FA Women's Cup.
Between 2004 and 2012, the Londoners dominated domestic football almost at will: an incredible nine consecutive league titles speak volumes to this day. Up until 2016, the north Londoners won at least one trophy in 13 consecutive seasons. However, the haul has been somewhat more modest in the recent past: since the introduction of the Women's Super League in 2010, the Gunners have only won the championship three times - most recently in the 2018/19 season.
From the changing of the guard at home to European glory
Like every good story, Arsenal's title run also came to an end. Their great rivals Chelsea, of all teams, have replaced the Red & Whites as England's serial champions in recent years and have won the league in the last five seasons. The Blues ended the last campaign a full 12 points ahead of Arsenal.
Although the Gunners have had a mixed domestic campaign in recent years, the team have always remained in the top flight of English women's football. In Europe, meanwhile, clubs such as Barcelona and Lyon have been able to pull ahead of the pack - which makes the path Arsenal have recently taken all the more impressive. Since their UEFA Women's Champions League triumph in 2007, the Londoners have reached the semi-finals of the competition three more times (2011, 2013 and 2023), proving their international class time and time again. However, winning the title again this summer came as a surprise - and was the result of some outstanding team performances.
From a difficult opening defeat against FC Bayern Women to a spectacular comeback in the quarter-final second leg against Real Madrid and victories over Lyon and Barcelona, the Arsenal players wrote their very own European fairytale.
Chloe Kelly's dominance of the Ballon d'Or
Talking of fairy tales, five players from the current squad helped bring the European Championship trophy back to England in the summer. One of the defining figures is striker Chloe Kelly, who has already made football history with her characteristic penalty kick run-up. The 27-year-old learned her trade at the Arsenal Academy and returned to north London in January this year after spells at Everton and Manchester City. Kelly is regarded as an attacking player who carries a real goal threat, takes responsibility and leads the line at crucial moments.
At the Ballon d'Or awards, Arsenal were not only crowned the best team of the year, but also had four players among the ten best women footballers in the world: Mariona Caldentey (2nd), Alessia Russo (3rd), Chloe Kelly (5th) and Leah Williamson (7th).
The previous encounters with Bayern
A head-to-head comparison between Bayern and Arsenal in the Champions League promises an exciting match. There have been four clashes to date, with both the Munich side and the north Londoners celebrating two wins. The first encounter in the quarter-finals of the 2023 UWCL campaign was won by the Bavarians thanks to a goal from Lea Schüller. However, Arsenal then triumphed 2-0 in the second leg, eliminating FCB Women.
Their last meeting was in the group stage of the last UWCL campaign. FCB Women won the first leg in Munich by a commanding 5-2 margin, while in London the Gunners snatched victory from the German champions in the final minutes, beating them 3-2.
🎟️ Get your tickets for FC Bayern Women's home game against Arsenal here!
A look back at the FCB Women's games at the Arena to date:
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