Ahead of Tuesday’s return to UEFA Women’s Champions League football, we’ve taken a look back at some of our biggest highlights in Europe over the years.
Lyon are the visitors at Mangata Developments Stadium in Borehamwood at 8pm on Tuesday, as we begin our defence of the title having won it for the second time last season.
Rewind the clock to 2004/05, and we were making memories in what was then known as the UEFA Women’s Cup…
October 23, 2004
Arsenal 4-1 Torres
We made it to the quarter-finals of the competition in 2004 by finishing top of a group with Athletic Club, Aegina and Djurgarden. Once in the knockout stages, things didn’t go to plan straight away though, as we trailed Italian side Torres 2-0 following the first leg away from home.
Back at Borehamwood, we turned the tie around, Angela Banks netting a double before Merete Pedersen pulled one back. Jayne Ludlow and Julie Stewart got on the scoresheet late on to give us a 4-3 lead on aggregate and send us through to the semi-finals.
November 11, 2006
Arsenal 3-0 Brondby
The 2006/07 season saw us finish top of a group with Rossiyanka, Femina and Brondby, and then cruising past Breidablik in the quarter-finals by winning 9-1 on aggregate.
The semi-finals were initially less straightforward, the first leg away to Brondby ending 2-2, with Kelly Smith scoring a brace before being sent off. Thankfully it was a much more routine affair for us back at Borehamwood, with Rachel Yankey, Karen Carney and Julie Stewart helping us to a 3-0 win that sent us through to the final 5-2 on aggregate.
April 21, 2007
Umea 0-1 Arsenal
April 29, 2007
Arsenal 0-0 Umea
We became European champions for the first time in our history by beating Umea 1-0 on aggregate with a 0-0 draw in the second leg of the final at Borehamwood.
Alex Scott scored the goal that separated the sides in the 91st minute away from home, while we stayed strong defensively in the second leg to lift the ultimate prize.
March 23, 2011
Linkoping 2-2 Arsenal
Into the Women’s Champions League era, we cruised through the round of 32 with a 12-1 win over Masinac on aggregate, before turning around a two-goal deficit to beat Rayo Vallecano 4-3 on aggregate in the round of 16 courtesy of Jen Beattie's 91st-minute winner.
That sent us through to the quarter-finals and, after drawing 1-1 at home to Linkoping, goals from Rachel Yankey and Katie Chapman saw us draw 2-2 in Sweden, with the away goals rule coming into play to send us through to the semis.
October 4, 2012
Arsenal 4-0 Barcelona
We dispatched Barcelona with aplomb in the 2012/13 round of 32. Spirits were high for the second leg at Borehamwood after we’d managed a 3-0 win over Barcelona away from home in the first leg. Beattie, a defender by trade, was the star of the show, scoring a hat-trick in a 4-0 win during the second leg, with Kim Little also getting in on the act.
That sent us through to the round of 16 for another memorable moment…
November 7, 2012
Turbine Potsdam 3-4 Arsenal
We were 2-1 up in this tie following the first leg at Borehamwood, which we won thanks to goals from Chapman and Ellen White. Away from home in the second leg, a rollercoaster ride of a match saw us go 2-0 up by way of a Kelly Smith brace, before Antonia Goransson responded for the German side.
Keelin Winters planted a seed of doubt, scoring again for the hosts to make it 4-3 to us on aggregate, but Smith responded instantly, completing her hat-trick just two minutes later, only for Goransson to get her second two minutes after that. White finally gave us a two-goal advantage again in the 81st minute, sending us through to the quarter-finals.
October 19, 2022
Lyon 1-5 Arsenal
The 2022/23 group stage got off to a flying start with a huge away at Lyon, who had historically been dominant in the competition.
We stunned the French side as a brace from Caitlin Foord, as well as goals from Frida Maanum and Beth Mead, recorded a historic win away from home and set the tone for a table-topping group, which featured further wins of Zurich and Juventus. Finishing top of the group set up an unforgettable quarter-final clash…
March 29, 2023
Arsenal 2-0 Bayern Munich
Pitted against Bayern Munich in the last eight, we got off to a tricky start when we lost 1-0 in Bavaria, so we had it all to do back at Emirates Stadium in the second leg.
It was an unforgettable night in N5 as goals from Maanum and Stina Blackstenius in the first half hour put us 2-1 up, and that was enough to go through to the semis, which we would lose 5-4 on aggregate to Wolfsburg, but set a British attendance record for women's football when 60,063 packed into our home for the second leg.
November 12, 2024
Juventus 0-4 Arsenal
Our 2024/25 group stage got off to a disappointing start with a 5-2 defeat away to Bayern Munich, but we quickly got back to winning ways with a 4-1 win at home to Valerenga for Renée Slegers’ first game in charge.
What was really impressive, though, was winning 4-0 away to Juventus, with goals from Maanum, Blackstenius, Mariona Caldentey and Foord setting the tone for what would be another incredible European campaign. We subsequently beat Juventus again 1-0 at home before claiming a 3-1 victory away to Valerenga ahead of our final group game…
December 18, 2024
Arsenal 3-2 Bayern Munich
Hungry for revenge following the aforementioned 5-2 defeat in Germany, we got off to a great start in the home fixture when Glodis Viggosdottir’s early own goal gave us a 1-0 lead. Magdalena Eriksson equalised with half-time approaching to send us into the break level, and she then completed her brace to put Bayern in front.
We responded instantly, Alessia Russo making it 2-2 before Caldentey fired in an 86th-minute penalty to ensure we finished top of Group C, two points clear of Bayern.
March 26, 2025
Arsenal 3-0 Real Madrid
That set up a couple of quarter-final clashes with Real Madrid, and it wasn’t looking good when goals from Linda Caicedo and Athenea had us 2-0 down after the first leg in Spain. But it would prove to be yet another unforgettable night at Emirates Stadium in the return leg.
With the game goalless at the break, an inspired half-time team talk saw us find the back of the net three times in the first 14 minutes of the second half, with Russo scoring twice and Caldentey getting another as we came from behind to win 3-2 on aggregate, and that bouncebackability would need to be demonstrated again in the semis…
April 27, 2025
Lyon 1-4 Arsenal
It was a different assignment against Lyon in the semi-finals, as we began with the home advantage in the first leg. We couldn’t make it count though, as Kadidiatou Diani and Melchi Dumornay cancelled out Caldentey’s penalty to give them a 2-1 win.
With it all to do in the second leg, we once again got off to a terrific start thanks to a Claudia Endler own goal to level the tie on aggregate. Caldentey’s stoppage-time strike sent us into the half-time break in high spirits, and Russo scored again right at the start of the second half, before Foord gave us a more comfortable three-goal cushion. Dumornay pulled one back but it wasn’t enough as we came away from France with a 5-3 win on aggregate.
May 24, 2025
Arsenal 1-0 Barcelona
At the end of an incredible Champions League journey, this day will live long in the memory of all Gooners, particularly those who helped make up the attendance of 38,356 in Lisbon. On a beautiful spring evening in Portugal, we showed what we were made of, taking on a tricky encounter and fighting hard before Stina Blackstenius popped up with a 74th-minute winner.
We defended that lead for the rest of the match, and were richly rewarded for our efforts overseas with a second European triumph.
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