‘Buzzing' Alessia Russo left wanting more by Arsenal's Champions League success
The triumph also guarantees Arsenal a direct place in next season's Champions League league phase – alongside Women's Super League winners Chelsea – after becoming the first team in history to reach the final from qualifying round one.
'I'm absolutely buzzing,' said Russo, after substitute Stina Blackstenius' 74th-minute strike proved enough to inspire the underdogs to victory over a Barca side that had conquered Europe in 2021, 2023 and 2024.
CHAMPIONS OF EUROPE. THE ONLY IN THE LAND ❤️ pic.twitter.com/6HELAUEn23
— Arsenal Women (@ArsenalWFC) May 24, 2025
'I can't really put it into words, it just feels bloody amazing. It feels surreal right now, but I just had so much belief going into this game. We all did. We didn't really want to say it too much, but we all kind of had this feeling.
'We knew we could and we just had to go and deliver.'
The result means Arsenal will also represent Europe in the inaugural FIFA Women's Champions Cup next year, entering as automatic semi-finalists.
And while it is the brilliant culmination of a hard-fought campaign – and seven-month journey under boss Renee Slegers – Russo also sees it as just a first step.
'I feel like that massively,' she said. 'When you win things, you want to win things even more, and also you know you're good enough to do it.
'I think it was important to win for many reasons, but now we want to win more. We want to go back and start next year strong. We want to compete domestically more so than we did this year, and we want to be back winning this trophy again.'
The returning champions will celebrate their title on Monday alongside 10,000 fans in Armoury Square outside the Emirates Stadium in London, where the trophy lift will take place at around 1140 in the morning.
Celebrating together 🫶
Details of Monday's Armoury Square trophy lift are confirmed 📋
— Arsenal Women (@ArsenalWFC) May 24, 2025
It is a quick turnaround ahead of the next international window, beginning for Russo and England with Friday's Nations League meeting with Portugal at Wembley.
Arsenal's victory is a testament to resilience and risk. Forward Chloe Kelly revealed after the triumph that she had nearly taken a break from football after finding herself in 'a dark place' at Manchester City before joining the Gunners on loan in January.
And two days before teeing up Blackstenius' winner in the final, England forward and second-half substitute Beth Mead, writing for the Players' Tribune, penned a heartfelt tribute to her mother, June, who died from ovarian cancer in 2023.
Then there is the rise of former assistant Slegers, who was appointed as the permanent head coach in January after serving on an interim basis since October, no doubt beating out more proven candidates for one of the most coveted jobs in women's football.
'It means so much, for everyone who has built towards this across many years,' said the 36-year-old boss. 'But it also means so much for the future, because it motivates people, it motivates us, and it shows what we are capable of.
'There's even more in the group. The strength of this team has been to be in the present, and trying to become better every single day. And of course if you are part of Arsenal and win trophies, that's what builds bonds.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Scottish Sun
19 minutes ago
- Scottish Sun
Major TV provider axing ‘on demand' sports app in major blow to fans and the cut-off is BEFORE Premier League ends
Brits have been urged to upgrade their devices to avoid missing out SWITCHED OFF Major TV provider axing 'on demand' sports app in major blow to fans and the cut-off is BEFORE Premier League ends Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) A MAJOR UK TV provider is scrapping a popular sports app in just weeks, in a major blow to football fans. Customers will lose access to the service before the end of the Premier League, with Brits urged to upgrade to avoid missing out. Sign up for Scottish Sun newsletter Sign up 1 Affected devices will no longer show TNT Sports on demand Credit: TNT From September 22, a number older of EE TV boxes will stop supporting the Discovery+ app, the streaming home for TNT sports content. You will still be able to watch shows in real-time, but all on-demand content will be removed from your TV box. That means customers will no longer be able to access Premier League highlights, catch up on missed Champions League matches, or watch any of their favourite Discovery+ reality or entertainment shows on demand. The EE TV devices that will lose support for the Discovery+ app are: 4K Recordable TV Box TV Box Recordable TV Box The newer devices, TV Box Pro, TV Box Mini, and the custom Apple TV 4K EE Box will continue working as normal. Following the changes, your subscription won't be cancelled, and you can still watch Discovery+ and TNT Sports on other devices. If your TV box is affected, then you will need to upgrade, or find an alternative means of watching. To upgrade to a newer model, all you need to do is call EE. The device will typically be sent to you for free, however, you will usually need to begin a new 24-month contract to get the upgrade. TNT Sports will be broadcasting multiple football games from top compitions in the coming season However, it is important to note that any recordings on your older device will not be switched over to the new device, so you should make sure to watch them all before making the switch. If you don't want to upgrade, you can still watch Discovery+ on your Smart TVs, tablets and laptops and smartphones. If you've got a Smart TV, you can watch TNT sports and Discovery+ using that, and use your EE TV box for everything else. Alternatively, you could switch to another TV subscription service instead. EE TV (formerly BT TV) is a service available to BT and EE broadband customers. It offers various packages ranging from a £20 a month entertainment package to an £80 a month Full Works plan.
Daily Mirror
19 minutes ago
- Daily Mirror
Arne Slot makes Liverpool title claim as new deal sees transfer spend pass £300m
Liverpool will be favourites to defend their Premier League title this season after spending over £300million on new players, but Arne Slot is clear on the challenges they face Arne Slot believes this Premier League season will be harder than ever. The Reds have splashed the cash with their spending to go north of £300million once they complete the capture of Giovanni Leoni today for £26m. But they have also lost key men such as Trent Alexander-Arnold and Luis Diaz in a summer of change at Anfield for the reigning champions. While their title rivals Arsenal and Manchester City have also spent big to strengthen their squads for what could be a titanic title tussle this season. Slot said: "The reason that is so difficult is there are so main competitors who can also win the league here. To win it once is already very, very special. That is unbelievable if you are able to do it [twice] in this league. This year it is probably going to be harder than before." The Reds kick off their campaign on Friday night against Bournemouth at Anfield. Liverpool will have some new weapons in their artillery for their title defence. Not least the £116m signing of Florian Wirtz. The British transfer record fee will heap pressure on Wirtz but Slot is not concerned about it having an affect on the 22-year-old midfielder. 'He might be young but he already won a lot,' he said. 'Factually, we can see him as a young player but in terms of his experience, I don't see him as a young player. 'He won the league with Germany, won the cup, has played for his country numerous times and apart from that, his mentality is his biggest strength. That says a lot because if you see him play, you're like: 'Are you serious because he's so creative'. But how mentally strong he is, he doesn't get distracted at all by a transfer fee or anything else.' But there will be some adaptation needed for Wirtz after arriving from Bayer Leverkusen, where he worked under Xabi Alonso. Slot added: 'Good players always find a way to play well in good teams and he is a good player in a good team. 'He does like all the others (need help). We have a very good player care department so I'm not looking for houses with him or these kind of things. 'But on the pitch, on the training ground and in videos, he needs help in how we want to play. That's not different than Xabi Alonso. The system is different but we want to be intense like Xabi Alonso wanted him to be intense. 'Xabi wanted to bring him in positions we try to bring him in. But it's true he adjusts to England, the league, the intensity and to his new team-mates but if you saw the games, his adjustment went better than even expected and we expected a lot.'
BBC News
19 minutes ago
- BBC News
Kazakhstan holds key to Celtic transfer cash
It's been clear for a while now Celtic are reverting to a previous model when it comes to sanctioning a big transfer the recent past, when they've not been guaranteed Champions League football, they've opted to see whether the existing squad is good enough to navigate the qualifiers before other words, make the group phase, Brendan, and then we'll loosen the purse strings manager has been asking for quality signings for quite a while. He still doesn't have them in the forward areas and while deals are there in the background waiting to be done, Celtic won't give the green light until they know what kind of revenue is coming in. Champions League level or Europa League?Which means it all boils down to Kazakhstan and a trip to face Kairat Almaty a week on Tuesday. Before then, of course, the Scottish champions will hope to have bagged a few goals in the home leg to give themselves some comfort and stakes could not be higher. It's quite the gamble to wait until the last few days of the transfer window to make your can be done, of course, but prices tend to inflate at that late stage. Witness the £26m outlay roughly this time last year for Adam Idah, Arne Engels and Auston Trusty. Two of whom were on the bench for Celtic's first two league matches while striker Idah is yet to get off the mark this board is either trusting – or gambling – that the current crop of players, minus the departed Kyogo Furuhashi, Nicolas Kuhn and Greg Taylor plus the injured Jota, are good enough to get the job done against the Kazakh extra nous Brendan Rodgers and his men learned through last season's league phase campaign should stand them in good is not, however, the same team, either in personnel or form. The levels reached away to Bayern Munich were a peak from which the side has had a natural drop-off. The manager has pretty much admitted the only way to get back to those levels is to spend money on a striker and a winger at the bare minimum. The kind of money available to him will be determined by the outcome of this play-off. Over to you then, Brendan.
