logo
Boss Renee Slegers reveals she predicted Arsenal's Champions League-winning goal

Boss Renee Slegers reveals she predicted Arsenal's Champions League-winning goal

The Gunners remain the only English team to lift the trophy, doing so for a second time 18 years after they became the first as part of an historic quadruple-winning campaign.
And it was a decision by the 36-year-old head coach that proved especially prescient as Blackstenius' fellow replacement Beth Mead provided the pinpoint pass to tee up the Sweden international.
'I was joking with Beth after the game, I was like, 'I told you, give the ball to Stina and she will score',' Slegers told DAZN.
What it means 🏆🏆 pic.twitter.com/BQBpLsd3Oz
— Arsenal Women (@ArsenalWFC) May 24, 2025
'No, it's not that easy. You do everything you can, you make decisions all the time, players on the pitch and also on the sidelines, getting the timing right.
'All the credit to the players, how they've been dealing with this occasion has been superb.'
Dutchwoman Slegers was a former assistant to ex-Arsenal head coach Jonas Eidevall, appointed to the top job on an interim basis when he and the club parted ways in October following a poor run of form.
The Gunners have thrived under her, with multiple players crediting their young head coach throughout the campaign for helping them rediscover their love of the game.
Renée Slegers, take a bow 👏#UWCL || #UWCLfinal pic.twitter.com/2usf3EU4SB
— UEFA Women's Champions League (@UWCL) May 24, 2025
She has now paid off the club's faith in her, rewarding them with the silverware they have so long craved.
On Saturday, at the home of Sporting Lisbon, Slegers' Arsenal showed incredible resilience, unfazed after a first-half Barcelona own goal was disallowed by VAR for offside, and resolute against waves of attack from the defending champions, who came close to opening the scoring when Claudia Pina clipped the crossbar shortly after the break.
The Gunners held on to their advantage, fending off seven minutes of stoppage time before they could finally celebrate.
Slegers' side eliminated the winners of the last nine combined Champions Leagues en route to this final, seeing off eight-time winners Lyon and now Barcelona, who have lifted the trophy in three of the last four seasons.
Etched in history 🏆 pic.twitter.com/4Deeivz4lb
— Arsenal Women (@ArsenalWFC) May 24, 2025
The Gunners completed an impressive comeback over Lyon in the semi-finals after losing the first leg 2-1 at home, then beating the eight-time Champions League winners – and last season's runners-up – 4-1 in France to advance 5-3 on aggregate.
Slegers added: 'I think Arsenal have always been leading the way since the start, and they have been working so hard as a club. But definitely you see things, this season, I think, in the team, and that's signs of a winning team.
'You struggle together, you suffer together, you find ways to win, and I think in the critical moments, in high-pressure moments, we've done that this season.'

Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Bristol Rovers named most prolific divers in England's top divisions
Bristol Rovers named most prolific divers in England's top divisions

Scotsman

time24 minutes ago

  • Scotsman

Bristol Rovers named most prolific divers in England's top divisions

Relegated League One side Bristol Rovers have topped one table this season – being crowned the most prolific divers in England's top divisions. Sign up to our daily newsletter Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to Edinburgh News, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... The West Country team received eight yellow cards for simulation, the most of any team over the past three seasons. Premier League giant Chelsea followed with seven bookings for taking a tumble – the same number as Burton Albion. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Manchester City, Newcastle United, Crawley Town, Accrington Stanley and Barrow have been reprimanded six times each after being caught trying to con the ref. Football statistician Statman Dave ran the numbers as part of Snickers' wider Off Your Game campaign, with the Deep Diving Audit offering a data-led look at diving across English football. Dave O'Brien, who pored over match footage, referee reports and extensive game insights to reveal all the most dramatic diving data, said: 'Diving has always been a part of the game, but when you look at the numbers, like I've done for Snickers' Deep Diving Audit, it's clear that some clubs and players really know how to keep things interesting. 'Whether it's tactical, instinctive, or maybe even hunger-related, one thing is for sure, when players are off their game, it shows. 'And sometimes, it's not just the ball that goes rolling.' Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad English football leage diving data from past three seasons | Samsung Nearly all cases of diving occurred in the second half, with a particular uptick during the 90th minute – and 70 per cent of dives took place in the penalty area. With Brighton & Hove Albion being named as the club players have dived against most in the Premier League. Strikers are responsible for 26 per cent of all dives over the last three seasons, whereas in defence, only one centre-back was carded for a diving offence. Looking at the 2024/25 campaign specifically, 75 per cent of dives occurred when the players' team wasn't winning, with the average dive last season lasting nine seconds. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Additionally, the average diving age is 22, they most typically wear white boots – and are also English, with these players making up 42 per cent of dives in the season just gone. Diving in the men's game is significantly more prominent compared to the women's – with just one diving booking found on record from the last three seasons in the Women's Super League. Snickers has enlisted football experts Statman Dave and Nada Allali to create a video which uncovers the most over-the-top tumbles across the England's top leagues. Delia Lendais-Metral from the chocolate brand said: 'Let's face it, when you're hungry, you're not quite yourself. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad 'The Snickers Deep Diving Audit taps into those moments when things go slightly off, on or off the pitch.' 'Whether it's a mis-timed slide or a full-blown flop, this is a fun reminder that staying fuelled helps keep you on your game.' Strikers are responsible for 26 per cent of all dives over the last three seasons | Shutterstock Top 8 most dive-prone clubs of the past three seasons (22/23, 23/24, 24/25) Bristol Rovers – 8 dives Chelsea – 7 dives Burton Albion – 7 dives Manchester City – 6 dives Newcastle United – 6 dives Crawley Town – 6 dives Accrington Stanley – 6 dives Barrow – 6 dives

Neil Lennon convinced me to stay at Hibs with wild night singing ‘Sunshine On Leith' on karaoke with England legends
Neil Lennon convinced me to stay at Hibs with wild night singing ‘Sunshine On Leith' on karaoke with England legends

Scottish Sun

timean hour ago

  • Scottish Sun

Neil Lennon convinced me to stay at Hibs with wild night singing ‘Sunshine On Leith' on karaoke with England legends

Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) NEIL LENNON is known as one of the biggest characters within Scottish football and he certainly made his mark at Easter Road. He took over in Leith in 2016, and won the Scottish Championship and earned the Hibees promotion back to the top-flight in his first season. Sign up for the Celtic newsletter Sign up 2 Jason Cummings helped Hibs and Neil Lennon to their 2017 Scottish Championship title Credit: Keith Campbell - The Sun Glasgow 2 Cummings finished joint-top scorer in the league that season Credit: Andrew Barr - The Sun Glasgow Jason Cummings was Lennon's star man in the ex-Celtic boss' first season in Edinburgh. If it wasn't for Lennon, however, the striker probably wouldn't have been at the Leith club in their league-title winning year. Cummings told Open Goal about how Lenny convinced his star man to give Hibs another season whilst the Irishman was on punditry duties at the 2016 Euros in France. Cummings said: "He's [Lennon] phoned me and went 'right, get over here', so me and my agent went over and he's got us tickets for the game, I can't remember who it was, Portugal or whatever. "We went to the game and he's like 'right, come and meet us, I'm just in the bar just over the road', he's finished doing the punditry. "So, I've gone in and Lenny's there like 'Ah Cummings! How you doing', and he's sitting there with Shearer, Ferdinand, Keown, John Hartson. Full bhuna! "He's like, 'This is my star signing Cummings, sit down, you're playing with me next year' headlock and that, 'Shearer tell him!' "[Shearer said] got to sign with Lenny, he'll look after you, and I'm like that, this is the b******s, Shearer and that! "He's like 'you want a drink Cumdog? Get a beer!' So we ended up getting on it, like Ferdinand, Shearer all having a laugh. "We went back to the hotel boardroom, all on it and we had the karaoke on and Shearer's up singing 'all night long'. David Gray on life as Hibs manager and how he turned it around when his job was on the line "Lennon's like 'Cummings, you've got to sing Sunshine on Leith, and you're signing with me next year. "I'm up there singing Sunshine on Leith with Ferdinand and that, best night ever! "After that, I'm thinking he's a hero, Lenny's a legend. I'm staying another year with him." Cummings scored 19 goals and set up a further six in his final year in green and white. The Scottish-born Australia international earned a move to Nottingham Forrest after his stellar season. Only six months into his spell down south, he was shipped off on loan, with the talisman coming back to Scotland and joining Rangers for the second half of the season. Keep up to date with ALL the latest news and transfers at the Scottish Sun football page

Arsenal interested in signing nine-goal Premier League star instead of Rodrygo
Arsenal interested in signing nine-goal Premier League star instead of Rodrygo

Metro

timean hour ago

  • Metro

Arsenal interested in signing nine-goal Premier League star instead of Rodrygo

Newcastle United star Anthony Gordon is among Arsenal's list of transfer targets this summer. The Gunners are working on bringing in reinforcements in a number of areas with Martin Zubimendi poised to join from Real Sociedad despite persistent talk of late interest from Real Madrid. Kepa Arrizabalaga is expected to join from Chelsea to serve as David Raya's understudy while Arsenal remain in talks to sign Benjamin Sesko from RB Leipzig with Sporting CP star Viktor Gyokeres also still of interest. Mikel Arteta is also eager to enlist the services of another winger with Nico Williams of Athletic Bilbao and Real Madrid star Rodrygo options being considered. But The Athletic also report England international Gordon is also a target. Wake up to find news on your club in your inbox every morning with Metro's Football Newsletter. Sign up to our newsletter and then select your team in the link we'll send you so we can get football news tailored to you. Gordon scored nine goals and laid on seven assists last season predominantly playing on the left. Bukayo Saka is first choice on the right of Arsenal's attack with Gabriel Martinelli and Leandro Trossard vying for the role on the left with Gordon an option for both positions. The Gunners have already been spurned in their attempts to sign another Newcastle star in Alexander Isak, moving on from the Sweden international who has been priced at over £150million by the Magpies. Newcastle would also likely demand a big fee for Gordon with the club back in the Champions League alongside Arsenal next season. Rodrygo meanwhile has huge admirers at the Emirates. The Brazil international seemed set on forcing a move away from Real this summer with reports last month suggesting the Spanish giants could listen to offers of around £68m for the winger. But the arrival of Xabi Alonso at the Bernabeu appears to have eased tensions with latest reports suggesting the 24-year-old is prepared to stay. More Trending Alonso has also indicated the player is firmly part of his plans going forward. 'Rodrygo is a Real Madrid player,' said Alonso at a press conference. 'He is a spectacular player and we will need him.' In addition to a winger and a striker, Arsenal are also considering bringing in another centre-half to compete with Gabriel Magalhaes and William Saliba. Crystal Palace and England star Marc Guehi is a top target for that role. MORE: Dean Huijsen explains why he snubbed Chelsea and Arsenal interest to join Real Madrid MORE: Barcelona chief Deco confirms Arsenal and Chelsea missed out on signing £55m star MORE: Manchester United to offer first-team player in 'package deal' to sign Victor Osimhen

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into the world of global news and events? Download our app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store