Arsenal players were dead on their feet at full-time here in Wolfsburg, but their Women’s Champions League dream is alive and well.
The Gunners produced a brilliant comeback as they fought from two goals down to claim a 2-0 draw in the first leg of this semi-final.
It was a fantastic effort by Arsenal, who are in the midst of an injury crisis that would be enough to cripple most sides.
Club captain Kim Little, England skipper Leah Williamson and star forwards Beth Mead and Vivianne Miedema are all out for the rest of the season, while Caitlin Foord was also not fit enough to feature here.
That is half of Jonas Eidevall’s starting XI, but those who came in rose to the occasion and Arsenal will be dreaming they can finish the job at Emirates Stadium on May 1. They have already sold over 45,000 tickets for that second leg and, with the tie so finely balanced, it has the potential to be a historic night for the club.
Midway through the first-half of this game, though, that second leg will have felt a long way off for Arsenal and the final in June even more so.
They had managed the opening stages well, sitting deep and frustrating Wolfsburg with a makeshift back-three that had been deployed due to Arsenal’s sheer lack of numbers. The squad was so thin here that Eidevall didn’t even fill his bench and there were two goalkeepers among the substitutes.
Arsenal’s solid start was undone, however, in the space of five sloppy minutes as they conceded twice.
For Wolfsburg’s first on 19 minutes, Arsenal’s defence got pulled out of position as Rafaelle pushed forward. Suddenly the back-three was a two and the visitors were punished, with Sveindis Jonsdottir bringing down a long ball and playing in Ewa Pajor to finish.
Five minutes later, it was 2-0 due to yet more poor defending. Arsenal tried to play short from a goal kick, however Rafaelle’s pass missed Jen Beattie and Jonsdottir had a tap-in.
The worry was Arsenal could collapse at that point and the executive team of Josh Kroenke, Tim Lewis and Vinai Venkatesham, who had travelled to Germany to watch, must have feared that.
Instead, though, the team rallied, regaining their shape and pulling a goal back just before half-time. Rafaelle, who was at fault for Wolfsburg’s second, made amends by rising highest at the back-post to head home Steph Catley’s corner.
It was the perfect time for the visitors to score and they carried the momentum into the second-half, with Beattie flashing a header wide shortly after the break.
STINA BLACKSTENIUS LEVELS IT UP FOR ARSENAL 🔴⚪️
— DAZN Football (@DAZNFootball) April 23, 2023
WATCH #UWCL LIVE NOW ⬇️
🇬🇧 https://t.co/eKQu00rZQ9
🇩🇪 https://t.co/gJwC9651BE pic.twitter.com/Im2m2E9mDz
Wolfsburg still looked threatening, though, and in particular Jonsdottir was causing problems on the left flank. The 21-year-old so nearly grabbed another assist midway through the second-half, beating her opposite number and picking out Tabea Wassmuth - but the substitute fired her volley over the bar.
It proved to be a costly miss as just moments later, Arsenal were level. They worked the ball from left to right, eventually breaking the Wolfsburg defence with a great pass from Lotte Wubben-Moy. That set Victoria Pelova free down the right and her cut-back was tapped in by Stina Blackstenius.
Buoyed by that, Arsenal pushed for a winner and Frida Maanum went close as she headed Katie McCabe’s cross over the bar. Wolfsburg went even closer, though, with Jill Roord’s shot just missing the right post.
Arsenal, however, held firm and now it is all to play for at the Emirates.
