Jonas Eidevall said his Arsenal side is “allowed to hurt tonight and feel empty, but we are also allowed to feel proud of the performance and the occasion”, following a 3-2 semi-final defeat against Wolfsburg deep into extra time to end dreams of a place in the Champions League final.
“We made it to the Champions League semi-final and lost by the tiniest of margins,” the Arsenal manager said. “With all the injuries we have, with all the challenges we have, I am incredibly proud.”
The Gunners had taken an early lead through Stina Blackstenius, who also scored in the first leg as the north London side came from two goals down to secure a 2-2 draw in Germany, before the former Arsenal midfielder Jill Roord struck back and Alex Popp put them ahead again. A Jen Beattie header took the game to extra time but the substitute Jule Brand dispossessed the centre-back Lotte Wubben-Moy and crossed to the former Manchester City forward Pauline Bremer to slot in and put Wolfsburg in the final with Barcelona.
“I told her to keep her head high. I told her there’s no need to apologise,” Eidevall said of his conversation at the full‑time whistle with Wubben‑Moy, who had provided the assist for Beattie’s goal. “Mistakes happen in football. We win as a team, we lose as a team. We’re there for each other. We learn. It’s inevitable that it happens in football. They also made mistakes and we were close to profiting from that. It’s part of the game. She was absolutely fantastic. We are there for each other both when we have success and when there’s pain.”
Beattie said the manner of the defeat made it “a tough one to take”, adding: “I’m still so proud of the girls and everything that we’ve done, given the number of injuries we have [referring to the absence of Beth Mead, Vivianne, Miedema, Caitlin Foord, Kim Little and Leah Williamson]. It shows the mentality and that we all stuck together.
“No matter who’s on the pitch, we all have the belief we have the quality to win a game. Of course, we didn’t manage to get over the last hurdle, but I think we have the ultimate respect for our opposition ... They gave us such a huge challenge. We know we can compete at the highest level.”
Roord said that scoring against her former club was “a really good feeling”, adding: “For me, being in a final is also something new, I haven’t gone that far in the Champions League. It’s like a dream.
“I personally was super overwhelmed. It was such a tough game. We’re behind, we’re in front. Actually I thought it was going to go to penalties.”
