For those of you who have never attended a Women’s game before, let me fill you in.
The first thing to note is when you approach the ground you will notice far less hostility in the air. Everyone is excited of course but it’s a different kind of excitement. It’s far less rowdy. Nobody is staggering out of the pub shouting expletives at opposition fans. Police presence is minimal. Swearing is thin on the ground.
Also, the demographic is different. A much larger proportion of the crowd is made up of women. Over the last 10-15 years I’ve noticed more and more women attending men’s games but in the women’s game it’s on a different scale. We all want all women to feel completely safe and comfortable at the men’s games but for now, it is a very positive thing that they can attend women’s games, many of which are in N5 and not have any of these worries.
So, onto the game itself. To set the scene, this was a Champions League Quarter Final second leg against Real Madrid. We had lost 2-0 in Madrid and the biggest talking point was the sub-standard pitch on which we had to play that was barely Sunday league standard. It’s extremely poor on both Real Madrid’s and UEFA’s part that such a high-profile game was allowed to be played in those conditions. But it meant we had it all to do at home albeit on a surface immeasurably better than the one we were subjected to last week.
Very quickly, you could see why Real weren’t too bothered about playing their games on a surface that makes Hackney Marshes look like a carpet as they spent the bulk of the game out of possession chasing their own shadows and when they did have the ball it was never too long until we reclaimed it. The first half especially followed the patterns we often see in the men’s game; loads of possession but not many chances created and a lot of frustration. We had a couple of half chances and penalty shouts which were waved away by the referee who was giving Real Madrid all the help they could get. Do you see what I mean when I said it was like watching the men?! But despite this frustration you always felt we were wearing them down slowly but surely and eventually our pressure would tell and when it did, Madrid would crumble.
And less than a minute into the second half we finally halved the deficit and deservedly so. We cut through down the right-hand side and Chloe Kelly’s pinpoint cross found Alessia Russo who poked home to the relief of N5. Three minutes later we hauled ourselves level through a similar avenue. Another sumptuous ball from Kelly found Mariona who was steaming into the box and saw her powerful header squirm through the goalkeeper’s grasp sending the Emirates into raptures. Madrid looked like rabbits in headlights, and they failed miserably in their attempt to muster any sort of response.
Unsurprisingly, we got our inevitable third goal ten minutes later. Following a free kick, one of the few we were given all night, Steph Catley knocked the ball down for Russo who smashed home her second on the half-volley to put The Arsenal in front for the first time in the tie. Russo thought she had completed a sensational hat trick shortly after, but it was harshly ruled out for offside following a two-minute check. The game had kicked off again before the referee decided to blow her whistle. It’s nice to see it’s not just the men’s game who have to put up with such amateur officiating.
Russo had time to grab another disallowed goal in the closing stages. Once again it seemed to have been disallowed for her shirt being the wrong colour. But Madrid were still unable to respond and we very deservedly held on for our place in the semi finals. The full-time whistle greeted by raucous cheers from the 22,000 strong crowd who were magnificent, it must be said. Some may sneer at the attendance but it is clear that Arsenal have a very passionate and devoted support for our girls. I can’t speak for other clubs, but it seems we are ahead of the pack in this regard and have been for some time. Let us not forget it was our own Vic Akers who got the ball rolling for Women’s football at Arsenal back in 1987 and we’ve been smashing records and setting trends ever since. Before City and Chelsea came along with their ill-gotten gains, we cleaned up domestically being totally dominant up until around a decade ago. we are still there or thereabouts every year, and we do have an outside chance of winning the WSL this year, but it is in the Champions League basket that most of our eggs are placed for now.
Last night’s heroics have set up a semi final glamour tie with Lyon at the end of April with the first leg being played in N5. Tickets have already gone on sale, and they appear to be selling like hot cakes. Personally, I couldn’t recommend going to a game any more highly. The atmosphere was electric, better than I anticipated in all honesty. It offers a family friendly environment and tickets are far cheaper and easier to come by than the men’s. And, as I am sure you have gathered from my report, the football is pretty damn good too.
Women’s football continues to gather momentum and Arsenal are very much a key trendsetter in that regard. I hope that this can spark more interest in the women’s game on the blog and beyond. It’s not everyone’s cup of tea but its popularity is only heading in one direction and that’s upwards.
Arsenal have knocked Real Madrid out of the Champions League. Hopefully not for the last time this season……
Thanks 21CG, great report, great result too. I must admit I have never been to a women’s game but I have watched a few on tv and I was surprised at the beginning at how decent the level was, higher than I expected. Perhaps the Lyon game can be my first live game 😄
Great report 21CG. I went to the women’s NLD back in 22. I even wrote a report about it. My daughter goes several times a season with her friends.
As some in here will know, I have been more than somewhat scathing of the Ladies game in the past in terms of the quality of the game. 21CG were kindly given the opportunity to attend last night by a very good friend who has a season ticket for the Ladies, as well as the men (and the O’s. There’s a glutton for punishment). We went along because in a week with no Arsenal we were getting twitchy. We needed our hit.
I have to say I agree with everything 21 CG says. But what I was really impressed by was the quality of some of the football. Most impressive were the performances of our no’s 8 and 10 in central midfield. Both Mariona Caldentey and Kim Little are subtle, skilful, nuanced players whom it really was a pleasure to watch. I’m now approaching being a convert, for what it’s worth. Mea culpa. Mea maxima culpa…..
21CG, that’s a great report and a very accurate description of how enjoyable an experience it is to attend a ladies game – which I only discovered last Saturday at the Liverpool drubbing. Your observations about the more civilised atmosphere in the streets around the ground as well as the technical skills and athleticism on display are bang on the money. Like CER, I have hitherto not beenn enthusiast for the women’s game, but, like C100, 21CG and CER I found attending a game much more fun than I had expected. I would add Leah Williamson, Beth Mead and Alessia Russo to Mariona Caldentey and Kim Little on the roll of honour but actually that’s a tad invidious as we have a lot of good players in that team.
Bath,
Agreed about the above. When we got the third goal, Williamson didn’t lose her head and run to the goal scores melee. She went over to the bench to get instruction, and then clearly dished out the word to the rest if the team. I thought she showed fantastic leadership. Very impressive.
Very enjoyable report 21CG. Many thanks
I watched the game on TNT. I have been to a ladies game – the NLD at the Toilet Bowl no less ! I went with daughter and grandsons and forbade any wearing of colours . I had anticipated the toxicity of a men’s NLD but nothing could be further from the truth . Arsenal and Tottnumb fans sat together in families and there were no punch ups . I compared it to my first men’s NLD at White Hart Lane in 1967 which was a war zone .
Ladies football is excellent at that level and I concur on how well we played. I thought Chloe Kelly was excellent and I hope Arteta was watching a right footed winger playing on the right and making the first two goals with quality crosses . Inversion can only take you so far . I also like the lack of play-acting, dissent and shithousery in the women’s game . Don’t get me started on my experience of women’s cricket last year which was entirely different . But this was brilliant.
TG@6- I agree up to a point. While there was little play acting, there was no small amount of cheap professional fouling and in fact quite dirty fouling from the clearly outclassed Madrid team. I found that disappointing. But I guess coming from the same heritage as the men’s team, entirely unsurprising. Franco’s Favourites clearly still think they have a divine or, more appropriately, state sanctioned right to success. It was very pleasant watching them fail yesterday.
A very uplifting read, 21CG. On this side of the pond, expectations of the quality of women’s football are higher than on the other, and the USWNT has few peers. From what I saw of the highlights of the Real Madrid game, we played excellently. And with a No 9 that can put the ball in the net! The men’s team should give that a try…
Separately, I saw that Brighton, which plans to build a dedicated stadium for its women’s sides somewhere between the Amex and Brighton, is investigating installing a different type of surface to the one that men play on in an attempt to cut down on ACL and other injuries to women players.
I meant to reply to Boff’s post in the previous drinks about raising the roof (of the Ems), but Bath dropped the chevrons on me.
What I was going to say was that from what I’ve read, the conventional architectural answer to expanding the stadium to increase its capacity and make it a year-round multi-use venue would be to do something like Real Madrid’s refurbishment of the Bernabeu: wrap a structure around the existing stadium from which could be hung a new tier of seating and a retractable roof.
The problem with doing that at the Emirates is that the stadium is a tight fit for its site. There is no land on the northwest side (railway lines) and little room on the southern end (all those steps down) on which to stand the external wrap structure. Clever architects could come up with engineering solutions to those problems, I don’t doubt. Yet, they would likely be phenomenally expensive, perhaps as much as building a new stadium, which, in a way, is what would be happening — and in mid-air.
Then there is the question of the pitch, which needs to be coverable or replaceable to be the floor for non-football events. Real Madrid has put in this incredible system that lets it tuck the pitch away underground in sections on non-match days. Grounds staff can even tend it there. This RM video shows how it works if you’ve not seen it. https://youtu.be/epef95O-EwY?si=OBRd0ayOzDv1Jm-2
The neighbours solved the problem by putting the pitch on a giant tray with wheels that can be slid under one of the stands and into the car park, revealing their NFL artificial pitch underneath.
These sorts of things are super high-tech but pricey. Barcelona’s retro-fit at the Nou Camp cost €1.6 billion. The Bernabeu make-over cost RM at least €1 billion. They were out of the ground for 18 months, and it took another six months before the work was completed to the point that the new seating could be used.
Cheers 21CG. Excellent stuff! I concur with everything said above, having also been throw into the bath of my first live experience with bath.
I have always followed the results and fortunes of the Arsenal Ladies without having had the chance to watch a match in the stadium (and the only other matches I have actually been able to watch were internationals), and I was well impressed at the weekend.
A lot of the home matches seems to have clashed with men’s matches this season in particular, so it is great that they are playing during the men’s interlull.
There was also a Faye White signing in the shop that day, but it would have been a little complicated to attend in the circumstances. She will always remain a wonderful role model and legend.
Every man (and possibly every woman) needs a shed.
https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2025/mar/28/the-forgotten-story-of-arsenals-wooden-training-shed?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other
C100@11: Thanks for the link. Chapman was a pioneer.
Poignant that the article was illustrated with Reg Lewis as it was he who let the ball squirm under him for Cardiff’s goal in the 1927 FA Cup Final. He blamed it on the brand-new jersey he was wearing, saying its wool was still greasy as the jersey had not yet been washed. The story goes that Chapman never again let an Arsenal keeper play in an unwashed jersey.
Another great read.
https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6235683/2025/03/28/arsenal-highbury-emirates-inspired-by-you/
C100@13: Thanks for another great link. Reading the comments below the article, I dread to think what the trolling would have been like after we moved from the Manor Ground to Highbury had there been social media in those days.
Ned
Interesting to see a report that Alexei Rojas one of the myriad Arsenal keepers has signed a new contract .He is apparently very highly thought of by Arteta and is expected to be integrated into the first team squad next season !we are going to have serious back-up to Raya next season on this basis.
Personally back up keeper is just about the least important position I think we need to spend money on in the summer. I was away at Preston watching Setford and at the Bolton home game watching a 16 year old Porter. 16. And both were really good. Certainly better than Neto against Bournemouth.
a fine report, 21cg. i watched the highlights and we whupped them good second half. pleased to see your report on it!
ned, alexi rojas was focused on in the “inside hale end” show. mls, nwaneri, maldini, and others got nods. i hope he is another who makes it into the first team!
And I have just decided to go to the second leg in Lyon. Especially as the wonderful Arsenal ticketing system has decided that they were not able to process my card payment if I wanted to go to the home leg.
Added to the discovery that the money ‘back’ from a TX sale after I had to give up on Chelsea can only be deposited back in a UK account, it is fair to say AFC is an absolute disgrace on the ticketing front. For a big global club/company, this is unprecedented levels of amateurism.
TTG@15, CER@16 & Scruz@17: Rojas has trained with the first team since he was a schoolboy. The Academy looks to have two good keepers at every age group to keep pushing each other’s development. Does Raya need the same, is the question.
:
Ollie @18 – every time I interact with the ticketing system it’s far too difficult and fraught with glitches. Yet another example of outsourcing providing benefits only in terms of cost reductions for the seller and revenue increases for the service provider, with every other party in the transaction – employees, customers- being adversely impacted.
It is exactly what it is indeed, CER @ 20.
Was just reading a piece in The Athletic about whether we should go all in or Isak for 150m or spread the buying around – of the four Arsenal writers 1 was yes, we should, a couple were on the the fence but seemed to lean towards yes, and Amy was against.
But I was surprised that the gooners commenting below seemed to be about 90% against.
I guess we no longer believe in magic bullets.
OM @22, it was indeed a very interesting article. I didn’t look at the comments but I am interested that that is by far the predominant view. I guess Gooners who subscribe to the Atlantic are more pragmatic than hoi poloi on X.
Amy’s analysis including the observation that she would have been all-in as a younger fan but that her judgement now, with years of observational experience, is more measured and she questions the risks associated with buying such an expensive individual (and committing not just the upfront fee but the premium wage (with its associated knock on effect throughout the squad) and the consequent PSR restrictions on several further seasons’ expenditure) who, as we know only too well, could sustain a serious injury and miss multiple games, compared to strengthening 4 positions and choosing a better value, younger and promising, albeit less proven and therefore more risky, striker.
I think that is the longest sentence I have ever written in this blog!
Bath@23: ‘Don’t put all your eggs in one basket’ would have sufficed. 🙂
Indeedy, Ned @24
Pedro at Le Grove who has been very pro- Arteta since he was appointed has written a very negative piece about Berta’s appointment comparing it to Sanllehi . Sanllehi was of course appointed by Gazidis in a dream team that fell apart very quickly well before Arteta was hired .
He was a schmoozer- what Pedro calls a ‘ contacts’ man in that he networks with the top agents and a number of us were concerned at Joorabchian’s influence over Sanllehiand to an extent Edu.
But David Dein was a brilliant networker and was a great foil to Wenger . What worries Pedro is that Berta is under Arteta but I suspect his reporting line is to Tim Lewis ( who effectively fired Sanllehi ) or Garlick or possibly even Josh Kroenke .
I don’t believe in a system where a Sporting Director chooses your players and you coach them .I think they have to agree on style and playing requirements and then the SD is tasked with acquiring the desired players Edu didn’t choose Declan Rice but he navigated through the deal with Wet Spam Similarly Wenger chose the players he wanted and Dein acquired them eg Patrick Vieira who I’m led to believe was quite good
I’m sure considerable wisdom as gone into the Berta hire
Berta is an alpha male ( see what I did there and is his own man )
TTG@26: My bet would be that recruitment has changed significantly since the Gazidis days. Garlick and Lewis will have a tight grip on what is now a structured process. There will be a rolling list of targets that bears the stamp of Arteta and the data analytics team and which will be cross-tabbed against the PSR constraints. I doubt that Berta will have the scope to go rogue on that. One point to bear in mind is that the club has risen to where it is no longer shopping only for players who have become square pegs in round holes. It is now looking to buy in-demand round pegs. Someone who has the ear of top agents might not be without utility.
I felt Gazidis was a master waffler and doormat, We need a strong character if we want someone to sit down with MA and have his respect. I never felt AW respected Gazidis and that obviously didn’t help the club. Hopefully, MA and Berta will be able to work together as a team, I don’t really want one person to be making the transfer decisions these days, it’s just too wide and complex a market,
Also as Ned mentioned the whole structure is better in terms of checks and balances. No more iffy chancers like Sanllehi.
OM @28 – Completely agree. Gazidis was the ultimate exemplar of style over substance. He could perform in front of a crowd as if touched by Apollo himself. Managed to deliver the utter charlatan that was Sanllehi, then cleared off to Italy when he saw it all “coming on top”.
C100 – just got round to reading at those two great links, thanks 👍🏻👍🏻
>>>>>>>