Arsenal accomplished their mission in Wolfsburg to keep alive their hopes of progressing to the Women’s Champions League final – and they did so despite a tough week of injury setbacks.
The semi-final tie remains finely balanced after Arsenal came from two goals down to draw 2-2 with Wolfsburg in Germany, showing much-needed resilience to cover up for a disjointed performance.
They were understandably shaky at the back having lost England defender Leah Williamson to a crushing knee injury on Friday, just days after captain Kim Little was ruled out for the season.
It added to a long list of injury concerns for manager Jonas Eidevall, who has already been without top scorers Vivianne Miedema and Beth Mead this season, and forward Caitlin Foord in recent weeks.
Losing more key players and falling behind in the Women’s Super League title race following defeat to Manchester United on Wednesday was not ideal preparation for a European semi-final.
But despite Wolfsburg going 2-0 up in 24 minutes – the second courtesy of a mistake by Brazilian defender Rafaelle Souza – Arsenal recovered to ensure the tie was not over as they return to London.
“We played against a team that has been in nearly every semi-final for the last 10 years in the Champions League and we were away,” said Eidevall.
“We played Manchester United away on Wednesday and we don’t have that many players available. We knew [it] was going to be difficult.
“Our mission when we came here was to get a result to take back to London and decide it there. We accomplished that but nothing more. Nothing is done but the tie is very much alive.”
Arsenal striker Stina Blackstenius said it was “important” the Gunners stayed in the game and they took inspiration from their fightback against Bayern Munich in the quarter-final.
“It’s been a tough week for us, with another injury. That has made us even stronger and I feel like the mentality within the team has been really good,” she added.
“We know that we have come back before after conceding, and that’s what we did. That’s mentality and I’m just so proud of how the team has been doing so far.”
‘It’s all to be decided in London’
It threatened to be a long evening for Arsenal as two-time champions Wolfsburg were clinical with the opportunities that arose early on.
The competition’s top scorer Ewa Pajor was unmarked as she was slipped into the box for the opener, before Souza’s error teed up Sveindss Jonsdottir for Wolfsburg’s second.
Souza made up for her error just before half-time, heading in a corner, and Blackstenius found Arsenal’s crucial equaliser later in the second half.
But Eidevall remains cautious despite home advantage in the second leg as Wolfsburg have also enjoyed success in London.
In seven competitive trips to the city, Wolfsburg have never lost. That includes last year’s quarter-final draw at Arsenal which helped them progress.
“It’s amazing to see the resilience, the attitude and the work rate that the players have,” said Eidevall.
“But it’s only half-time. We’re happy with the performance and the result but it’s all up to be decided in London. We love playing in front of our supporters.
“I’ve heard we’ve sold 47,000 tickets. I think we have a very good chance of selling out the Emirates. Together we can make it possible to once again take Arsenal to a Champions League final. That’s our dream.”
Wolfsburg goalscorer Jonsdottir said they needed to be “calmer on the ball” to retain their two-goal advantage but she remains confident of reaching another final.
“We have another game so it doesn’t really matter. We’re going to go to London and win there,” she added.
Neither side play before next Monday’s second leg and Wolfsburg could be boosted by the return of German striker Alexandra Popp, while Arsenal hope to welcome back Australian forward Foord.