In the Cambridge dictionary, the word ‘arsenal’ is defined as “a collection of weapons”. The Gunners frontline most certainly lived up to that billing as they put ASFAR to the sword in the FIFA Women’s Champions Cup 2026™ semi-finals.
A whirlwind opening 41 minutes saw two of their front three net through Stina Blackstenius and Olivia Smith, with goals from Visa Player of the Match Frida Maanum and Mariona Caldentey helping to put the Londoners into cruise control. The Spaniard, who now has six goals this term, was keen to stress the importance of the side’s squad depth.
“That [having different scorers] is important because it gives us confidence,” the Spaniard told FIFA. “We struggled a little bit after the Christmas break to score goals so it was nice that everyone [can score]. Of course, we are so happy. We wanted to be in [the] final. We [went] for it from the start and we had a nice scoreline.”
While the Moroccans went unbreached for the opening quarter hour of the second period, coach Renee Slegers shuffled her pack and called upon club top scorer Alessia Russo. She took just six minutes to find the net, before smashing in her 22nd of the season to complete the rout.
“We know what Less means to us and it was nice to see her scoring again,” Caldentey continued. “That was important for her. We know that she brings a lot – not only goals but she helps us [everywhere].”
The last thing ASFAR would have wanted to see in the wake of that goal was Chloe Kelly limbering up to enter the fray after two months out with a knee injury. The England winger may not have scored on her return, but she was delighted with how the side handled the occasion.
“They’re a solid team to play against, one that we’re not used to,” she stated. “I’m really happy, [it was] a great team performance. The girls off the bench and the girls that started the game [were] solid, it was a really good team performance in front of goal. We’re ready for the weekend now.”
Midfielder Kim Little was another player who emerged from the bench to help Arsenal maintain their momentum, and the captain was delighted to see their preparations for a different kind of opposition pay off.
“We obviously didn’t know the opponent as well as we normally do, so we made sure that we watched and knew what they were about and I think that showed in our performance today,” she said. “It felt good to come into the game and I thought we controlled it in the second half and we scored two really good goals. We stopped them from doing what they were good at and played a really good game.”
This Sunday pits the Gunners against Corinthians – a “strong, physical team” in the words of Kelly – at Arsenal Stadium, as the pair tussle for intercontinental glory. Katie McCabe, another second-half introduction, knows how tough of a task that will be.
“I saw a bit of the game earlier on in the day [against Gotham], they pose a lot of threats,” McCabe admitted. “Beating Gotham is not easy, Gotham are a strong side. So, I’ll be looking to recover after this game and go in and focus on Corinthians on Sunday.”
