Barcelona vs Arsenal: Can Gunners learn from 2025 Women's Champions League victory ahead of league phase meeting on Thursday?
Arsenal face Barcelona in the Women's Champions League this week - the first time the two have met since the 2025 final when the Gunners were victorious against all odds.
Renee Slegers had taken charge on a permanent basis just four months before, and the showpiece finale in Lisbon - which Arsenal won 1-0 - was by far her greatest tactical victory and arguably Arsenal's most complete performance of her tenure.
"It's one of the proudest moments. That performance was immense and it had so many facets to it... We've studied Barcelona and we're in the here and now. This is a new game, a new moment," she said in her pre-match press conference.
Slegers could do with a replica on Thursday. The Gunners boss is under pressure to produce results after yet another struggling start to the season. They are already six points behind the top three in the WSL, and 12 points from league leaders Manchester City.
The Dutchwoman needs something to kickstart Arsenal's campaign - a big win to remind everyone just who this team are would help.
Arsenal went into the game in May 2025 as heavy underdogs. Few gave them a chance to stopping a team that had beaten Wolfsburg and Chelsea by a combined score of 18-4 in the quarter and semi-finals respectively.
Barcelona were aiming for a third successive Champions League title and had Ballon d'Or winners Alexia Putellas and Aitana Bonmati lining up in their midfield.
Arsenal, meanwhile, had shipped 13 goals in their final three WSL games preceding the final, thrashed by both Aston Villa and Brighton. Not form you want at any time, let alone ahead of facing the best team in Europe for the biggest prize.
But as football continually teaches us, form means nothing in a one-off game, especially a final.
The Gunners needed big performances across the board, and that's exactly what happened. Leah Williamson was a colossus at centre-back, Emily Fox expertly marshalled a trio of Putellas, Claudia Pina and Fridolina Rolfo and Kim Little had a standout performance in midfield.
In fact, it was that central area that Arsenal looked to overload to keep Barcelona from their usual passing play, forcing them out wide. Every time the ball moved, Arsenal jumped to press, closing down the spaces Barca operate best from.
While this kept the Spaniards from their usual flow, it did not entirely stop their creative forces. Arsenal faced 20 shots, but were able to keep them all out with a mix of calmness, good decision-making and concentration.
A key demonstration of that commitment was Williamson's stunning intervention to deny Ewa Pajor in one-vs-one situation that would have resulted in an inevitable goal. The video went viral that night.
Arsenal had their own attacking moments, too - an own-goal from Irene Parades ruled out for a Frida Maanum offside - but it was the introduction of Stina Blackstenius and Beth Mead in the 67th minute that really turned the game in the Gunners' favour.
The change saw Alessia Russo move further back as Blackstenius took up the No 9 role. The Sweden international began to stretch the game more, getting in behind Barcelona's backline and giving them more to think about defensively.
As Barca dealt with the new Arsenal threat, they became less efficient at creating their own attacking momentum. In fact, in her just over 20-minute cameo, Blackstenius had the most shots (3), the most shots on target (2) and the most touches in the Barcelona box (5) of any of her team-mates.
And of course, it was her finish from Mead's reverse pass that won it for Arsenal, built on the contributions across the pitch.
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Slegers told the club's official website after the game: "We knew that we had to be really disciplined today with everything we did. Not the least in the defensive part of our game, but also in our positioning in possession, on the ball and the decision-making.
"The decision-making was on such a high level for the players on the pitch, but also the staff working in the background, the analysts up in the stadium. I think the decisions have been so good. I think that was key for us today, to be able to manage the different phases of the game."
Barcelona vs Arsenal has been moved from Wednesday to Thursday with a general strike set to take place in Spain, raising concerns over travel disruption and matchday arrangements.
Of course, the defeat did little to stop Barcelona's stranglehold on Europe. They went on to win the 2026 title and have three wins from three in the Champions League this season - the only team still with a 100 per cent record.
But Arsenal are among three other teams who are unbeaten in the competition - OL Lyonnes and Chelsea the others - in stark contrast to their domestic form. It is worth noting they have played their home league phase games at Borehamwood, rather than the Emirates. They will move games there from the quarter-finals onward, should they reach it.
When asked if the Champions League campaign shows that Arsenal are still a good team, captain Little told Sky Sports: "Yeah, completely, that doesn't just disappear overnight or because you've had a bad run of results.
"You move from competition to competition and we've picked up two wins in a draw so far in the Champions League. We're in a really good place there and sometimes one can be going better than the other."
There are many parallels to that day in May 2025. Firstly, Arsenal go into the game as huge underdogs. They laboured to an opening win against HB Koge, but looked more assured in a 3-0 win against Benfica, either side of the 2-2 draw against Paris FC.
Barcelona have scored 19 goals in three Champions League games this season, conceding just two, both in their opening match, also against Paris FC.
They are also playing at the Nou Camp this time - a difference - but all of the Gunners' WSL wins have come on the road (three from five), and their Champions League draw came in France.
Plenty of teams come to the Emirates in the WSL and sit in a low block to try and frustrate the Gunners - and for the most part, it has worked. Arsenal have struggled to break them down, but they will have no such concerns against Barcelona.
"We know how good they are on the ball," Slegers said. "We know that we have to be comfortable without the ball as well. That's definitely part of the mindset. A lot of the players have done it before. In that sense, what we faced against Liverpool was a team that was in possession more than our opponents normally.
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"We will have to suffer. We'll have to put bodies on the lines. We'll have to be really disciplined. But we have a lot of quality in our team as well, so we want to put our qualities and our threat onto Barcelona."
With the greatest of respects, Liverpool are not Barcelona, and when facing more attacking teams in the WSL this season like Chelsea and Man City, Arsenal have been found wanting.
But since those back-to-back league defeats, the Gunners are unbeaten in their last five matches in all competitions. Perhaps a sign that they are finally starting to find their feet and gel after a busy summer?
Barcelona will certainly be a test of that. It is also an opportunity for other players to start contributing - Russo has scored Arsenal's last seven goals. Slegers needs more from her forward players if they are to have any chance of winning in Spain. Goalless draws are not regularly associated with either side.
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"Top teams need top players, top forwards... We're putting her in positions, we're assisting her as well. As a team, we're building up towards the goal and it's been Alessia's head or foot last on the ball... She's doing that for us right now, but we also know that other players can do that for us," the Arsenal boss reflected.
And, of course, those defensive hallmarks from Lisbon will need to be dusted off and reimplemented. Seven of the team that started against Liverpool at the weekend did so against Barcelona in the final too - the muscle memory is there.
Arsenal will go into every game to win it. But at the very least, they need to be competitive, and keep themselves in the mix for automatic qualification to the Champions League quarter-finals, especially with OL Lyonnes visiting Borehamwood next week. "This is what we live for. This is what we love," Slegers said.
The Gunners are already out of the WSL title race. Another deep run in Europe is very much on - but you have to beat the best to do so. The coming weeks will test that, and Arsenal have done it before.
"To be able to get points in a game like this against such a strong opponent, you'll need a good performance. I think performance and result will go hand in hand," Slegers added.
Difficult? Yes. Impossible? Arsenal have proven not, but the Gunners need more than good - closer to near-perfect - performances as they did in Lisbon to make it so.
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11 of November 2026
