Arsenal’s stunning 5-1 win at European champions Lyon last night made the whole of Europe sit up and take notice. Caitlin Foord and Beth Mead bagged braces and Arsenal secure once of the greatest results in their recent history. To put it in some context, this was a Lyon side that hadn’t lost by more than one goal in the Champions League since 2009!
But is this result a complete fluke, or can a Women’s Super League team win this elite competition for the second time in history, 15 years after the Gunners managed it in 2007?
There’s absolutely no doubt that the quality of the WSL has improved exponentially over the past decade. It now has 12 fully professional teams, genuine superstars and six figure transfers, with millions of girls around the country now allowed to dream of a future as a footballer.
But as the women’s game has grown, the giants of European football have taken a stranglehold on the Champions League. Lyon have won six of the last seven editions in a period of dominance that hasn’t ever been replicated in the men's game, even by the great Real Madrid team of the 1950s.
Lyon’s huge investment into their women’s team deserves praise, but it has also allowed them to amass the finest players in the world. They are now being challenged domestically by PSG, but how far off are the English clubs from being genuinely able to compete for club football’s biggest prize?
The nature of the 16-team competition, which is far superior to the predictable men’s edition, means that these sorts of games are bound to happen in the group stages. PSG host Chelsea tonight as the Anglo-French rivalry continues - can they secure another big win in Europe even without the influential Emma Hayes?
It isn’t just the French that have placed themselves amongst the elite. Barcelona, who won the Champions League in 2021, before losing in the final this year, are for many the best team in the world. They boast the recently crowned double Ballon d’Or winner Alexia Putellas and are the envy of many other women’s sides, having packed the Nou Camp with 91,648 fans to set a new attendance record last season in Europe. They won 30 out of 30 in La Liga last year and their clash with Lyon in the Champions League final was a fitting finale as the two best teams in the world met.
Now Real Madrid are beginning to strengthen, while the German clubs, Frankfurt and Wolfsburg have also won this competition in the past again and look good in Germany. Bayern Munich’s investment is growing as they look to stamp their mark on European football and we will see how far they come when they face off against Barcelona in Group D.
So with all this strength and the established elite, can the 15-year wait end for English clubs? It looked like it could happen two years ago when Chelsea fought their way through to the final of this competition, further than any English side had gone since Arsenal won it in 2007. But against Barcelona, they were humiliated in the first half, eventually losing 4-0.
Has the gap closed over the past two years? After last night’s result you would have to say yes, but in truth, it’s difficult to say.
When England lifted the European Championship trophy this summer, all but one of the winning squad played their football in the WSL. It would make sense that as the national team achieves success, their clubs start winning on the continent.
But three key members, Lucy Bronze, Keira Walsh and Georgia Stanway all moved abroad this summer. So what does that tell us? Clearly, the giants on the continent still hold the power. Bronze and Walsh went to Barca and Stanway went to Bayern, with Walsh’s move setting a new transfer record for women’s football - in the region of £350k.
Manchester City didn’t qualify for the Champions League which plays some part in the deals, but even so, these moves cause concern. It seems the European clubs can still poach England’s best players and with Hayes out of action, we can’t expect Chelsea to be as strong as they were two years ago.
Having said that, the WSL clubs have flexed their muscles in recent years. Pernille Harder joined Chelsea from Wolfsburg for a world record fee while Hayes also added Kadeisha Buchanan this summer, a five-time Champions League winner with Lyon.
Arsenal’s battle to keep hold of Vivianne Miedema also shows they aren’t a second rate side. It looked for all the world like she would leave after talks with PSG, but she decided to stay put in London, as Juventus' Lina Hurtig also joined the club.
Arsenal showed last night they can compete with the very best in a one-off game but it remains to be seen if they can go all the way. Given four of the last eight Champions League seasons have lacked an English semi-finalist, consistently reaching the final four should be the first aim. From there, the WSL sides can dream of winning it, but after thumping Lyon, Arsenal’s dreams have definitely moved a little closer into reality.
