'My dreams came true': Arsenal celebrate UWCL success in style

LONDON -- The grey, gloomy skies implicit the Emirates Stadium successful N5 were overpowered by an abundance of red-and-white confetti blasted into the aerial arsenic Arsenal's women's squad hoisted the coveted UEFA Champions League trophy aloft successful beforehand of their adoring fans.

Thousands of supports had begun gathering successful Armoury Square arsenic aboriginal arsenic 5 a.m. connected Monday to observe the extremity of an 18-year hold for a European trophy, pursuing the Gunners' daze 1-0 triumph implicit Barcelona connected Saturday successful Lisbon.

The triumph parade did not commencement until aft 10 a.m. -- with respective fans joking it was similar the Glastonbury festival, showing up arsenic aboriginal arsenic imaginable to unafraid a spot by the obstruction astatine the beforehand -- and, aft an instauration from Alex Scott (who scored the winning extremity successful the 2006-07 final, the past clip Arsenal lifted the trophy), a replay of the lucifer highlights and a DJ set, the players were welcomed onto the signifier 1 by one.

There were immense cheers for puerility Gooners Leah Williamson (who was a nine mascot backmost successful 2007) and Lotte Wubben-Moy, shouts of "Meado" [Beth Mead] and "Russo" [Alessia Russo] erstwhile the 2 England forwards joined the party, and screams of devotion for defender Katie McCabe and skipper Kim Little. Though that was nary lucifer for the adulation shown towards Swedish striker Stina Blackstenius, who netted the winning goal.

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Following the trophy lift, immoderate alternatively retired of tune renditions of "Sweet Caroline", "Karma Chameleon" (with adapted lyrics to praise Blackstenius), "Freed From Desire" and "Simply The Best," summed up the feelings of what Arsenal had achieved. And it was lone conscionable opening to descend successful for the players.

Centre-back Steph Catley was grasping the winners' medal astir her cervix arsenic if it was going to disappear.

"I don't deliberation [it's sunk in]," she told ESPN. "I deliberation it's hard. Sometimes I conscionable look down astatine this [the medal], I've been wearing it non-stop for nevertheless agelong it's been, nevertheless galore hours, but we accidental it to each different a bit, 'We won the Champions League' and past it sinks successful for a second. It's honestly hard to enactment into words, but similar I said, it's the champion infinitesimal of my career."

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Arsenal, whose men's squad finished 2nd successful the Premier League but did not triumph a trophy, expected a decent showing for the women's parade, but no-one could person predicted the turnout arsenic fans filled the quadrate and surrounding streets to busting point. "It's beauteous overwhelming to beryllium honest," Catley added. "That was insane; I've ne'er felt similar that successful my life. This full acquisition has been what you imagination of arsenic a kid erstwhile you determine to beryllium a footballer. To bash it with this club, it's everything I could person ever dreamed of."

For Williamson -- who joined Arsenal astatine the property of eight, coming done the academy earlier making her debut for the archetypal squad successful 2014 and being named vice-captain -- it was each she had ever dreamed of. She has been waiting for this infinitesimal each her life.

"My dreams came true," she said. "I deliberation it sunk successful erstwhile I turned astir and saw connected the stadium, the honoring of the erstwhile squad that did it [in 2007] and past computing successful my caput that that's what we did. Raising a Champions League trophy connected Armoury Square, that is not thing I ever thought would beryllium possible. I'm conscionable truthful happy."

Plenty of the fans successful attendance had travelled to Lisbon for the last against Barcelona and made it backmost successful clip for the aboriginal commencement successful northbound London. Around 4,000 had made the 1,300-mile travel to Portugal.

Before Saturday's kick-off astatine Sporting CP's 50,000-seater Estádio José Alvalade, the aptly named "Pink Street" (it is virtually a pinkish street) was flooded with Arsenal shirts. Fans poured retired of the section bars and eateries that filled the tiny alleyway successful Lisbon metropolis centre, covered by a canopy of rainbow umbrellas, reeling disconnected the much-loved chants from their songbook to hole for the game.

Lifelong instrumentality Lily archetypal told ESPN that she "hopes they'll bring the trophy backmost to northbound London," but past the world of the task of defeating the reigning champions kicked successful and she added: "But they battered Chelsea, truthful arsenic agelong arsenic we don't nonaccomplishment by 5-0, I'll beryllium okay."

Her family, each successful Arsenal shirts of immoderate kind, had travelled the nighttime before, managing to unafraid flights and a edifice earlier the prices roseate dramatically. There, she met up with the tons of friends she had made done the nine and joining meetups. Making the travel was not lone astir supporting Arsenal, it was astir sharing the infinitesimal with the radical she had spent each play with. "It wouldn't beryllium the aforesaid [watching from home]; I couldn't miss it," she said. "As soon arsenic they were successful the final, I knew I had to beryllium here."

Arsenal's travelling contingent had shown up successful the masses passim this season, some domestically and abroad, though erstwhile wrong the Estádio José Alvalade they were outnumbered by the dedicated Barcelona supporters who made the abbreviated travel implicit the borderline to Portugal.

Barca fans filled each sides of the stadium, barroom the country wherever Arsenal's main halfway congregated, hoping their broadside would unafraid a third-straight title. But, aft a cagey archetypal half, they were stunned into soundlessness erstwhile Beth Mead rolled a cleanable walk into the way of Blackstenius, who slotted location successful 74th minute.

Rookie manager Renee Slegers, who succeeded Jonas Eidevall aft the 5-2 decision to Bayern Munich successful October, had acceptable up her program expertly -- asking Caitlin Foord to driblet into the middle, creating 4 midfielders successful the cardinal areas to forestall Aitana Bonmatí and Alexia Putellas from being capable to tally through. And by the clip Barcelona caught on, it was excessively late.

"The players had the crippled of their lives and I genuinely don't cognize anybody that enactment up a ft incorrect successful presumption of the gameplan and what it was meant to be," Williamson said.

"I deliberation the gameplan ever is that we privation to beryllium the hardest moving squad successful the satellite and I don't deliberation there's galore nine teams that tin archer maine otherwise. It's much astir america being mentally connected it against Barcelona. It was a collaboration of everybody, everything, each of us. The strap enactment was 'all of us, each in.' That's what you saw."

The celebrations aft the last whistle were emphatic. Tears streamed down faces, families poured onto the pitch, and fans could not rather judge what had happened. Even aggregate Ballon d'Or victor Bonmati was near successful disbelief.

"I dropped my knees due to the fact that of the tears and I was bushed to beryllium honest," Williamson said. "And past consecutive away, I went to look for Kim [Little] and past she was close successful beforehand of my face, but we were conscionable we were sobbing."

Both connected and disconnected the pitch, the scenes reminded of the celebrations erstwhile England won Euro 2022. After a fewer hours soaking up the ambiance and savoring the moment, Williamson led the squad done the mixed portion with speakers blaring retired euphony arsenic they filed onto the bus. "Enjoy your night; I cognize I will," she yelled implicit the sound astatine the gathered media.

Back astatine the squad hotel, instrumentalist Jess Glynne -- who had promised to execute if the squad won -- enactment connected a show. At 1 constituent she was joined by midfielder Victoria Pelova for a duet. Though it was McCabe, whose dependable was waning aft the 36 hours of celebrations, who led the charge.

"We've each played hard. As you tin perceive from my voice, it's been an astonishing past fewer days," Mead said. "These are halfway memories that volition instrumentality with maine and the squad forever."

But contempt different trophy successful the furniture and celebrations apt to tally heavy into the summer, Arsenal are already looking up to adjacent season. The triumph has lone spurred the squad connected to privation more.

They whitethorn beryllium champions of Europe for a 2nd clip -- doing what Chelsea had failed to bash passim Emma Hayes' glittering 12-year tenure, and what Sonia Bompastor could not bash this play contempt an unbeaten WSL tally -- but the Gunners haven't won the league successful six years, nor been successful an FA Cup last successful 4 years. So this is the cleanable instauration to physique on.

"I deliberation that's the thing, you triumph erstwhile and you're like, 'now we person to support it.' We person to enactment Champions League winners," Catley said. "There's truthful overmuch we privation to triumph successful the league. We privation an FA Cup, we privation the League Cup again, we privation the League.

"This is thing astonishing to physique connected for adjacent season. We've got a sensation of the eventual success, truthful we decidedly privation more. We've won the eventual extremity this season, but adjacent twelvemonth we privation to spell up different level.