The performance was fluid, controlled and blistering as Arsenal booked a place in the Women’s Champions League semi-final for the first time in 10 years with a 2-0 defeat of the Bundesliga leaders Bayern Munich.
Two goals in seven minutes from Frida Maanum and Stina Blackstenius in the first half had the 21,307 fans rapt as the Gunners overturned a 1-0 first-leg deficit in style.
There is a real feelgood factor around Arsenal, one that well and truly surrounds the women’s team as much as the men’s. More than 20,000 tickets were sold before the game, far exceeding the 12,232 record for a midweek Women’s Champions League game in England and the atmosphere at a rain-drenched Emirates was passionate, loud and uplifting.
It would be needed. The Gunners looked good in the first leg despite Lea Schüller’s goal giving the German side the win but, despite hammering at the door for much of the second half, Bayern proved difficult to break down.