Key events
8 min: Wolfsburg continue to be in control of this match, the huge crowd not affecting them. Rauch takes a heavy touch though and it is out of play.
6 min: Eidevall really celebrated when that wasn’t given, I think if Jonsdottir wasn’t offside it would have been. What a start.
5 min: The ball comes in and Wubben-Moy heads away but it seems to rebound and hit her hands potentially, will they give this penalty? The referee has been told to have a look, this doesn’t look good for the hosts. The referee doesn’t give it! It looks as though Jonsdottir was offside beforehand and the penalty is obsolete! Wow.
3 min: Janssen puts in a huge long pass which unlocks an attack for the visitors. It comes to Jonsdottir but she can’t make good contact. Oh, VAR is checking for a penalty with potential handball in the box from Arsenal!
2 min: Wolfsburg has retained the ball in the early stages and Frohms came under pressure from Arsenal’s high press. She gets the ball away and Huth is then ruled offside, a steady start.
Kick-off! Arsenal 0-0 (2-2 on agg) Wolfsburg
Here we go! The crowd are ready, the players are ready, are you? The delay to kick-off is just the delay from the stream, apologies for that.
The players are walking out at the Emirates and the crowd is deafening, wow what an atmsophere!
Harriet is getting in on the snack chat and said: “Just coffee for me right now but looking forward to a bit of microwaveable Korean instant noodles in an hour or so. And there is no such thing as “share size” popcorn; you’re just meant to share how tasty it is with the rest of us!” A coffee just after 5.30 is a bold choice, I thought about it but I think it would keep me up all night. Thank you for the popcorn support, the bag is nearly all gone – going to save some for half-time!
Arsenal are the only English team left in the competition after Barcelona knocked out Chelsea 2-1 on aggregate in their semi-final. To catch up on all that action, read the report below:
A really get video to watch ahead of kick-off:
What a few days it has been for women’s sport! The Red Roses had just over 58,000 people watch them in their first standalone match at Twickenham and now Arsenal have sold-out the Emirates.
Chelsea broke the Women’s Champions League attendance record in England when they hosted Barca in April with just over 27,000 at Stamford Bridge. Tonight’s game is sure to smash that with the Emirates having a capacity just over 60,000.
Joe has got in touch on email and let me know what snack he has gone for, saying: “Seeing as it’s around lunchtime here in central Indiana, and I had some errands to run, I picked up a Spicy California Roll from my local grocery. You have to be careful with grocery sushi, but this particular one has a good track record for me. And always remember to ask for extra wasabi, especially on a gloomy, rainy day like we have today. Wow!” Sushi from a supermarket really is a bit risky but it’s thrill too! I can’t say I’m the biggest sushi lover but if it gets you through the rain, munch away!
Wolfsburg’s manager Tommy Stroot said in his press conference: We’re ready for anything. There are going to be different periods in the game. A match like this can change at any moment with a goal for us or for our opponents. We’re prepared for quite a few scenarios, but we’ve already experienced many of them ourselves. That’s an advantage compared to last season. We’ve become more mature in terms of our principles and have more options when it comes to how we play. We’ve seen what it felt like to play against more passive opposition, but I’m sure we can take more initiative [on Monday] because we’ve been working on that in the last few days.”
Jonas Eidevall has spoken about the Emirates selling out ahead of the game. “I don’t see this as an end point, for me this has always been the natural progression,” he said. “It is a huge occasion for us as a team and as a club and it is a huge compliment. I hope we look back on this in history that we see it as one of the starting points where this became a regular occurrence. We have taken every opportunity since I have been here to go to the Emirates. That has always been the preference to go there. The more we play there, the more it feels like home.” Read the full piece:
Happy Bank Holiday all! I love a bit of snack chat so let me know what you’ve got going while you’re watching this one. Are you having a BBQ with this nice weather? Maybe having a cheeky drink alongside it? Let me know via Twitter or email! My choice this evening is salted popcorn but I feel slightly judged by the bag it’s in. It says ‘it’s GREAT for sharing’, the caps are how it is presented on the bag, and I am not planning on sharing it with anyone.
Imagine walking into a pub and England captain Leah Williamson is there to pull you a pint! Incredible scenes:
The team news is here! Arsenal have made no changes to the squad who travelled to Germany for the first leg.
Arsenal: Zinsberger; Maritz, Wubben-Moy, Beattie, Rafaelle, Catley; Wälti, Maanum; McCabe, Blackstenius, Pelova.
Subs: D’Angelo, Marckese, Hurtig, Kühl, Wienroither, Goldie, Agyemang, Harbert, Reid.
Wolfsburg, meanwhile, have made one change but it is huge with Alexandra Popp in the starting line-up with Jule Brand benched.
Wolfsburg: Frohms; Wilms, Hendrich, Janssen, Rauch; Oberdorf; Roord; Huth, Popp, Jonsdottir; Pajor.
Subs: Kassen, Weiss, Agrež, Bremer, Demann, Wolter, Wedemeyer, Wassmuth, Brand, Hegering.
Preamble
Hello and welcome to the second leg of Arsenal and Wolfsburg’s Women’s Champions League semi-final. It will be an historic night this evening no matter the outcome as the women’s team has sold-out the Emirates for the first time.
The first leg ended 2-2 after a valiant comeback from Arsenal, who have a depleted squad with the likes of Kim Little, Leah Williamson and Beth Mead out with injury. The Gunners displayed they could get a result without their stars in that first leg though and today they will have the home advantage – and what an advantage it will be!
It will be a treat to see the Emirates rocking for the women’s team, a feat achieved after the club used the main stadium to host women’s matches in recent seasons. The slow build alongside a great marketing campaign has seen the Emirates sell-out and the extra support could cheer the team onto their first Champions League final since 2007.
Wolfsburg will be looking to upset the party especially with their star striker Alexandra Popp back available for selection. Speaking of team news, the line-ups will be announced shortly and so stay tuned ahead of kick-off at 5.45pm BST.
