Gunners a classic underdog story

Opinion

If Arsenal hope to leave Lisbon with the Women’s Champions League trophy this weekend, they should get in touch with the city’s 3rd Criminal Investigation Squad.

They wouldn’t be reaching out for security purposes — although some extra vigilance might be helpful — but rather to connect with the trio of 20-somethings who broke into Estadio Jose Alvalade last Sunday morning, stole the trophy from the garage and took it on a three-hour bus ride to Porto.

The English club could use a few pointers, because thievery might be the only way to take the 10 kilogram piece of sterling silver from the possessive clutches of Barcelona, who basically own it.

Almost exactly a year ago, Barça Feminí beat OL Lyonnes 2-0 to retain the European crown. Aitana Bonmatí and Alexia Putellas, winners of the last four Ballons D’Or, scored the goals that decided the Final in Bilbao. The year before that, Bonmatí inspired a second-half comeback to topple VfL Wolfsburg in Eindhoven.

In 2021, both she and Putellas tallied in a famous 4-0 dismantling of Chelsea in Gothenburg.

That was the last Final to feature an English team, and first since Arsenal’s 2007 triumph in the old two-legged format. They beat Umeå that April, winning 1-0 in front of 6,200 fans in Sweden and drawing 0-0 back home with not quite 3,500 in attendance.

It might as well have been a different world. Today, a capacity crowd of about 50,000 will watch the Champions League Final in the Portuguese capital (11:00 a.m., DAZN) with millions more tuning in via TV and streaming services.

The Gunners have simply never played on this grand a stage, and not much is expected of them. Which suits them down to the ground.

Having lost 2-0 to Real Madrid in the first leg of their quarterfinal, they roared back with three second-half goals in the return match. Then, in last month’s semifinal against OL Lyonnes, they were beaten 2-1 at home before an astonishing performance saw them win 4-1 in France.

In other words, they are the classic underdog story. They don’t seem to know when they’re supposed to lose.

Maybe it’s down to experience. Led by 34-year-old Scottish midfielder Kim Little, Arsenal are a mostly veteran group that includes defender and Gunners lifer Leah Williamson, Ireland captain Katie McCabe, Manchester City loanee Chloe Kelly and now-substitute striker Beth Mead, who is England’s highest active goal-scorer.

Surrounded by this leadership core, the explosive Alessia Russo, versatile Frida Maanum and creative Mariona Caldentey have been able to produce the counter-attacks and difference-making moments that have taken Arsenal further than they should probably be. And as they’re unlikely to see much of the ball in Lisbon, those little moments will take on even greater importance.

Facing them will be the best Barcelona squad yet, and that’s saying something.

Put prime Bonmatí and a Putellas with injury problems behind her in the same team and it will always be an elite XI. Add commanding midfielder Patri, legendary Norway striker Caroline Graham Hansen and electrifying 23-year-old Clàudia Pina to the lineup and you get a side that dispatches knockout opponents Wolfsburg and Chelsea by a combined score of 18-4.

Framed another way, Salma Paralluelo, who has twice finished third in Ballon d’Or voting, is often a sub.

It helps — as if they needed any more of it — that Barcelona typically start as many as eight Spain internationals, teammates who have won the World Cup and Nations League and are favoured to win the European Championship this summer.

They like to win, and to win big. It’s also expected of them.

That Champions League trophy might as well have merely stopped in Lisbon on its delivery route to Catalonia. For Arsenal to get their hands on it, their best bet might be to park the bus at the stadium, sneak it in with their luggage and hightail it back to London.

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