Arsenal striker Alessia Russo has said the Gunners are only just beginning their journey after winning the Champions League trophy in Lisbon.
They remain the only English club to have won the Women's Championship, having done so once before Saturday's 1-0 win over Barcelona to complete a historic quadruple in 2007.
The triumph also secures Arsenal an automatic place in next season's Champions League – alongside Women's Super League winners Chelsea – becoming the first team in history to reach the final from the first qualifying round.
“I’m absolutely delighted,” Russo said after substitute Stina Blaxtenius’ 74th-minute goal proved decisive in beating Barcelona, who dominated Europe in 2021, 2023 and 2024.
“I can't find the words, it's just unbelievable. It seems surreal now, but I had so much confidence going into that game. We all had that feeling. We didn't want to talk about it much, but we all had that feeling.
“We knew we could do it and we just had to go out and do it.”
The result means Arsenal will also represent Europe in the inaugural FIFA Women's Champions Cup next year, automatically qualifying for the semi-finals.
And while this is a remarkable end to a hard-fought campaign and a seven-month journey under the leadership of Renée Slegers, Russo also sees it as just a first step.
“I feel it to a huge degree,” she said. “When you win, you want to win more, and you also realize that you are good enough to do it.
“I think the win was significant for a lot of reasons, but now we're looking to do better. We want to come back and start next year strong. We're going to compete more aggressively on the domestic stage than we did this year, and we want to bring that trophy back.”
The returning champions will celebrate their title on Monday with 10,000 fans at Armoury Square outside the Emirates Stadium in London, where the trophy presentation ceremony will take place at around 11.40am.
It is a swift turn of events ahead of the next international window, which for Russo and England begins with Friday's Nations League clash with Portugal at Wembley Stadium.
Arsenal's win was a testament to their resilience and willingness to take risks, with forward Chloe Kelly admitting after their triumph that she almost quit football, finding herself in a “dark place” at Manchester City before joining the Gunners on loan in January.
And just two days before scoring Blackstenius's decisive goal in the final, England striker and second-half substitute Beth Mead wrote a moving tribute to her mother June, who died of ovarian cancer in 2023, in an article for the Players' Tribune.
Sourse: breakingnews.ie
