Historic Sell-Out At Emirates Stadium
Arsenal Ladies sold out the Emirates Stadium for their Champions League semi-final, marking a pivotal moment in women’s football and raising questions about their future stadium.
An historic moment for Arsenal Women and women’s football has been marked as they sold out tickets for the Emirates Stadium for their Champions League semi-final second leg against Wolfsburg on Bank holiday Monday. With the first leg ending in a 2-2 draw, Jonas Eidevall’s team were aiming to secure their place in the final, backed by a record 60,000-strong crowd.
This season has seen a surge in support for Arsenal Women, with over 240,000 tickets purchased for their matches at the Emirates across three Women’s Super League (WSL) games and five Champions League fixtures. Arsenal set a new WSL attendance record in September’s north London derby against Tottenham, where 53,737 tickets were sold, with the growing demand for women’s football leading to discussions about Arsenal Women’s future at the Emirates. They have clearly outgrown their current home ground at Boreham Wood, and a more permanent move to the Emirates is now being considered.
In March, when asked about playing more games at the Emirates, manager Jonas Eidevall said, “I think when we talk about growing the game, that’s absolutely fundamental for creating these moments with our supporters. I think it’s been absolutely fundamental, that without us being able to experience playing here so many times, but also to get supporters here to experience it so many times with us. It helps us to do this tonight.”
Eidevall expressed his hopes for the future, stating, “I really hope that it continues to push. I get the sense of belief that we’re seeing history getting created very quickly in front of our eyes when I see how the attendances and the culture is here at the Emirates Stadium. Five years ago, if someone would have said that Arsenal’s long-term plan is to move permanently to Emirates Stadium, people would probably have asked ‘how is that going to happen?’, but now I think people understand that that might be a realistic vision for the future.”
Unfortunately for the Arsenal Ladies they were edged out in a fantastic spectacle. An injury-hit squad missed out on the Women's Champions League final by the narrowest of margins as the two-time European champions Wolfsburg scored the winner in extra-time in a pulsating encounter at a packed Emirates Stadium to progress to the final against Barcelona in Eindhoven.
