Arsenal given the tools to topple Barcelona after Chelsea’s Champions League weakness discovered

The day has almost arrived and Arsenal will be chomping at the bit to get on their flight to Portugal to play Barcelona in only their second ever Champions League final. Having been crowned European champions in 2007, Renee Slegers in her first season in charge having taken over from Jonas Eidevall earlier in the campaign already has a shot at the ultimate piece of silverware.

Standing in her and her players’ way are the world’s best in women’s football, Barcelona, in what promises to be an amazing battle which you can watch on TNT Sports and discovery+. The Blaugrana have won three of the last four finals and are looking to claim a fourth in five years.

To get a sense of the challenge that Arsenal have and the nuance surrounding the club and its standing, football.london spoke to TNT Sports expert and former Arsenal midfielder and winger Karen Carney. Having won the competition while with the Gunners 18 years ago, Carney was the perfect candidate to speak on the challenge to come.

It was obvious from the get go that Carney was a big fan of Slegers and the work she has done in such a short space of time. But, speaking honestly, she admitted that she had no expectations because she did not know what to expect when Slegers arrived.

“I don’t think I had anything. Does that sound a bit strange?” Carney asked. “I don’t know what I expected. But I absolutely love what she’s done.

“Honestly, massive, massive fan of what she’s done this season so far, and it’s incredible. I was speaking to Kim Little this morning, actually, for an interview, and I was asking about Renée, because I’m massively intrigued, because I’m like, ‘how? What’s the shift? What’s the catalyst?’

“And they’ve done pretty similar stuff to what they’ve done with Jonas. Maybe she’s just a bit calmer in her approach, a little bit more direct with her information, so it’s a little bit more concise, so it’s maybe more… You know, I’ve heard that from all the football sources, actually, but she’s done a brilliant job and I think she’s been brave in how they play their football.

“I know a lot of people might say they’ve not really changed, but I think they have, I think they play a little bit more, I think they’re calmer in possession.”

Last season, Arsenal had struggles, which permeated into the start of the new season and eventually saw Eidevall leave the side. Creativity was certainly an issue, but Slegers has been able to call on the summer signing of Mariona Caldentey, a Barcelona veteran and creative master, which has been critical to the side’s improvements this season in that department.

“She’s moved position as well this season,” Carney pointed out. “She’s moved more central. She’s played those positions like left wing. She’s playing the ten. She’s playing a little bit deeper, obviously, with Kim now.

“They’ve picked up a right little pair in between them. But I think what I’ve seen from Renee is the calmness to keep playing, to be brave and to get on the ball. And what I’ve also noticed is that Kim Little as well.

“I’ve known Kim since she was 17. Kim’s super, super attacking. And probably when I’ve watched Arsenal the last couple of years, I feel like they’ve been kind of had the reins pulled upon them.

“But you can’t put reins on Caldentey. You can’t put reins on Kim Little. They have to have a responsibility to defend every player. But I just feel like the shackles have been trying to cuff them a little bit.

“And you see Kim higher up the pitch getting goals. You see Caldentey getting up higher up the pitch with the goals. There just seems to be that little bit more freedom in them. And so I’ve really noticed that under Renee.”

Picking up on that point of freedom and whether that is the difference between where Arsenal can succeed and where Chelsea failed, it is worth noting exactly what the Gunners are facing. Chelsea, the treble-winning WSL Invincibles side of this season, were beaten 8-2 by this Barca side across two legs.

But could it be this difference of freedom, where Chelsea were too organised and not expressive enough and where the two sides might diverge in their outcomes. Carney expects Barca to have much of the ball, but the structure over a player-for-player approach could be a key difference-maker.

“I think Chelsea’s game plan, you know what I mean? I’m sure Sonia [Bompastor] will probably be able to ring me up and go, ‘What are you on about?’ And I’ll take that on the chin,” Carney added.

“But I felt the game plan against Chelsea was too much like, ‘I’m going to mark you and we’re going to go player for player against each other.’ And you can’t do that against Barca. You can’t.

“You’ve got to have structure. If you watch the round, if you watch the match, if you see women’s games back where they had success, there’s a clear structure in the game plan. They defend together as a team, not in isolation. So, there’s freedom.

“You’ve got to pick when you take your freedom. At the end of the day, they’re the top teams. Even in the men’s Champions League, you respect that possession. And I think Arsenal have just got to be really mindful of that.”

In football, there is such an emphasis on rest and recovery, and teams which have more tend to be seen as having a greater advantage. But is there such a thing as too much rest?

Where Barcelona will have had just six days between their last match and the final, Arsenal will have had two weeks since the end of the WSL and this fixture. So, putting it to Carney on where the advantage lies, the former England international’s preference was clear.

“I’d rather have a game,” she said. “Just because that’s just my personal preference.

“But the manager would probably say I’d rather have a build-up and get the game plan and, you know, but you can’t start game plans too early because it’s a different preparation and you bring anxiety. I said I was at the training ground today, I didn’t feel any of that. It seemed pretty good. So, you know, that’s probably something that maybe she’s got, Renee, that she’s calm, she’s direct and super chill, isn’t she?”

But you would rather have a game? “Oh yeah! I personally hated training. Rubbish!” Carney laughed.

“It is, isn’t it? Like, you train all week to play one game, you want to play as many games as you can. It’s where you build your fitness, your sharpness, your confidence.

“You can get injured in training. So, for me, I’d want to play a game, but that’s just my preference. Somebody else might want detail and preparation time.”

Being mean, to end the conversation which was a genuine joy to hear the passion that Carney exuded throughout, a prediction had to be asked for. But it was prefaced that a head and heart answer would be allowed.

“My heart would obviously love Arsenal to win, but my head says this is Barcelona,” Carney admitted. “And, you know, it’s actually what Oliver Glasner [FA Cup-winning Crystal Palace manager] said the other day, I think he said to me, ‘If we play 10 times, nine times, they win, one time we do.’

“That’s what, you know, Arsenal women have to do to begin. When we won it in 2007, honestly, we had every bit of luck. I’ve never had so much luck in my life. And sometimes you just need that.

“You just have to bank on doing things you’ve never done before, fight like you’ve never fought before, mentally go places you’ve never been before, physically as well. And you come up and you have that trophy for the rest of your life. So, I just hope they do it. I really do. And I hope Barcelona don’t.

“I hope that the game plan is well executed. Someone like Alex Scott in 2007, I mean, you look at all the attacking players that we had, Alex comes up and scores a worldie, and you go, where did that come from? And you go, ‘Cheers, Al.’ And it could be the same this weekend, and I hope it is.”

Watch the UEFA Women’s Champions League Final on TNT Sports and discovery+ the home of European football from 4pm, Saturday 24^th May