When approached in the summertime of 2024, it was with events like Saturday’s Girls’s last in thoughts. A 3-time European champion with , and a World Cup winner with Spain, the midfielder was seen as a determine with the expertise, work ethic, charisma and trophy cupboard to assist Arsenal to the subsequent degree. Her last recreation for Barcelona got here in Bilbao, as they defeated Lyon to retain the Champions League. A 12 months on, the final recreation of her first season at Arsenal will culminate in one other Champions League last, this time in opposition to her former facet.
Simply as Arsenal hoped, Mariona has been pivotal to their run to their first last since 2007. The 29-year-old scored in each legs of their semi-final victory over Lyon, in addition to within the quarter-final comeback in opposition to Actual Madrid. It appears so easy now, as if by design, however she has introduced the profitable mentality which resulted in 25 main titles throughout her 10 years with Barcelona. That feeling, Mariona has mentioned, is “contagious”. “Mariona is a winner in all the pieces,” mentioned the Arsenal head coach Renee Slegers. “She is shifting the tradition ahead.”
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Mariona’s first 12 months in England, although, has not been with out its challenges. If the signing of considered one of Spain’s World Cup winners and one of the vital profitable gamers in Barcelona’s current dominance was an announcement of intent from Arsenal firstly of the season, the primary few weeks of their marketing campaign introduced a unique actuality. after simply 4 video games of the brand new Girls’s Tremendous League season, and following a dismal 5-2 defeat to Bayern Munich within the Champions League group phases. After a present of ambition, Arsenal have been left making an attempt to salvage one thing from their 12 months.
Arsenal’s season has seen a number of turning factors – together with the appointment of Renee Slegers (Getty Pictures)
In reality, the arrival of Mariona had additionally heightened expectations, with Arsenal eager to match their progress off the pitch with enhancements on it. Beneath Eidevall within the earlier season, Arsenal had struggled in opposition to deep defences. Mariona was a classy midfielder who might quicken their tempo and create some fluidity, however Eidevall’s facet continued to toil when tasked with breaking one other group down. With signed the 12 months earlier than, Eidevall had the items to construct an attacking facet, however they have been too typically too simple to decelerate. In the long run, it was the Swede who paid the worth.
What adopted was a dramatic transformation below Slegers, who had been Eidevall’s assistant. The Dutch coach made a direct impression by way of enhancing outcomes, profitable 11 of her first 12 video games in cost and steering Arsenal , but in addition of their model of play. Slegers had relationship with Arsenal’s squad, who felt the stress loosen as they began to click on and hit their stride. In that preliminary 12-game unbeaten run, Arsenal additionally scored 36 objectives.
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The league was gone, with Chelsea surging to the entrance below Sonia Bompastor and having the title all however wrapped up after they defeated Arsenal in late January. However there was nonetheless a serious prize to contend for within the Champions League and Slegers had boosted Arsenal’s possibilities significantly by recovering from that 5-2 defeat at Bayern Munich to win their subsequent 5 video games and qualify for the quarter-finals as group winners. That meant they’d keep away from Barcelona and Chelsea, and the draw had positioned the 2 continent’s two strongest groups within the different half anyway.
Caldentey gained the Champions League thrice throughout her 10 years at Barcelona (Getty Pictures)
An opportunity to save lots of the season had turn into a historic alternative. By then,- having impressed Arsenal with the way of how she had turned their marketing campaign round. The previous Netherlands worldwide, who retired from enjoying on the age of 29 on account of damage, consists on the touchline and her measured strategy was notably key in Arsenal’s comeback in opposition to Actual Madrid within the Champions League quarter-finals.
Having, Arsenal returned to the Emirates requiring an enormous comeback. By half time, Arsenal had dominated however made their means again to the dressing room with nothing to point out for it. Different groups could have panicked however Slegers advised her gamers {that a} breakthrough was coming. “We stayed calm,” Slegers mentioned. Arsenal reemerged in 14 second-half minutes.
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It was evening for Slegers in one other sense. Russo scored twice to underline the large steps the England striker has taken this season to enhance her output and total recreation. got here away with two assists, with the smile again on her face and the arrogance restored at Manchester Metropolis. Arsenal noticed a chance to signal the winger on mortgage in January and Kelly has returned to kind.
Mariona Caldentey scored an excellent aim in Arsenal’s win at Lyon within the semi-finals (Getty Pictures)
Slegers additionally labored out how one can get the perfect out of Mariona in her Arsenal group, after the Spaniard spent the primary half of the season switching between the wings and No 10 with out ever settling. Within the second leg in opposition to Madrid, Slegers pulled Mariona deeper into midfield alongside Kim Little and the previous Barcelona star was irrepressible, main the press off the ball and taking accountability with it. Her affect within the group has grown since she was introduced into the center of it.
And now Mariona is a recreation away from the place she was a 12 months in the past. Within the comeback in opposition to Lyon in France, Arsenal have been gifted a means again into the semi-final by their beneficiant hosts however Mariona produced the second of the tie along with her curling shot from the sting of the field to present them the lead for the primary time. It was the contact of sophistication, alongside that winner’s mentality to take the initiative, that Arsenal required.
In Lisbon, she is going to face mates, former team-mates and the membership she signed for aged 18. Her resolution to go away a dominant group was to expertise one thing new – and now she is the instance. “What I discovered is expertise just isn’t sufficient,” Mariona mentioned of her time at Barcelona final month. “It is advisable work onerous, to be match, to be prepared for the battles. It’s not simple and it takes time. It takes teamwork. That’s what we’re constructing now. I can really feel it. We have to consider in what we’re doing, within the Arsenal means. We’re on the way in which.”