Redemption at Meadow Park: Arsenal’s Dominant Display Earns Them a Spot in the UWCL Group Stage

Under the lights at Meadow Park, The Gunners reminded everyone that they can rise to the occasion and perform under pressure.

The opening minutes were tense, with nerves hanging in the air, but Arsenal quickly found their rhythm and showed off their classic passing style play.

The rainy conditions favouring their quick passes and keeping the momentum going.

Starting the match 1-0 down on aggregate, the home crowd were relentless, their passionate cheers and chants driving their team forward to overturn last week’s loss and storm through to the UWCL group stage.

Back in the starting XI, after a year filled with setbacks, Lia Walti made her mark with a stunning strike from distance which opened the evening’s scoring and drew the two teams to 1-1 on aggregate.

With everything still to play for, the energy at Meadow Park ignited, and The Gunners kept battling on underlined by the noise of their fans.  

After a scramble in front of the goal, summer signing Mariona Caldentey pounced on the ball to score her first goal for Arsenal; just before half time, the timing was perfect and the eruption of celebrations at Meadow Park showed it.

Caldentey may be new to Arsenal but her Champions League pedigree shone through when it mattered most.

The momentum and energy seemed to grow and grow after half time, and it was all Arsenal.

Scoring towards the iconic North Bank, which was as loud as ever, Beth Mead gave the fans what they came for as she latched onto the end of Katie McCabe’s cross and in vintage fashion, rifled the ball into the back of the net to take the score to 3-0.

Having only been brought on in the 76th minute, Frida Maanum delivered a textbook finish in the 78th minute effortlessly slotting home a well-placed pass from Caitlin Foord.

Sending Meadow Park into a frenzy as the scoreboards displayed the 4-0 (4-1 on aggregate) scoreline.

Despite throwing everything at Arsenal, BK Hacken were unable to find the back of the net, denied by goalkeeper Manuela Zinsberger on several occasions.

Unfortunately for the team and their travelling fans, the Champions League journey has ended for the 2023-24 quarter-finalists.

It wasn’t just the fans celebrating - manager Jonas Eidevall cheered on his team with pride as they executed exactly what was needed to secure progression.

The Arsenal team that showed up tonight, sent a message to competitors and fans alike that despite an early UWCL exit last year, they are here to stay this year with a newfound hunger for glory.

The victory was a testament to The Gunners’ resilience, work rate and teamwork and fans hope to see more of the same as the season continues.

The final score was 4-0 (4-1 on agg) to Arsenal with goals from Lia Walti, Mariona Caldentey, Beth Mead and Frida Maanum.

Arsenal will now progress to the group stage of the UWCL with the draw taking place on Friday lunchtime.

Isobel Gilligan