Arsenal Women head coach Renée Slegers revealed that staying calm was the key to her side’s 4-1 thrashing of record Champions League winners Lyon at the Groupama Stadium.

The Gunners overturned a 2-1 first leg deficit to reach their second European final, with Mariona Caldentey, Alessia Russo and Caitlin Foord all on target after Christiane Endler’s own goal. They will meet Barcelona next month in Lisbon.

“Super proud,” Slegers reflected. “We talked about the Arsenal way and what it looks like and it’s important for us, because that’s the football we believe in and it is hard to deliver every single day and in every single game. 

“But the total picture of what we do today against top opposition in a high pressure moment, I think it is unbelievable from the players. I think the biggest key for us was how calm we were in all phases of the game. 

“There’s so much work put into this game from the whole team, so I’m so happy, I am delighted for everyone who was a part of this. So happy.

“We really look forward to the final, but then also straight away when it’s euphoria on the pitch because it’s such a special moment but 30 minutes after it’s like, Aston Villa is the next one and we want to perform in that one. 

“We are so happy and we need to celebrate these special moments and we do, but we are also very humble and we need to get ready for the next one.”

Remarkably, the Gunners put five past Lyon on their previous visit in 2022, and the Gooner Fanzine asked the Arsenal head coach if that 5-1 win was talked about as part of their preparation for the second leg.

“It was a couple of players, because there are still a lot of players from that game that are still part of the squad, important players who wanted to watch that game back for their own individual preparation. 

‘But we never addressed it as a team because we talk about the here and now in our processes.”