The Guardian's Women's Football Weekly - Lucy Bronze on Chelsea’s treble, plus a WCL final preview: Women’s Football Weekly

Episode Date: May 20, 2025

Faye Carruthers is joined by Suzy Wrack, Robyn Cowen, Freddie Cardy and Lucy Bronze to break down Chelsea’s FA Cup final win and preview Arsenal’s huge Champions League final against Barcelona

This is The Guardian. Hello, I'm Faker-Others and welcome to The Guardian Women's Football Weekly. Chelsea have won the domestic treble after lifting the FA Cup with three goals against Manchester United, sealing three titles. Sonja Bonpastor's first season in charge could only have been bettered by winning the Champions League, so we're asking what is next for Chelsea? And we'll be speaking to someone who's won a treble three times with three different clubs as Lucy Bronze joins us on the pod. And speaking of the Champions League, we'll also preview the European final as Arsenal prepare to face Barcelona on Sunday.

All that plus we'll take your questions and that's today's Guardian Women's Football Weekly. What a panel we have today. Suzy Rack, good morning to you. I gave you a compliment about your hair and you just batted it off immediately. Well I'm unwashed and unshowered you know as you like sort of crawl to the end of the season it's hard to find metaphors for like what that looks like well my sister sent me a picture of my four-year-old niece who had crawled under her bed and fallen asleep under the bed and I thought that that sums up the way I feel like heading towards the end of the season.

Yes I hear you, I feel you. I have a feeling that Robin Cowan might be feeling the same with a Solly in her arms as we speak. How are you? Oh I wish I could call under a bed and go to sleep, that sounds wonderful. Otherwise all fine, all fine Faye, keeping our head above water. Otherwise, all fine, all fine, Faye, keeping our head above water. Excellent, I'm very glad to hear that. And we have a debut at the end of the season, Freddie Cardy, editor of Goon of Fanzine. How are you? It's a pleasure to have you. I'm very well, yeah. Thanks for having me on and looking forward to a very big weekend once I get some university assignments out the way first so no pressure there either. Oh Freddie, you've just ruined it, you've now just ruined it because now we all feel ancient. That can happen, that can happen. What a week for you, we'll delve into Arsenal in part two but in

part one we're going to start with Chelsea capping off their dominance of English football this season, lifting the Adobe Women's FA Cup for the sixth time at Wembley on Sunday. It was the trophy that sealed the treble for Sonia Bonpastor in her first season in charge. The game finished Chelsea 3, Manchester United 0, thanks to a brace from Sondé Baltimore and a header from substitute Katerina Macario. Now, before we speak to the panel it's not every day that you win an FA Cup let alone a treble so we thought we'd get a very special guest on today Lucy Bronze joins us fresh from the celebrations at Wembley been basking in the

sun this afternoon as well and we thought she could give us the best insight on what's been an incredible season for Chelsea. How are you doing Lucy? Really good, thank you. Excellent. How have the celebrations been? Have you recovered? Yeah, I didn't get much sleep but we had the day off yesterday and then we've been training again so it's non-stop. You sealed the treble at Wembley capped off the 30-game unbeaten season. What's the moment for you like personally when the whistle blows? I mean and how used to it are you now? I mean you've won so many things does it does it actually still impact you emotionally? Yeah, definitely. I think more so now it's weird. It's probably impacted me more now. I've done it more often I think when you're younger like you kind of take for granted that you don't know how many of these moments you

get. And I guess as I've got older, I know that these moments are going to be less and less, obviously, because I have to retire at some point. Please don't, not yet. At some point it's coming. So yeah, and I guess obviously, like I said, coming back to Chelsea was, I want to be back in England and at Wembley's, I absolutely adore playing at Wembley so to play there, to finish the last game, I absolutely loved that. To be around the fans, a lot of them from England and England fans as well so that was extra special having been away for two years. Yeah, I bet. Three is the magic number as well because it's the third FA Cup trophy for you. You're

also the first player to win three trebles for three separate teams, which is some stat. I mean, it's such a strange thing to say, bearing in mind, you know, you've been in the women's game right from the beginning of the growth and, you know, had to push so hard to get it to where it is now. Did you even begin to think about any of those records when you first set out? Absolutely not. I remember still having an interview when I was at England and I had my first or second cap and they were like oh do you have a dream of getting a hundred caps and I was like absolutely no way that is not happening like that's insane to even think about I

think I've just took each moment as it's come and the kind of moments just present themselves in front of me and just I just try my best to do my best try and take the moment and enjoy it and just live the live the life. What do you do with all the medals? Do you get them out every now and again? Have you ever put them all on at once? I don't know where they all are. You don't know where they all are, there's that many. That's a weight training session, Susie.

I think because I moved so much, I ended up leaving some of my sisters, some of my mums and then now that I've got my niece and my nephew, they play a game called medals. So they like wear them when they, I don't know, they win in a race at grandma's house, they get a medal and it's like a Champions League medal or something. No way. That's brilliant. Looking back on the game on Sunday, what did you feel the differences were between yourselves and Manchester United this season? Mark Skinner talking afterwards talked about the experience, could you feel that on the pitch? Yeah, I would say the experience I think maybe is like the mentality as well because I think

United started the game a lot better than us, especially the first 10, 15 minutes. But you know, I think we were quite confident. We've got a lot of experienced players, a lot of top talent who got a lot of self-belief and belief in the team. And I think in big moments that matters. Scoring the goal at a good time as well made a difference. I mean, the team that we have at Chelsea is quality.

And we know that, you know, even if someone's having a bad day on the pitch, there's other players to pick them up or subs that can come on and make a difference as well. And then you joined the club in the summer, as first years go it's not been too bad. How have you found your return to WSL and transition into life at Chelsea? How much have you missed English football? Yeah, I have missed it and there's some things that are still exactly the same.

I think the transition was maybe a little bit more difficult than it looked like it could have been It was his different style in Barcelona Chelsea are a different style as well. The leagues are completely different style. I think the first two weeks in the WSL I couldn't get out of bed In the morning getting smacked and thrown in the air and stuff. Thought I was in a wrestling match. But it was good fun. I mean, I enjoy games like that. And I think I enjoyed finding that within myself again this season. But yeah, the transition's been different, I think, coming to the team as a new player,

but also the most experienced. Also, I'm from England, so it's like, yeah, it's a weird kind of space to come in. I remember the first week and the captain was like, Lucy, do you know where we get this from? And I was like, no, Vika, I'm new as well. I'm not from here. I know it might seem like it because I had no Sonia and I know Millie and I know the girls, but I don't know the answer yet.

You mentioned Sonia there. I mean, she's had such an incredible impact and you obviously knew her previously. It's such a tough job to take over a club when a manager like Emma Hayes has basically been at the forefront of that club for such a long time and, you know, been an integral part of the setup as well. What would you say Sonia Bonpastora has brought not just to Chelsea but also to your game at Chelsea? Well I think she's tough on people, me included in that. I think she has high expectations from everyone whether you're the best player, the most

experienced, the least experienced. She knows exactly what she expects from you in every game and she'll tell you she doesn't feel like you're meeting those expectations. I think that pedigree of Champions League but also her playing pedigree like there's been moments in the season where she mentions like I would die to be on the pitch today and I think that really like resonates the season where she mentions like, I would die to be on the pitch today. And I think that really like resonates with players where it's like, you know, she's been there. She's done that as a player, as a manager. And the girls don't know as a player, but I do.

And she was pretty crazy, to say the least. Yeah. So knowing that she has those high standards, I think just she's brought that in. I think Chelsea's a team that adapts quite well to that anyway because it's the Chelsea mentality, finding a way to win. I think she's just trying to, you know, turn the screw a little bit on that and push us to another level, which this year we have obviously in terms of winning trophies but I think next year will be the real tell. Having had this year we have obviously in terms of winning trophies, but I think next year will be the real tell, having had this year to properly transition

and have a mark on what players she wants to bring in, likes of Naomi and Kiera obviously, settling those players in and just building on what she's already done this year. Yeah, you said it yourself, it's been a bit of transition year. Obviously she's come in, a number of players like yourself have come in and I think you'd be the first to agree that you've not always been your best in games or had the best performances or the most coherent performances throughout the season but have got through and won nonetheless and dominated to such an extent. How much did

that strike fear into other teams about what's to come when things you know start to click and you move beyond the transition phase? Yeah definitely I mean I think we saw moments of that in the FA Cup final I think as a team as well we felt like you could see us coming together a little bit more I think you know it was the last game and having already won the league and won so many games we saw a better Chelsea performance but I guess yeah, yeah, as players on this team, I think for me, I kept saying that to the girls all year because it's been frustrating at times when you're transitioning and what Emma did was amazing, but we want to evolve and we want to become Sonja's team and not lose the good things and push on.

It's been a fine balance, but we've had to win games at the same time. So I think for all the girls, it's been important to just remember, it is a transition. We're winning games. Okay, we're not all at our best all the time. The team isn't, but we got through the season pretty well, to say the least. But yeah, I think next year is gonna count for a lot more

to make sure we get better performances, both individually and collectively, while still getting them results. I think we set ourselves at a high standard in the first year, but we all know that we can do a lot better, I guess, for us. Just thinking about ourselves is the most important and what other teams do and think is not as important to us, I guess. Yeah. It's the Champions League, isn't it? I know you've won it, you know, personally as a player but Chelsea as a club are desperate to get their hands on the Champions League

and Sonja said post-match that some of you had actually mentioned that, you know, it's brilliant, you got the treble domestically but you're just missing that Champions League trophy. What do you need to do as a club to kind of get closer to that and how much does it motivate you as a player? Yeah I think it kind of buys in with the whole transition season. You look at the teams who have won it in previous history, I've been part of both of those teams. You know they didn't just win it overnight. Barca's first Champions League final, well I playing for Lyon at the time, obviously they

really struggled in that. I remember speaking to Alexia about it afterwards, years later, and she was saying, we learned so much from that defeat, previous defeats and what it takes to get to the top. We had to change things at the club. It was very much like the building blocks of how to become a successful team. It was the same when I went to Lyon. Obviously I went to Lyon when they were at that height and they always used to speak about how they became that team.

So then it became just this machine that just knew how to win non-stop, knew what it took, knew the level. And it takes time. Obviously Emma had her try with Chelsea and now it's Sonia's go. So I think this year we had a lot of learning to do and to build the team. You say about performances, I'm not quite meshing together all the time.

That's what we need to fix next year. We need to become a team where no matter what game it is, no matter who's playing, everybody's on the same page, everyone's doing well. And we play off each other, we make each other look better as players and as a team. I think that's the difference, that's what Barca and Lyon have, having been at those teams, you can feel that, I walked into teams that were there, they were on that journey.

And I think Chelsea's journey is at the start with Sonja, we're just trying to speed it up a little bit. I think we did that this year. And then the club's making big moves off the pitch as well. Obviously saw Serena Williams at the final on Sunday alongside Alexis. Did you get to have a chat? There must be quite a buzz around the club about what that investment means for the team as well. Like it's huge, right, in terms of commitment and what's coming in staffing wise and facilities wise and all of those kind of things. Yeah, no it's amazing. I actually didn't get to speak to them properly. I've just kind of said hello. I think everybody wanted to speak to Serena obviously. It's amazing that they've done this investment. Aki's someone who I probably speak to the most, to be honest, at the club. Her coming in has been a huge bonus for us.

Her vision for the club, having that connection but also being separate from the men's team I think is going to, while it already has, you can start to see the difference that it's making off the pitch with the investment. And to be honest, I think it's the way forward. It's the best way to be, you know, we talk about investment in the women's game, Chelsea are doing that and everyone seems to like it. But I think that's what Leon did.

When I was at Leon, Olaz got all the investors in. When I was at Barca, like it was the same. You look at London City Lionesses, you know, they've been successful because of investment, because they have people there who care about the team and want to push the team. To have that at Chelsea now is amazing. I think as players it gives you a lot of confidence to know that the club are looking to get investments because they want to give us the best opportunity to be the best players and the best team.

Yeah, I'd suggest people don't necessarily like it because they're a little bit envious a lot of the time. I think so, yeah. The club season's over but it'd be really remiss of us not to ask you about the summer ahead. Obviously back to Nations League with England next week and then fingers crossed a successful Euros in Switzerland in July. How much are you looking forward to what's to come over the next few weeks? Well, I'm so excited, especially I think it's been again like an up and down year in England, good performances, bad performances, good results, bad results. Players missing, big, big players missing, a lot of big players missing and now it seems

to come the end of the season, there's so many players in great form, obviously Alex Hempow, Georgia being back from injury, although they've not played a lot, big big players for England, you look at last camp and like LJ, Chloe, Alessia getting injured but it looks like they're all on the getting on the mend as well so yeah I mean I think as an England team it's been like I say a roller coaster but I think we're so excited for the Euros because yeah everybody seems to be in better places I think Serena's got the tough job of picking the squad and picking the team but I feel like I'm excited to be part of the team, not only just for the Nations League, but then for the Euros and seeing how we do because I think we've got as good a chance as anyone.

Yeah, without a doubt. Without a doubt, we're looking forward to following it here on the Guardian Women's Football Weekly. Lucy, it's been so lovely chatting to you. Thank you for taking the time out. I'm glad you enjoyed the celebrations and I'm sure we'll speak to you over the summer in I'm sure we'll speak to you over the summer in Switzerland as well. Take care. Thank you so much. Cheers.

Brilliant stuff. Thank you very much to Lucy Bronze for dropping in to talk to us. Massive congratulations on the season and best of luck as well for a big summer ahead with England. Right, Susie, let's get your thoughts on the match. A comfortable win in the end for Chelsea. They were deserved winners on the day.

How was Wembley for you? Where was the match won and lost? Wembley, I mean Wembley is always fun, right? I was slightly disappointed with the turnout given that it was sold out and it was 74,000 ish there. I thought given it was like a nice day, the vibe had been good across the weekend weather-wise, the stakes were so high I was hoping it would get a little bit closer to the 90,000 mark or at least over 80,000 which would have been great but yeah so I was a little bit disappointed with that. It's still, I don't blame anyone for that, it's still in this sort of gap between clubs being able to sell out full allocations

at Wembley and the FA selling tickets to neutrals months and months and months if not a year in advance of the final. There's going to be some loss in that in the meantime. I think it's heading in the right direction so it's not criticism but I was just a little bit disappointed with it. In terms of where the match was lost, I think if United had scored in that really strong spell they had in the first sort of five ten minutes Then would maybe be looking at a slightly different game, you know, they came out really fast pressed really high kept Chelsea pinned back and Just didn't quite

test that new look sort of back free of Bjorn Bright and of back three of Bjorn, Bright and Germer as much as maybe they could have done and I think once that got time to get a little bit settled they'd only trained that from Tuesday onwards so that was the first you know the first time they trained that back three together and in that formation and with Charles and Bronz as wing backs so you know there was a chance to really go at them and they didn't really do that and once I think once Chelsea gets settled into any game it's really really difficult then to like break them down and score against them and I think they then tried to do it second half a little bit as well came out really fast but I'd say that spell lasted even shorter than the spell at the start of the first half and they sort of you know if you don't score straight away

then you're really really going to struggle so So I think that was the key, was not the fact that Chelsea was sort of allowed to settle into a rhythm. Again, wasn't the most beautiful football in the world but just like efficient, they know what they've got to do, just allowed them to kind of get a bit comfortable and you just can't do that basically. No you can't, not at all. I have to say Robin, we've talked about them so often this season, Chelsea, but a treble win in a 30 game in total unbeaten domestic season is just some incredible feat, isn't it? I think so. I think we do need to say that is absolutely an astonishing achievement because

we all watch football an awful lot and you can just lose a game because something weird happens or someone gets sent off to go on beaten domestically to have three draws weirdly against Leicester, West Ham and Brighton. But that just shows when it's the top teams, they've beaten them all. I think we do need to emphasise just how impressive that is. I mean, I made a prediction before this game that Chelsea would be crap and win, but only one of those was true. They were really good. They were really good. Because actually they haven't been very good the last few weeks. I was trying to remember when the last kind of really convincing, impressive performance was, but this was it. I think in mitigation Manchester United without Riviere, I think that was having Ife Hermannion there who doesn't have the same sort of attacking qualities did affect them. And then also Millie Turner having come off. So that's like two out of the kind of very settled back four,

which has been exceptional this season, hasn't helped them. Even so, I just think Chelsea were going to win this. They were going to win it whatever minute it was going to be. They were going to win it. They were, as Susie said, they are efficient. And my God, with a capital E, isn't it? Efficient. Yeah, they won it at a canter in the end, didn't they? Comfortable.

We'll assess Manchester United's performance in a moment. But Freddie, Sondi Baltimore was one of Sonia Bonpastor's signings in the summer and she really shone, didn't she, at Wembley. Two goals for her. Well, what, I mean, obviously she's added goals, but what else has she added to this Chelsea side? I think you can see her versatility as well. I think the fact that they've gone to this new formation late on in the season, not many managers would sort of be bold and brave enough to do that. As Suzy touched upon, only having a few days to sort of try it out, but, you know, one that with the personnel they have makes a whole lot of sense.

You know, you talk about United's defensive record this season, but they never looked like scoring because of how solid Chelsea were. And I actually think a key of that formation was pushing Baltimore further forward and she's been outstanding, you know, the way she took the second goal in particular. It just shows how talented this Chelsea squad are all over the pitch that even if Ramirez who maybe hasn't been on song the second half of the season, Beaver Jones can be hot and cold at times but you've got players who can just provide and turn up all over the pitch and I think Sandy Baltimore really is epitomized that this season. Yeah she has and we need to mention

Katerina Mercario as well Suzy because you could see the delight on her face when she scored Chelsea's second goal. She's had such a tough time of it with injury in recent seasons and obviously in tears at the end as well. It's that release of relief almost, isn't it? What can that do for her Chelsea career? I mean you really hope it is going to give it a massive lift. I mean we spoke to her, I say we, me, Emma from the BBC and Emily from ESPN sat down with her before the final, had a good chat and she really feels like she needs to repay Chelsea for the faith, you know, they signed her injured when she

was still coming back from her ACL injury that then took longer than planned. You know, she was supposed to be back sort of soonish after that, she'd already been out for a year, she's out for another year and then she's had niggles ever since pretty much which, you know, can happen when you get injured, right, like for such a long time like that. So I think one thing that is really good is that she's got Sonja Bonpas-Stor as her manager, who was her manager when she was at Lyon and they won the Champions League and she was really critical to that and had an incredible season. So you've got a manager in charge who really understands who she is as a player and the talent that is there and what she

can be. So I think it is a real opportunity to kick start. She was talking to us about how much she's looking forward to having this the first preseason she's had in a very, very, very long time. So being able to go into a season, having had a full preseason, hopefully nothing happens to her in that time is huge. I'm just really excited to see what she can do because I followed her career for a very, very, very long time. I spoke to her when she first arrived in Leon and she's just such a highly rated talent and just so phenomenally good. And you just really, really would like

to see her kind of regain that form and not sort of drift away from things. And I think she can. The evidence is there in the glimpses we've seen of her. Yeah, for sure. From a Manchester United perspective, Freddie, there were some surprises in the starting line-up from Mark Skinner, particularly leaving out Ella Toon for tactical reasons. It meant that Dominic Janssen had to be pushed forward. What did you make of his decision? Yeah, interesting because when you watch the game back, the best chance probably falls to Elatun and she is the player you want, you know, in those situations. I think Grace Clinton, I understand, you know, wanting her in the number 10 role, looking at the season she had last season. But it's been a strange end to the season for Man United.

I feel like physically, you know, they're one of the best teams in the WSL in that regard. They came to the Emirates and you know, it was a really, really scrappy game watching them on the final day against Arsenal and almost for Arsenal, they were very much pushing for second for United. I feel like their celebrations were actually just securing Champions League football the previous week. And I think probably the 16 point gap between them and Chelsea showed in the end. And yeah, it was interesting with two and obviously they were able to go back to the back four, the back five sort of worked for them against Arsenal and then they changed it. You know, Mark Skinner can be prone to, you know, making some intriguing tactical decisions and I think in a big game like that, you know, maybe not going with two, I wouldn't say it's cost them the cup final, but I think it was, you know, it's probably earned some criticism because she did come close when she did come on.

Yeah, the LL2 decision was a really interesting one for me because, well, I mean firstly, like, if it goes wrong for them like it did in the match as a whole, it's gonna draw more attention. I think Sonja was asked a really interesting question post-match about the decision to go with a back three after only having tried it for a week. And she said, you know, if it goes wrong, I'm getting 20 questions on it kind of thing. And but the reality is, is, you know, it went well, so you don't get those questions. Because he left Ella too now, Skinner's going to be like rightfully kind of questioned about it. But if it worked, then he's a tactical

genius, right? So you have to temper the criticism with the frivolity of football sometimes. But yeah, I think it was a big mistake. If that ball falls to Ella Toon on the edge of the box instead of Dominic Anson, I think you're talking about a very different game. With someone who's got her record at Wembley, I just don't see how you leave her out. Obviously scored first in the final of the Euros at Wembley, scored first in the Fianna Lissima at Wembley for England, scored first in the FA Cup final last year for Man United. She is a Wembley player and I get like Mark Skinner's reasoning was you know we don't have a lot coming off the bench we needed to have something coming off the bench but not Ella Toon and not an Ella Toon who plays

at Wembley so successfully and it's like the heartbeat of your side right? This is why I struggled a little bit with his post-match comments because Mark Skinner said the difference between the two sides was down to experience. I love my team but I think you can see the difference. You just look at the changes with substitutions. It's a totally different level of experience. We need that experience and quality to really make a difference. I have to find Manchester United's way in the summer. What did you make of his analysis, Robin? Because it seems to contradict itself slightly. Yeah, I mean, I really enjoyed Johnny Lu's piece on The Guardian. It's fantastic.

And just saying that, you know, when Chelsea kind of made that triple substitution, it's sort of three nil up of Wrighton reading Canterids and who was the other one? Anyway, it was a triple sub that was just an unbelievable flex, you know, just like, look, look what we've got. So it's, it's very much in the context as Susie said, cause it was a big call, big call, didn't pay off. Would it, would they have won if she'd started? I'm still not sure about that, but maybe it would have been a slightly, maybe a greater chance. I still don't think they would have won had she started, but yeah, it's just, yeah, the vibe thing alone on the Wembley thing is a thing. And maybe he just maybe overthought it a little bit in terms of like, okay, I need to make

a bold statement here. So I'm going to start Grace Clinton. I mean, I do think the explanation beforehand about physicality is, is kind of valid. I think Grace Clinton is much more, you know, in those jewels. I mean, it was quite fun. Her and Erin Cuthbert were basically wrestling throughout the game. It was great watching those two. And Elatun, that's not really her game, but actually that doesn't really have to be necessarily. It's a tricky one, isn't it? As you say, you kind of come out after a really quite bruising defeat and he kind of looks like, well, what else can I do? And you have to answer these questions. It's tough. It's tough, isn't it? Yeah. And it was Shuka Nishkan, by the way, who came on as the third player.

Ridiculous, yeah. Exactly. Do you reflect on their season any differently, Suzie, after this? No, not particularly, because I think we expected them to lose the Cup final, right? I think that's the interesting thing is I think they've had a very, very good season. And I like to a certain extent, I agree with a lot of what Mark Skinner has said in that like they need, I think he's made a lot of pointed comments very, very carefully at the ownership in the past few weeks, like pretty much every single press conference, he's mentioned their lack of depth and their need for depth

in the Champions League. He was asked about whether you get Champions League and then build the depth for if you need to build it in advance after the Cup final and he was very clear, no you need to be doing ahead of time which is, you know, they haven't done that so that's obviously a bit of a like, not jab but a bit, you know, like come on up your game if we're gonna be successful you've gotta put your money where your mouth is to the ownership and I think that's like fair. I think they've over achieved to a certain extent given the depth of their squad and the number of players available, but at the same time they've been quite lucky with injuries.

I think they've also been quite lucky with the sort of, you know, obviously Arsenal having the poor start to the season that they had under Ida Vow and also City's like complete injury collapse and crisis. So whether they would have finished in third had those two things not happened and disrupted the other seasons, I don't know. So I think that their position is good, they've been played very well, they've been quite lucky but luck only goes so far and they need investment really, really badly. One thing on Ella Toon and her missing out I just want to add was it's a really, really

bold decision to leave out Ella Toon going into a summer transfer window. She's not going to take that decision well. She will be, I imagine, extremely frustrated and angry about having not started that game. When other clubs are sniffing around her, it feels like a really, really bold decision to anger her just before the end of the season, especially when the likelihood of you losing is pretty high either way. That's a really, really good point. I want to talk about Sonia Bonpastor before we talk about the ownership and the stark difference between the two clubs. If you looked up at the Royal Box,

for Chelsea, Sonia Bonpastor did make it very clear in her post-match press conference that the squad still is feeling their Champions League disappointment very deeply. We're super happy, she said, but we didn't win the Champions League which was also one of our goals. Come on Sonia, you can't have it all in your first season. Some of the people there on the pitch were already mentioning we're missing the Champions League. So that's who we are. That's our goal. I want to make sure we're all able to achieve that goal to win the Champions League with the club. We know it's the club's ambition to do that, but that itself is a

real statement of intent, Robin, isn't it? They're not going to be sitting on their laurels. I don't think we expected them to be, but it's already laying down a marker, isn't it, for next season? Oh, definitely. But I do think there is a definite sort of big sort of void there. It's not just Sonia Bonpastor, it was Emma Hayes as well. I wonder if she'd be that pointed had they lost narrowly to Barcelona. It was an absolute humbler, they were destroyed. So I do think that would have really upset her both legs, even though maybe it did flatter Barcelona a little bit, but still, that's the standard. So I do think the manner of the defeat has made her very, very pointed in those remarks. But

yeah, I mean, as I said before, you've just got to... People who say it's boring, maybe it is, but that's not Chelsea's problem, is it? And it's everyone else's problem, actually. Yeah, it is. And we'll talk about the problem that Manchester United have in a second. But let's keep on Chelsea because this ambition was made even more apparent though, wasn't it, by the sight of new Chelsea women co-owner Alexis Sohanian, accompanied by Serena Williams and their daughter in the Royal Box. He's the Reddit founder in case you don't know who he is and he's brought an 8 to 10 percent stake in the team which

is valued around 20 million pounds and the whole family were part of the celebrations at full time. I think Adobe would have been very happy sponsors seeing them with the ribbons draped all over the trophy and Serena Williams having it in her hand. He told the BBC these are the queens of global soccer and they've got the trophy case to prove it. So I feel so humbled. The sky is the limit. And what I love about this club is it's unapologetically ambitious. This will be a billion dollar franchise one day. I mean, it certainly signifies the ambition of the club, Freddie. What did you make of the news? Yeah, I think it was really interesting seeing the amount of sort of screen time that Serena Williams got, but actually

her partner was sort of like fading into the background. And when you compare that maybe to some of the other investors in women's sport we've seen over the last few weeks, it was quite a nice change, I think, to see them sort of, you know, they were in the celebrations, but they were very much sort of just sitting and enjoying their time there with their child. And I think it is really interesting, you know, we had the story about sort of Chelsea where they valued their women's team. But when you look further down the pyramid, and there was the Blackburn Rover story last week and actually this idea of teams not separated from the men's team, but actually allowing

this investment from people who want to invest in women's sports directly, not just the club as a whole. I think it is really interesting going forward and you can only see Chelsea prospering for it, how it moves on in the future, but actually to turn up in their first game, be an FA Cup final, which Chelsea won, I think says it all about, about where they are and actually him being there sort of signifying how they can then take Chelsea to the next level. I think it's got to be really promising for them. Yeah, it does indeed and was in stark contrast really to the absence of Jim Radcliffe on Manchester United's side. I almost feel like he's trying to like drill down a point at the moment. It just feels bizarre. You know it's a you know a PR misstep at every part of the

season and yet you still double down on that. It just seems really odd and of course that puts the focus on Mark Skinner who's essentially just thrown under the bus because he's questioned extensively on Sir Jim Ratcliffe's non-attendance. This is what he had to say on it. I don't know why Jim wasn't here but we were really well represented. Omar's up there, we've got the Glazer family in massive support and Jason as well so I know you're trying to find a story but we've just lost a final. Those are the people I deal with every day, they need to see the match for us to be able to look at what we need to do to close a growing gap

in finance that Chelsea have. So he makes a pointed statement at the end of it. What else did you think of his comments, Susie? Yeah, I mean, it's fair, it's hard, isn't it, when you're the manager and you know, you're basically being asked to slag off your owner that you're trying to get resources out of, like it's a difficult position to be put in. That said, like you say, the non-attendance does that right? You would think, put in. That said, like you say, the non-attendance does that, right? You would think given the controversy last season where he prioritised the Man United men's game, dead rubber against Arsenal over going to the women in a cup final would be like a reason to show up and show your face. That said, and I don't know, maybe expected a bit of abuse or something, but

I don't, yeah, it's women's football, I don't mean, would have got any, just a little, a few sly remarks about finally showing up maybe. But the longer he does it, the worse it looks. And yeah, when you've got Alexis and Serena Williams in the stands and most of the Chelsea boards, you know, Todd Bowie in the stands and stuff as well, it really is in stark contrast to what is going on. And it shows on the pitch, right? Like the seriousness with which you, it's an optic thing. It's about the seriousness with which you take the women's team and the set up and how a part of the infrastructure you feel they are and he is making all the wrong statements.

Yeah, he is. But equally kind of so is Mark Skinner, because yes, Todd Bolley was there. But Mark Skinner then said, it's easy to show up for the final. Let's see if they come over in the season in terms of Alexis Sohanian, who then put on social media, challenge accepted with a smile. Well, I want to see Serena Williams at King's Meadow trying to squeeze herself into one of those seats. I don't want to see that. Did you see the lovely images of her though going into the Man United dressing room as well and a Falon Talis Joyce in tears and just really, really beautiful images, right?

Someone who understands the benefit of elevating women athletes full stop going in and you know kind of giving them that boost as well. I just think it's like yeah just nice. Yeah, powerful for sure. Right that's it for part one, in part two we'll look ahead to the season's grand finale with the Champions League taking place in Lisbon. Welcome back to part two of the Guardian Women's Football Weekly. Right, one more game to go in the 2024-2025 club season and they don't get much bigger than this one. Current holders Barcelona are looking to claim their fourth Champions League title when they face Arsenal in Lisbon

on Sunday. We're going to get into the nitty gritty of what to expect very shortly, but Freddie and Suzy, how are you both feeling as Arsenal fans ahead of the weekend? You first, Freddie. I'm almost, I think I'm still in the stage of being happy to be there at the moment. I think, you know, it's such a daunting task for Arsenal. I think it's one, especially two-one down to Lyon. But look, I was in Gothenburg when they lost one-nil to Heken in like the second round of qualifying. And we're all thinking, I booked that trip thinking actually, if we don't go any further in Europe, at least I've had a nice weekend in Sweden.

And now I'm off to Lisbon for the final. So if you told me back then, I would not have believed you. And I think a lot of Arsenal fans are in a similar position of actually just being very much with exceeded expectations under René Slaygers just to be in the final. At what point they start thinking about Barcelona is probably going to come over the next couple of days, but I think probably the nerves aren't there yet from an Arsenal perspective, but I'm sure they will be. Same, I'm totally there for the participation awards, I will take it all day long. My expectations, particularly having watched them against Chelsea, are low. And I think that's the best way to be, right? We've not been in a final since 2007, however many years ago that was, I was 21. Like I've just revealed my age on here, great.

It's been a long, long, long, long time. So yeah, like, yeah, just being there, just being in a final, you know, similarly with the men's, like I was just really, really happy to get to a semi-final. Obviously gutted not to get to a final, but like yeah, it's There there is a point at which where you feel like your club is moving in the right direction And it's a good stepping stone to you know, hopefully bigger a better things next season It hopefully gets I think there's a huge traveling contingent of Arsenal staff going over for the game who want to watch it right like so this I think the

Fibre around the club is that this is a platform that they can continue to build on and that's the thing that's exciting for me as a fan. How old were you in 2007, Freddie, dare I ask? Oh fuck. You're not going to like this. I was three years old. I thought it was going to be something like that. At least you were born. I thought you were going to say I wasn't born. Born after the invincible so I just missed that by a couple of months which still annoys me. Oh wow, amazing. Oh it's so incredible. What am I trying to say? I just feel really

ancient so funnily enough I've lost all brain power. I tell you what Robin, even listening to Freddie and Susie say that,'s still and I'm not an Arsenal fan so I might be completely wrong it isn't David versus Goliath obviously. I'm not sure. Well really is the Gulf that big? I mean give Arsenal fans some kind of hope because obviously Barcelona are the favourites and Arsenal are the underdogs, but it's not as if they're going to completely roll over. They've got real winners in their team. Saying that, Barcelona were obviously very frightening in their quarterfinals and their semi-finals, blowing away both Wolfsburg and Chelsea to formidable teams in themselves.

How does Renée Slagers stop them? Can she learn anything from maybe, and maybe this is slightly harsh, but Sonja Bonpastor's tactical naivety maybe in that semi-final? Yeah, I think she can learn a lot. It'd be interesting to hear if they have kind of looked at that game and seen, but it's just, they of course have a chance, of course they do. It's a one-off game. It sounds like there's going to be a huge travelling contingent. And also Arsenal are really now used to playing in front of massive, loud crowds. And even though Barcelona have in the past, they don't do it as regularly as Arsenal. Having said that, you know, Barcelona, their team, their squad is just insane. I mean,

that midfield, Patri, Boteas, Bonmatte, I mean, do I have to say any more? It's just, it's ridiculous. do I have to say anymore? It's just, it's ridiculous. Arsenal recently have been pretty bad defensively. I think they haven't kept a clean sheet since March, but they probably did relax a little bit towards the end of the season, knowing that this was their big game. I expect them to have full concentration and be better in that department. I think Arsenal will score. We saw against Lyon what they can do. Caldente is a real wild card and she obviously is very experienced. She'll know exactly what the opposition can do.

And I think it's just a question of whether, of how flexible Renee Slagers will be and have they gone through? I'm sure they have. Like what's the scenario if they go down, if they're one nil down after five minutes or 10 minutes? What do we do then? That's the thing. I'm desperate for Arsenal to win this. I think it would just be wonderful, but for them and just for English football, they're going to have to be perfect pretty much and expect Barcelona to not be. They're also going to have to be perfect defensively, which they've just not been

of late. Susie, have they? 12 goals they've shipped in their last three games, which is not the best preparation. How do they tighten that up? Yeah, it's a weird one. I don't really know because the talent is there for them to do that and to not ship as many goals as they have done. I do think there was a little bit of a post-Leon hangover that impacted them. I don't know why they keep getting themselves into putting themselves into really, really tough spots.

Obviously, they did that against Lyon, first leg having to win the second leg, did it against Real Madrid having to do that, did it at the end of the season leaving it until they played Man United to wrap up second place when they could have had it done much sooner. So I think that is a frustration for the team. That said, all of those contribute towards a lot of learning into how you respond to difficult situations, which, you know, if they win the Champions League and beat Barcelona, they'll probably reflect on those defeats and conceding so many goals in those last three games very, very differently. So

I don't know how they do it. I think you need Kim Little to be playing the best football she's ever played. I don't know who you start alongside her. You know, I think we've played around so much. I'd quite like to see a Lea Volte or a Kyra Kroene Cross alongside her given the strength of the Barcelona midfield and attack. But Arsenal lack consistency and I do think it is your one week to the next not necessarily totally sure which arsenal is going to show up and I don't think there's as necessarily a science to it at the moment they're just really lacking that consistency and I think it does totally depend on what which arsenal shows up

on the day. Yeah and then you know Robin you mentioned that the midfield battle which is going to be key with that frightening trio. How crucial is the is midfield going to be and just a word on Kim Little as well because she's going to be leading the team out on Sunday which means that she'll equal Arsenal's Champions League appearance record which is currently held by Emma Byrne. I just, I mean, she's such an incredible player, such an incredible servant of the game as well. What a stage for her to own at the weekend. Oh, wonderful. I mean, no matter what happens, you know, she is one of the best players that women's football has ever seen. I think we can all agree with that because she's recognised

around the world and we know when she was playing in the United States, they also, they said, wow, she's one of the best players I've ever played up against. She's so understated, isn't she? She's quite a quiet character that just goes about her business and yeah, an Arsenal legend. And yeah, just whenever she kind of is at her best,

you just think, like, she just makes it look so easy. You know, in a few League Cup finals recently, she's put on clinics. She's just a joy to watch when she's at her best. I think she needs, now she's slightly, you know, getting older. She just needs, she needs a good team around her to let her play. But if she's, you know, allowed to play, she can really cause some damage. And I think that's the thing that Suzy said about, you know, it's key. Like it's going to be absolutely key who is, who is around her. I think my question actually, maybe Freddie could answer this is, is Van Domsalaar, I don't think she's played since the Leon game, has she? Do we know kind of what the status is? Cause that's quite a big, big thing, isn't it? Cause I know

Zinsberg has come in for a bit of criticism recently. Yeah. I mean, there's been no news and I'm sure they'll be wanting to keep it as quiet as possible. But I think the initial timeframe reported after the international break was five to six weeks, which I think would have seen her fine for this. And for this final, I think her importance, you know, Malu Zinsberger's had a very good career, but when you've got effectively Daphne van Dobsla with one, barely able to take goal kicks and she's still being preferred to Zinsberg in your biggest game of the season at that point against Lyon and then van Domsla has just been kept wrapped in cotton wool ever since. I think that probably says it all about the difference in class now between the two goalkeepers

and how big van Domsla has been. I think going back to Susie's point, the interesting thing for me is almost Arsenal very clearly know their best team. The team that played against Lyon plus van Domselaar in goal, I think for the last few weeks, those players know that that is the team that's likely to start against Barcelona. I think that's played a big part in the drop off in that when you make six changes against Aston Villa Villa those players don't perform

because they're probably not at the level of the of the A-Team if you like and when that A-Team comes back in against Brighton their spots are almost guaranteed for the final and they know that and then maybe they're not at the level as well. The interesting thing now is you know Lea Valti's not started a lot recently, Kyra Cooney Cross has not started a lot in this second half of the season, you know could you change a lot of Wubben Moyen for Steph Catley? But any of those decisions are going to have to require a player who's not been playing regular football to then come in for a Champions League final and almost Renee Slater's lack of rotation, a lot of it understandable when you're an interim charge for three months. This is going to be really interesting now because, you know,

there are probably tactical decisions she could make and if she rotated a bit more then I think you'd have fresh players coming into the team but I think anything now is going to raise a few eyebrows just because this team looks so settled you know the one that's played against Leon and is she going to be brave enough maybe to change anything. What do you think Suzy will she be brave enough to do anything? I think brave is the wrong word right because like if she sticks with it and it works then it's you know brave to essentially stick with what you're doing. I do think you have to adapt for the fact that it is Barcelona a little bit and maybe sacrifice freedom on them to the bench and have a more defensive midfielder in there and play Mariona a little

bit further forward but I you know say these things on the podcast as a journalist and then a manager does something and it ends up being genius that I would never have thought so I'm loathe to like be overly critical of a manager's decisions before like we've seen how they work or how they don't work but yeah I feel like that's the kind of thing they'll be looking at before this game and I wouldn't necessarily say it's brave to change it But I do think particularly as Freddie was saying there like the lack of rotation is is going to almost make the decision for them a little bit in that if they had Won either of the two games before the man United game and wrapped up

Second place they could have done that in the the last game or last two games of the season, and they couldn't. And I think that could end up proving costly going into the final. Well, the other question I have is, how often this season have Arsenal not had the majority of possession? That would be something that, I mean, I don't have the stats, but even against your cities, your Chelsea's, they tend to have more of the ball, don't they? That's the thing, because they're not, are they, in this game? Is it players that are good out of possession? How do they adapt to that? I think that what they have lacked is control in games, and even going to Man City there, I think they started with Mariona and Kuni Cross in midfield and

they were completely bypassed until a player like Lea Valti comes on with all of her experience. I remember when Arsenal last got to the semi-final two years ago, she was instrumental in that campaign and Arsenal haven't dominated midfield even though, as you say, they do dominate the ball a lot of the time and maybe that will prepare them well for actually having to adapt and having to sit back. The test will be protecting that defence. Because I think we've seen Arsenal's defence being pulled apart on the transition, you know, on the turnover, but also set pieces have been a bit of a worry. And you don't need to give Barcelona, you know, any freebies, any opportunities to score.

But actually, I think sitting back into a lower block, if you do pack the midfield a little bit more, might suit this Arsenal team a bit more. Although I saw one of the Barca goals against Athletic Bilbao, who've got their entire team camped in the penalty area. And I think Esme Brüdes are still able to just pick out the top corner. So at the end of the day, you can do as much as you can, but you're still taking on Barcelona. And that's where Arsenal can come unstuck at the end of the day. And taking on Eva Pajor, Robin as well. Joined Barcelona in the summer, scored 43 goals in

45 games. What else does she bring? I mean, she brings goals. What else does she bring to this Barcelona side that Arsenal have got to be wary of? She's just so, she's just got quality all round. I think we've seen that basically ever since she sort of burst onto the scene and with Wolfsburg and it'll be great to see her at a major tournament as well this summer. She doesn't really seem to have a weakness as a real modern day striker because she's quick, she's got really technical ability. It's just, it's going to be really hard and it's just, you can't, they can't really sort of mark one planet. It's not like, you know, they're a one person team,

is it? They just say, just good quality sprinkled everywhere. And yeah, no, but what's, what's an incredible season? I mean, those stats speak for themselves, don't they? Yeah, they do. It's going to be some feet if they can do it Arsenal. 18 years as we said since they were in a European final, the only English team to have lifted a trophy. So despite the trepidation Freddie, what does this mean for the club? I think it's huge. I think you look at what Arsenal have done off the pitch, you know, in terms of setting the standard for these record attendances but then maybe the silverware hasn't followed. You've got a lot of fans who've come in who are learning about women's football.

You know, this is the case across the WSL, but they sing every game, you know, about being the only team in the land to, you know, have won a European trophy, to have won the quadruple. But for them, you know, and a lot of those fans as well would have been really young when that happened. This is a whole new generation of Arsenal women supporters who have now, you know, and this is something that's incredible for me for Renee Slagers as well.

When she's following in Vic Aykers' footsteps, you know, an icon of women's football in the UK and Renee Slagers only took the job on a permanent basis in January and has led this Arsenal team who for all their history, this is only their second European final and they're in with a shot of creating history again. And as we've spoken about with the ownership, you know, Arsenal, this is a big summer for Arsenal.

It's René Slaygers' first summer transfer window. At the time, she's only on an 18-month contract, which seems crazy for what she's done, but she's going to want to put her foot down in the transfer window this summer. Whether getting to the final is enough to persuade those that need to be at Arsenal that some more investment is probably needed to make this team WSL winners and further compete in Europe. But I think just to see all these Arsenal fans, I think they brought 500 to Lyon. It's going to be even more surely in Lisbon. I think it's a real landmark and sort of something Arsenal have threatened,

you know, they were on the cusp of doing it when they had all those ACL injuries two years ago. They've now got a pretty much fully fit squad, you know, to take them. They've got a manager who is loved by the fan base, you know, this could be the time and that's the encouragement I'm going to give this, you know, if this is the year, you know, this could be the time and that's the encouragement I'm going to give. If this is the year, I think everything could align for Arsenal. OK, so everyone needs to nail their colours to the mast. Suzie, what's your prediction? Oh, my prediction is Barcelona. No question. Well, listen, this is the Guardian Women's Football Weekly. That means Arsenal are lifting the trophy.

Well, exactly. Was that tactics or? Believe it or not, for once it was not tactical. Robin? I'm going to predict 3-1 Barcelona, but Arsenal will do us proud. I think they'll score, but I just think Barcelona is having a little bit too much. As I said, I hope that is tactical. I really do hope Arsenal win. Freddie?

I'm going to go narrow Barcelona. I think if Arsenal turn up, I think they can make a game of it, but it's just those crucial moments in the game. I think Barcelona, you know, Arsenal have only got two Champions League winners in their squad and they're both former Barcelona players, whereas all this Barcelona team, they've been here before. I just think they're going to have too much. So I'm not sure, I'm assuming Freddie and Suzy are out in Lisbon. Are you in Lisbon as well, Robin? No, not allowed. I'll be watching though intently and I'll be hoping that, you know, that guy from the Crystal Palace FA Cup game where he's just screaming into the camera, that's going to be either Suzy or Freddie, hopefully. Yeah, I hope so, with Pastor Donata in their face, because I

know this is something that Suzy, every single time I've ever travelled with her following England it's the first thing she goes out to look for but of course the only place really where they properly exist is in Portugal. How many are you going to be consuming this weekend Suzie? Well I said 253 to Sophie, producer Sophie that is, and I feel like that would be you know like sort of excessive. I was going to say light snack. You need to rank them all from 253 to one. Can I get them from 250 different shops? That's the question. Yeah this will do great on Instagram. Have you sampled before Freddie? I have but only when people have come back from Portugal. I've always wanted to go to Lisbon. Didn't think it would be this year, but yeah, I think the Arsenal win will be partying long into the night and that number will just go higher and higher from 253 and a few alcoholic beverages on the side as well.

Excellent, excellent. I very much am looking forward to hopefully a very positive pod next week where we're celebrating an Arsenal win. Apologies to Barcelona fans, obviously we do have a slight bias here with Arsenal fans on the pod. I just want it to be a good game as a neutral but as an English fan I'd love to see Arsenal lift the trophy. Speaking of trophies, Hibs have won the Scottish Women's Premier League title for the first time in 18 years. On the final day of the season, Grant Scotside beat Rangers at Ibrox with the winning goal coming from Lindsay Taylor. A disappointing day got even worse for Rangers. Glasgow City's 2-0 victory over Hearts saw them secure second spot and therefore secure the last Champions League place.

There's also been another rebrand in women's football. Someone in agency land is making money, are they not? Michelle Kang announced on Monday that French champions Olympique Lyonnais' Femenin have been renamed OL Lyon which is similar to the French word for lionesses and I hope I pronounced that right I'm obviously not French. Kang's also revealed that the Groupama stadium is going to become their permanent home and the team is going to be moving to a new training centre which will be renovated and designed specifically for female athletes that can only be a positive thing. Finally, the inaugural World Sevens kicks off in Portugal this week with eight teams

involved. Manchester United and Manchester City are joining Ajax, Bayern Munich, Benfica, AS Roma, PSG and FC Rosengard. And we've had an email in from Mamouagy Kengouani asking, the New World Sevens football tournament features eight European teams, yet it's being positioned as a world competition. No African, Asian, South American, or Australian teams in the mix. And it makes me wonder, is this just phase one of a rollout,

or are we already seeing gaps in global representation? With Africa's growth in the women's game and platforms like Together are now telling these those stories more boldly. This feels like a moment to ask how private equity media and tournaments can align better for real inclusion. Would love to hear your perspectives on whether this feels like bias or growing pains, the role of storytelling in building equity and how we ensure emerging regions aren't left behind. Brilliant email as always Mamuaji, anyone want to take this on board? Yeah I mean it's my understanding that it that this is sort of a phase one in a sense in that like I know that the October or I

think it's October one that is planned will not have as many European teams and may have a few from North America and stuff as well. And the aim, I think the aim is to truly make it global and that they can use the sort of, the fact that it exists outside of FIFA structures being a sevens tournament to elevate some of the teams in developing women's football developing countries around the world. I do think there is that intent there. Whether it comes to fruition is another thing because like you say that when you're building a tournament like this, the money is in the big European sides and that's where you attract the sponsors from and things like that. So they have to then find the balance of the teams that are going to bring in the

money in order to enable them to elevate a section of the teams who aren't necessarily going to stray away but like that's a reciprocal thing right? You build up those teams in say Africa and Asia and South America and then you start to create an interest in them and the demand for you know viewership of them so it's how much they feel a responsibility to play that role of growing it reciprocally like that. I hope there were some good people running it so I really hope that it does have that aim. I do kind of get the impression that that is the aim.

But I think, I mean, I think we'll come back to the World Sevens after it's finished and do a proper like rundown on it hopefully. But I think it'll be really interesting, you know, partly because, you know, we know, as I've said previously on the podcast, I'm very, very cynical about private equity involvement in women's football full stop. So it'll be interesting to see how this project works at allaying my fears about the intention of it within the women's game. Yeah, brilliant, brilliant answer, brilliant question as well. Keep having your say, send in your questions via social media or email us at womensfootballweekly at theguardian.com. As ever as well, a reminder to sign up for our weekly Women's Football Newsletter. All you need to do is search Moving the Goalposts. Sign

up. What a pod it's been. Freddie, have the most amazing time in Portugal. Brilliant debut. Thank you very much. You're welcome. Yeah, very much looking forward to it. And the weather looks fantastic as well. Don't think I'll be suited and booted for that press box, I think it'll be in my shorts. Looking forward to it. Listen, don't ever underestimate the shade. That's all I'm going to say to you. Shorts in a press box don't always work because they can be very cold places. It was in Leon, yeah. It was in Leon to be fair.

Robin knows this all too well. It's been lovely to see you and lovely to see Solly. Oh, yes. See you soon. Thank you very much for having us both. Suzy, listen, you have a mission, should you wish to choose it. Find me a gluten-free pasta di natta to bring home. I mean, that's quite the mission, but if anyone is up for the challenge of pasta di natta hunting, it's me. So, you know, let's go for it. I'm going to take Solly's prediction of the fact that

he was trying to like claw his way out of Robin's arms while she was saying that Barcelona could are going to win as his indication that he is firmly in Arsenal's corner so you know I'm taking that. That's brilliant. I'm also going to start calling them the right name, Pastel Donata. I keep calling them Pasta Donata. I don't know why. Maybe because I can't eat them and I'm just very jealous. Right. Thank you, as always, for being part of the pod.

The Guardian Women's Football Weekly is produced by Sophie Downey and Silas Gray. Music composition was by Laura Iardell. Our executive producer is Salamat. Silas Grey music composition was by Laura Iardell, our executive producer is Salamat. This is The Guardian.