Matildas’ Arsenal glory provides monumental moment for Australian football | Jack Snape | OneFootball

The Australian character in the famous London club’s dressing room has been apparent all season, but fans’ expectations in the league were not met. The month of May offered one final hope for success, a season-defining European cup final. And on a memorable day last week, a snatch-and-grab 1-0 win delivered silverware, the first time the club had won the competition in almost two decades.

But this has nothing to do with Ange Postecoglou or Tottenham. The achievement of Steph Catley, Caitlin Foord, Kyra Cooney-Cross and their Arsenal teammates to defeat standard-bearers Barcelona in the final of the Women’s Champions League on Sunday is monumental within the history of Australian football, and a much-needed boost for the Matildas.

Only three Australians – Craig Johnston, Harry Kewell and Zeljko Kalac – have won the men’s equivalent. The women’s edition didn’t even exist before the turn of the millennium, and the Arsenal trio join two-time winner Ellie Carpenter – victorious in 2020 and 2022 with Lyon – as Matildas to have raised the trophy.

Matildas vice-captain Emily van Egmond, in camp in Melbourne ahead of the friendly against Argentina on Friday, said having four European champions in the current Australian national team is “unbelievable”.

“It’s a huge credit to them, they’ve worked so hard and I’m just really happy for the girls to be able to experience that,” she said. “Not a lot of people in their careers would even get to play Champions League, so to be able to come out and say that you’re a winner is amazing.”

The 31-year-old has just completed her own season at Birmingham in England’s second-tier, narrowly failing to win promotion. There she has watched Postecoglou, Australia’s other European trophy winner, dominate UK headlines in a challenging but ultimately triumphant season culminating in last week’s Europa League final. Van Egmond returned to Australia almost a week ago, just in time to see the local reaction to Postecoglou’s achievement.

“I’m so happy for him. To come out with a trophy in the end was unreal for him,” she said. “It’s just really nice to see an Aussie coach flying the flag over there in probably the biggest competition, in the Premier League.”

The interest in Postecoglou has been stratospheric, even though the Europa League is not the most prestigious men’s European trophy. In some ways the achievement of the Matildas’ trio for Arsenal against Barcelona – Champions League winners in three of the previous four seasons with a side bulging with Spain’s 2023 World Cup winners – has been overlooked in comparison.

But Van Egmond said the recognition was there, and women’s football momentum continues to grow. “I think they’ve been getting decent coverage, maybe it isn’t quite as big as what Ange has been getting,” she said. “Nonetheless, I think the fact that now you had a sold out crowd there for the Champions League final [in Lisbon], which probably wouldn’t have happened five years ago.”

As uncertainty hangs over the A-Leagues and at Football Australia, the performances of Postecoglou and the Arsenal group have flipped the country’s football script. From glass half empty, football suddenly swirls closer to the brim.

Football Australia claims it has sold around 35,000 tickets for Friday’s friendly against Argentina already. A day later, there is a Melbourne derby in the A-League grand final, which is expected to go close to selling out. A new Matildas coach will be named next month to lead the side to the home Asian Cup in March.

But on the field the Matildas, FA’s commercial and cultural jewel, are a in a state of flux. Striker Sam Kerr is still injured, and will not take part in the current camp. Mary Fowler’s own ACL injury has put her in doubt for the Asian Cup. Vice-captain Carpenter and midfielder Katrina Gorry have been given the game off for personal leave.

Speculation suggests Lyon coach Joe Montemurro, the former manager of Arsenal, will take control of the side next month. But this week’s focus will be on interim Tom Sermanni, who will oversee his 150th Matildas match, and the returning Arsenal heroes.

The Gunners trio will be assessed by staff when they arrive in Australia in the coming days but with a second match in Canberra on Monday, there is a chance none will play on Friday. Whether they make it onto the pitch or not, Van Egmond said their presence will be felt. “When you’ve come off such a high, it’s hard not to shy away from that,” she said. “I think there’ll be a massive positive vibe around them and, honestly, the girls will just probably want to ask them a bunch of questions about how it all went.”

Header image: [Photograph: David Price/Arsenal FC/Getty Images]