The plane due to carry the Arsenal squad back from their Women’s Champions League semi-final at Wolfsburg caught fire with the players on board, forcing them to disembark and stay an extra night in Germany.
Pictures showed flames coming from under the plane’s left wing on the runway, with the fire understood to have started after a bird flew into one of the engines.
The incident occurred on Sunday at Braunschweig Wolfsburg airport after Arsenal had come from two goals down to draw 2-2 with the Frauen-Bundesliga champions.
Arsenal said in a statement: “Our aircraft developed a technical issue prior to take-off in Germany on Sunday evening. As a result, we remained in Wolfsburg overnight on Sunday before flying back to England on Monday afternoon. We would like to thank the staff on board the aircraft and on the ground at the airport for their assistance.”
Arsenal face Wolfsburg in the return leg at the Emirates Stadium next Monday and Katie McCabe has said that losing their captain, Kim Little, and vice-captain, Leah Williamson, to injury last week has given them extra motivation to win the Champions League.
“We are still in it. We knew from last season this is a difficult place to come to,” said McCabe. “They have fantastic support, and they are a fantastic team, so to show a gutsy performance to come back and make it 2-2, I am really proud of that. It’s all to play for at the Emirates.”
The Republic of Ireland international says the team are showing their character on a regular basis. “We have been in those situations a couple of times this year – against Man City, in the Conti Cup against Chelsea – and we have shown who we are as a team. We know we have the quality to create goalscoring opportunities. We didn’t let [going 2-0 down] affect us. We knew we had something in us, and we showed that.”
Arsenal have been rocked by a spate of long-term injuries this season. Williamson and Little have recently joined a lengthy list that includes both top scorers from last season – Vivianne Miedema and Beth Mead. McCabe believes the team will use it to spur them on. “It is hard losing those types of players. We are out there, we are running for each other, and we are doing it for the girls back home as well. They are a massive part of this Champions League journey and we just have to make sure we finish it off in the best way possible.”
Arsenal have sold more than 46,000 tickets for the second leg and McCabe is excited by the increased interest in the team. “Josh Kroenke [the co-chairman] came in after the game to congratulate us, which was a really nice moment,” McCabe said. “We have felt the love all season [from the owners] and it just shows how we have that one-club mentality.
“We want people to come and watch us. We have shown that we can get big support at the Emirates. Next week will be a massive game.”
