Mikel Arteta has been discussing the Champions League after Arsenal's women's team beat Bayern Munich to seal a spot in the competition's semi-finals. Goals from Frida Maanum and Stina Blackstenius handed Arsenal a 2-1 aggregate victory over Bayern to confirm their place in the last four alongside Chelsea, Wolfsburg and Barcelona.
With the game contested on Wednesday evening, Arteta was in attendance and therefore got to see an outstanding goal from Maanum. The Arsenal midfielder unleashed a delightful strike from the edge of the box that flew almost in slow motion into the top corner.
"Beautiful," Arteta said when describing the strike in his press conference on Friday. "The moment the ball left her feet we knew it was going in. It is just a beautiful finish."
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The likes of Bukayo Saka, Martin Odegaard and Gabriel Jesus have scored some worldies this season, but Maanum may have wrapped up goal of the season with her Champions League effort.
Arsenal women are regulars in the Champions League, although their male counterparts have not featured in Europe's elite competition since the 2016/17 campaign. However, that looks set to end. While also being in a title battle against Manchester City, Arsenal have all but guaranteed their spot in next season's tournament as they sit 22 points away from Newcastle in fifth with 10 games to play.
Alongside explaining his joy at witnessing their win earlier this week, Arteta hinted at his own Arsenal ambitions in the competition which could be realised next year. "It was great to have the experience to live it there and the crowd that we had in the game, especially the way they played, in the first half it was a real joy to watch," he added.
"It is a big achievement, it hasn't happened for many, many years at the club and we have to catch them up. This is the beauty of it, getting things inside the club that are inspiring for each other and can make us closer and better."
Arsenal would certainly be capable of being one of the last four teams, like the women's outfit, in the 2023/24 Champions League. However, as was seen against Sporting CP, a European clash where Arsenal were favourites, anything can happen and for the Gunners to challenge the elite teams their summer recruitment will be extremely important.
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