Arsenal Women's semi-final sellout at Emirates Stadium creates history

The second leg of the UEFA Women's Champions League semifinal between Arsenal women and Wolfsburg will be played night in front of a record-breaking sold-out Emirates Stadium.

The team led by Jonas Eidevall held Wolfsburg to a 2-2 draw in the first leg in Germany and will now try to secure a spot in the championship match against Barcelona in Eindhoven. A throng of 60,000 people, a record, will support them.

According to a statement on the club's official website, “We are happy to announce that the second leg of our UEFA Women's Champions League semi-final matchup against Wolfsburg on May 1 at Emirates Stadium has already sold out, with more than 60,000 tickets having been purchased as of this writing.”

Vinai Venkatesham, the chief executive of Arsenal, was also reported in the release as saying: "It's fantastic news that a game this important to us has sold out. All of the tickets were sold for the game, therefore we would like to thank all of our fans.”

"We also want to express our gratitude for your outstanding support this season at venues like Meadow Park, Emirates Stadium, and others in England and Europe. We're excited that Jonas and our women's first team will have the support of so many fans on this significant moment in the club's history since it promises to be a fantastic night in north London.”

This season, the Gunners have drawn crowds of more than 40,000 fans three times at the Emirates, and the most recent sell-out will raise the total number of tickets sold to more than 240,000.

Remember that Arsenal's North London rivalry match versus Tottenham in September broke the previous attendance record for a Barclays Women's Super League match with almost 53,000 tickets sold. They also held the record for the largest Women's Champions League crowd in the UK when they defeated Bayern Munich in the UWCL quarterfinals in front of nearly 21,000 spectators. In their semi-final matchup against Barcelona last weekend, Chelsea just barely edged over the record.

After giving up two goals in the first 24 minutes of the first leg against Wolfsburg, Arsenal watched their prospects of making the Champions League final for the second time in their history slip through their fingers. However, it took a comeback to get things back to even going into the second leg. Before the break, Rafaelle Souza gave Arsenal a lead with a goal, and Stina Blackstenius tied the score in the 69th minute.

When they welcome Wolfsburg to the Emirates, Jonas Eidevall's team—which has gone undefeated in their last nine home games across all competitions—will take advantage of the record crowd. They have already defeated German opposition this year, defeating Bayern Munich in the quarterfinals 2-1 on aggregate. but have fallen to Wolfsburg in their last two two-leg European matches. Wolfsburg defeated Chelsea in the 2017–18 season and Arsenal in the 2012–13 season in their previous meetings in the European semi-finals.

Leah William, Beth Mead, and Vivianne Miedema won't be available to Arsenal. Due to anterior cruciate ligament damage, they are all out. Gio Quieroz and Jodie Taylor are not registered in the Champions League, and Kim Little and Lina Hurtig are also out.

Despite missing several crucial players, Jonas Eidevall's team has recently played with a genuine sense of resolve. A comeback victory against Chelsea in the Continental Cup final, a league victory for Manchester City, and a round-of-16 victory for Bayern. In front of a record-breaking sell-out crowd at the Emirates, they will need to put up another courageous display.