Steph: “You can’t beat this special moment”

Steph Catley struggled to put into words what it meant to her to win the UEFA Women’s Champions League final with us.

Speaking about how far away such a dream seemed when she was growing up, it made Saturday’s moment even more special.

“It's beyond words for me,” she said. “This club means so much to me, to all of us. We knew we could do it, but obviously so much has to go right on the day.

“Everyone did their job today. It's so much more than the players, it's the staff, it's everyone at the club. Yeah, I'm just lost for words, to be honest. It's moments you dream of. It's why you play football.

“When I grew up thinking that I wanted to be a footballer, you think the Champions League, World Cup, that sort of stuff is pretty unattainable, but being at a club like Arsenal, we're always pushing, and we're always just trying to get better. We got ourselves to the final, and we knew anything was possible getting here, so to do it here, our fans were absolutely incredible. We heard them from the start.

“Family and friends here, yeah, you can't beat it. Special moment.”

Catley played her part in an incredibly hard-fought defensive performance, withstanding what was one-way traffic from Barcelona for much of the second half.

“I think we had a couple of games towards the end of the season, including in the Champions League, where we were under the pump a little bit more, like the end of the Lyon game, and then a couple of league games where we didn't perform as well,” she said. “So it was probably all good preparation coming into today, but Barcelona are a whole other level when they move the ball.

“They're the best at it, they're incredible. So yeah, to fight it out the way that we did, and then obviously get a goal. We had a few more big chances that we could have put one away, but everything just went the way we needed it to, and we won the Champions League.”

Asked about the impact of Stina Blackstenius, Steph agreed that the memory of our Swedish forward’s Continental Tyres League Cup winner against Chelsea last year gave us more belief.

“Yeah, I think the game was just crying out for Stina, because they keep quite a high line,” she added. “We're under the pump defensively, and we just needed an outlet, and Stina’s so good at getting in behind and fighting for the ball.

“She timed her runs perfectly, she finished it perfectly. She was exactly what we needed, and that's why you have such a good squad of players. You believe in everyone, and you believe in what everyone can do when they come on the field, and that's what we're good at.

“We have an amazing squad, and we all believe in each other. Stina was there today, and she did what she does best."