Head coach profile: Tommy Stroot
Jessica Hardy
Published Apr 07, 2026
Wolfsburg have beaten Arsenal 3-2 in the Women's Champions League semi-final second leg thanks to a goal in the 119th minute from Pauline Bremer. The German side advance to the final for the sixth time, where they will face Barcelona.
Michael Dominski and Noah Murray
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Summary
Wolfsburg have beaten Arsenal 3-2 in the Women's Champions League semi-final second leg thanks to a goal in the 119th minute from Pauline Bremer.
The German side advance to the final for the sixth time, where they will face Barcelona.
Head coach profile: Tommy Stroot
Wolfsburg's Tommy Stroot has quickly worked his way up the ladder in women's football.
The German manager started his career at local women's sides Twist and Victoria Gersten, who latter merged with Meppen.
Stroot got his first big break in management with Meppen in 2013, while in Frauen-Bundesliga 2, before moving to Dutch side Twente in in 2016 where he won the 2019 and 2021 Women's Eredivisie titles.
He returned to Germany in 2021, replacing Stephan Lerch at Wolfsburg and guiding the team to the Frauen-Bundesliga title in his first season.
Wolfsburg currently sit second in the league, a point behind leaders Bayern Munich.
(All photos by Getty Images)
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How did the other semi-final go?
Barcelona booked their place in the UWCL final on Thursday, securing a 2-1 win aggregate win over Chelsea.
The second leg ended in a 1-1 draw with Norway team-mates Caroline Graham Hansen (Barcelona) and Guro Reiten (Chelsea) scoring within four minutes of one another.
Graham Hansen's long-range strike in the first leg ultimately proved to be the difference for last year's runners-up as they seek their second UWCL title.
(All photos by Getty Images)
Arsenal's title challenge
As injury issues have piled up, Arsenal have slipped away from the top of the Women's Super League table, currently sitting in fourth place.
However, they still have the potential to go just three points behind league leaders Manchester United if they win both of their games in hand.
Should Arsenal end the season without the WSL title, they will have at least broken their four-year trophy drought through their League Cup success.
However, a first Champions League title since 2007 would make this a season to remember.
SOLD OUT!
Arsenal Women have sold out the Emirates Stadium for today's game.
This is the first time that Arsenal have sold out the 60,704-seater Emirates.
Last September, Arsenal recorded a Women’s Super League record when they sold over 53,000 tickets at the Emirates for the north London derby against Tottenham Hotspur, which they won 4-0.
Arsenal have smashed the previous UK record for a UWCL fixture of 21,307 that they set in the last round against Bayern Munich.
(All photos by Getty Images)
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First leg recap
Arsenal battled back brilliantly from two goals down to earn a draw at the Volkswagen Arena last Sunday.
Polish striker Ewa Pajor gave Wolfsburg the lead in the 19th minute. She is the leading scorer in the competition this season with eight goals.
Sveindis Jane Jonsdottir added the second goal five minutes later as Wolfsburg capitalised from Arsenal's sloppiness trying to play out from the back.
However, Rafaelle gave Arsenal hope scoring a header from a corner just before half-time.
Arsenal's comeback was complete when Lotte Wubben-Moy played an excellent ball to Victoria Pelova, who drilled the ball in for Stina Blackstenius to slide in on, levelling the match in the 69th minute.
Completing the job won’t be easy, but Arsenal gave themselves a serious chance of reaching the final on June 3.
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Early Wolfsburg team news
Midfielder Lena Lattwein has missed the past three games due to a broken collarbone that looks set to rule her out again today.
Alex Popp is also a doubt for today, as the 127-cap German striker is dealing with an Achilles tendon injury.
(All photos by Getty Images)
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Early Arsenal team news
Jonas Eidevall is without a number of key players ahead of tonight's game.
Key figures Leah Williamson, Beth Mead and Vivianne Miedema are all out with serious anterior cruciate ligament injuries.
Arsenal captain Kim Little had her season curtailed by a hamstring injury.
Swedish forward Lina Hurtig has struggled with fitness since the February international break due to a foot injury that required surgery.
Caitlin Foord, who missed the past two games due to injury and didn't travel to Wolfsburg for the first leg, is a doubt for today.
Giovana Queiroz and Jodie Taylor were not registered for the UWCL squad.
(All photos by Getty Images)
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Good afternoon 👋
Hello and welcome to The Athletic's live coverage of Arsenal vs Wolfsburg in the UEFA Women's Champions League semi-final second leg.
In addition to covering the game, we will have all the build-up and post-match reaction for what is sure to be a match to remember.
The tie is currently level 2-2 on aggregate, thanks to Rafaelle and Stina Blackstenius goals rescuing Arsenal from 2-0 down in the first leg.
Both clubs have Champions League-winning pedigree, with Arsenal having won the competition in 2007 and Wolfsburg winning back-to-back titles in 2013 and 2014.
Today's winner will face Barcelona in the final at the Philips Stadion, home of PSV Eindhoven, on June 3.
