Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
FourFourTwo
FourFourTwo
Sport
Sarah Rendell

North London forever, duets with Jess Glynne and thousands of fans: How Arsenal celebrated historic Champions League win

Fans gather outside Emirates Stadium ahead of the Arsenal Women Trophy Lift on May 26, 2025 in London, England. Arsenal defeated Barcelona in the UEFA Women's Champions League Final in Lisbon on May 24.

Arsenal caused an upset in the Women's Champions League final by beating defending champions Barcelona 1-0.

The Gunners were underdogs heading into the game after a hugely dominant European season from Barca. But substitute Stina Blackstenius' goal was the difference come full time.

The celebrations post-match in Lisbon were emotional with North London forever sang between the team and their travelling fans. The club then hosted a trophy lift at the Emirates in front of thousands of supporters two days later.

Arsenal: Was there a bus parade?

Arsenal supporters turned up in their thousands (Image credit: Getty Images)

After the final former Arsenal players Karen Carney and Ian Wright were both calling for the club to have a bus parade for the team.

However, the Gunners instead opted for a trophy lift outside of the Emirates on Monday.

Katie McCabe played every match in Arsenal's Champions League campaign (Image credit: Getty Images)

It's understood Arsenal did discuss the possibility of a bus parade but concluded the option they went for would be the best one.

The side looked at what the Lionesses did post-Euros in 2022, where they attracted 7,000 fans to Trafalgar Square.

Armoury Square, where the Champions League trophy lift took place, has a capacity of 10,000 and the club were confident they could fill the square and create a good event.

This type of event was unprecedented as since the popularity of women's football has increased, an English women's team have not won the Women's Champions League.

Arsenal are the only English team to win the Women's Champions League (Image credit: Getty Images)

Arsenal became the first English women's team to win the Champions League since themselves in 2007.

No other English club has won the Women's Champions League. Arsenal had to come through qualifying and in doing so became the first team to win the trophy who had to qualify for the group stage.

The celebrations outside the Emirates were iconic. Player chants were sung, North London forever got another rendition and Win, Arsenal's dog, was lifted aloft by Beth Mead.

The club also hosted a party for the players and staff after the final on Saturday. It is said to have gone on into the early hours with co-chair Josh Kroenke giving a speech.

Club legends including Alex Scott, who scored the winner when the club won in 2007, Jordan Nobbs, Tobin Heath and Michael Thomas, were also in attendance. Jess Glynne was also there, she is the partner of Scott, and she did an impromptu concert. Arsenal's Victoria Pelova duetted with the singer.

The majority of the squad have now had to pause any further celebrations as they are on international duty for the Nations League games.

But on arriving into camp the majority of players have been given a guard of honour by their international teammates.

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.