Sawt Falasteen - Russo says Champions League triumph just the start for Arsenal women

The London club upset the odds with a 1-0 win over Barcelona in Lisbon on Saturday as they dethroned the Spanish side, who had won the trophy three times in the previous four seasons.

Arsenal are still the only English club to win the women's edition, having previously lifted the trophy as part of an historic quadruple in 2007.

Their latest continental triumph, sealed by Stina Blackstenius' 74th-minute goal, guarantees Arsenal a direct place in next season's Champions League league phase -- along with Women's Super League champions Chelsea, who for all their domestic success have still to be crowned queens of European football -- after they became the first team in history to reach the final from qualifying round one.

"I'm absolutely buzzing," said Russo. "I can't really put it into words, it just feels bloody amazing. It feels surreal right now, but I just had so much belief going into this game. We all did.

"We didn't really want to say it too much, but we all kind of had this feeling. We knew we could and we just had to go and deliver."

Victory means Arsenal will also represent Europe in the inaugural FIFA Women's Champions Cup next year, entering as automatic semi-finalists.

But Russo is adamant lifting the Champions League trophy should only be a first step on the road to further glory for manager Renee Slegers' team.

"I feel like that massively," said Russo. "When you win things, you want to win things even more, and also you know you're good enough to do it.

"It was important to win for many reasons, but now we want to win more. We want to go back and start next year strong. We want to compete domestically more so than we did this year, and we want to be back winning this trophy again."

Arsenal will celebrate their European title on Monday alongside 10,000 fans outside their Emirates Stadium headquarters in north London.

Meanwhile Arsenal great Ian Wright said the women's side had "saved" the club this season following yet another trophyless campaign for the men's team.

Arsenal's men reached the semi-finals of the Champions League before losing out to Paris Saint-Germain and are set to be confirmed as runners-up in the Premier League on Sunday's final day of the season.

"It's saved the club," former Arsenal striker turned football pundit Wright said on TNT Sports of the Women's Champions League triumph.

"The embarrassment of not winning anything this season when we've played so well with the men. The ladies have saved the club. We've got something to celebrate."

Wright, a noted supporter of women's football, added: "They've beaten Barcelona in the Champions League. No-one gave them a chance...Everyone wrote them off. They deserve all the accolades they're getting because this is a magnificent achievement."

H.Darwish--SF-PST