Barcelona, Unbeaten With 19 Goals, Host Arsenal in Champions League
Barcelona host Arsenal at the Nou Camp in the Women's Champions League, having won all three league-phase games and scored 19 goals despite summer exits including Alexia Putellas. Arsenal sit fifth in the table with seven points but are sixth in the Women's Super League.
Barcelona, the reigning Women's Champions League holders, hosted Arsenal at the Nou Camp on Thursday (17:45 GMT) in the league phase, having won all three of their matches so far and scored 19 goals. The Barcelona - Arsenal tie pits Spain's dominant side against the team that beat them in the 2025 final.
Barcelona look as strong as ever despite a summer of high-profile departures. They have won four of the past six Women's Champions League titles.
Three-time Ballon d'Or winner Alexia Putellas left for London City Lionesses. Defender Mapi Leon followed her there. Full-back Ona Batlle joined Arsenal, and Salma Paralluelo moved to Lyon.
All four helped Barcelona complete a historic quadruple last season, including a fourth Champions League title.
Arsenal's mixed season
Arsenal have started the European campaign well. They are fifth in the table with seven points from their first three matches.
Domestic form is a different story. A five-game winless run, which ended in October, has left the Gunners sixth in the Women's Super League. Manager Renee Slegers was made permanent boss less than five months before the 2025 final victory, which began a new era at the club.
Slegers said Barcelona have "a really strong identity" and that new arrivals do not change it. "They can play in different positions and also have a very strong and clear way of playing," she said. "We think we have quite a clear idea of what that could look like."
The Barcelona way
Barcelona's resilience rests on a playing identity drilled into players from a young age. Stars such as three-time Ballon d'Or winner Aitana Bonmati came through the club's La Masia youth academy, next to the Estadi Johan Cruyff.
The academy produces players trained to play the same way and to swap positions seamlessly. Netherlands international Esmee Brugts, who joined in 2023, has taken to it easily.
"Every season is different. There are always changes but we know that's football," Brugts told BBC Sport. "There's an opportunity to make a new story and that's up to us. So far, I've been quite happy with how it's going."
She said the system is hard to put into words. "It's so many small things. It's doing the simple things good," Brugts said, adding that the team tries "to win every trophy there is by playing really beautiful football."
