When Rafaelle’s stray pass back across goal was hit straight into the path of Sveindis Jonsdottir to make it Wolfsburg 2 Arsenal 0 after 24 minutes, very few people inside the Volkswagen Arena would have expected to see Arsenal not only managing to hold off the home side for the remainder of the game, but to pull off yet another valiant comeback.

Rafaelle’s header on the stroke of half time gave the Gunners hope before a hard-working, counter-attacking second half display against a frustrated Wolfsburg outfit led to Victoria Pelova running onto an intelligent through ball from Wubben-Moy. Stina Blackstenius did everything right, timing her run and then holding it perfectly to equalise after Pelova’s perfect square pass.

Blackstenius’ pressing and work rate has been a constant throughout her time at Arsenal even when goals haven’t been easy to come by for the Swede, and after the first leg she reflected on her efforts playing upfront in a largely lone role.

“It takes a lot [of effort] but obviously it’s a tough game so you need to run a lot, even when we defend, but also for me as a player I want to be a player that runs a lot and when the game turns like this I like the opportunities to react”.

It was a well executed attacking move that brought Arsenal’s equaliser, and Blackstenius talked us through her thinking. “I felt like I was in a good position and it was just all about being in the right position for Vic to play the ball and she did it really good. She was strong in that duel and won it, and when she did it was just about me being in the right position”.

The second leg is now set up perfectly, with over 46,000 set to attend at the Emirates on Monday May 1. Blackstenius believes that Arsenal “have everything to play for, and it would be an amazing game coming there and playing hopefully in front of 45,000 in the crowd. I hope that we can give them a really good game, and we know that we have a lot to play for. To get that 2-2 result here today was really important for us to go into that game with that confidence and belief that we can go to the final”.

After a difficult week for Arsenal with injuries to Kim Little and Leah Williamson, plus a 1-0 defeat away at Manchester United, Blackstenius believes that it’s not just been a tough week for the Gunners injury-wise. “It has been a tough year for us with a lot of injuries and obviously we would have wanted them to be on the pitch together with us- we want to play for them because they can’t be here with us. I am really proud of the way we have been handling this week and this year also. We want them back but until then, we want to be the best that we can be”.