ARSENAL look to be on their way to setting a new attendance record for a Women’s Champions League duel at the Emirates.
Ticket sales for their semis second-leg clash with Wolfsburg have reached the 52,000 mark this morning according to the club.
GettyA record crowd is expected to watch Arsenal take on Wolfsburg at the Emirates in their Women’s Champions League semis decider[/caption]
AFPThe Gunners battled their way to a 2-2 draw in the first leg of their semi-final clash with the German side[/caption]
AFPRafaelle netted a first-half goal for Jonas Eidevall’s aces with Stina Blackstenius scoring in the second spell[/caption]
Should this number turn out for next Monday’s fixture it would see them smash the current UK record attendance for Women’s Champions League match.
Last month they set a new record when a crowd of 21,307 watched them beat Bayern Munich in a second-leg quarter-final duel at the stadium.
This was broken when Chelsea hosted Barcelona at Stamford Bridge last Saturday with 27,697 fans flocking to their semi-final game.
The Gunners’ upcoming clash with Wolfsburg takes place eight days after the team were forced to vacate a plane flying back to London following their first-leg draw away.
Part of the Boeing 737 aircraft burst into flames before its 7:30 pm departure to London on Sunday
It is reported one of the engines caught fire when the plane was still on the runway at Braunschweig Wolfsburg Airport.
In a statement Arsenal said the aircraft had “developed a technical issue prior to take-off”.
Players and backroom staff remained in Germany overnight before returning on Monday afternoon.
Arsenal’s second-leg duel with Wolfsburg follows Jonas Eidevall’s side sharing the spoils of a 2-2 draw with the German giants.
His injury-hit team battled back from a two-goal deficit against the Frauen Bundesliga side with Rafaelle and Stina Blackstenius on target.
And they did so without the services of skipper Kim Little, vice-captain Leah Williamson and forward Caitlin Foord.
Little and Williamson have been sidelined for the rest of this season with hamstring and ACL injuries.
However Foord could be set to return to action following her hamstring issue before the international break last month.
GettyGunners fans will be hoping Caitlin Foord will be available for the second-leg of their clash with Wolfsburg[/caption]
Defeat of Wolfsburg at the Emirates would see the Gunners reach the Champions League final for the first time since 2007.
Back then former boss Vic Akers led the team to win the tournament over two legs with Alex Scott netting the winner for the club,
The triumph saw them become the first English side to lift the Women’s Champions League trophy.