Barcelona star Aitana Bonmati: 'A big surprise' to be facing Arsenal in UEFA Women's Champions League final

Barcelona star Aitana Bonmati admitted she was surprised Arsenal were in the UEFA Women's Champions League final. The Gunners overturned a first-leg deficit to beat Lyon 5-3 on aggregate in the semi-finals to set up a heavyweight encounter with reigning champions Barcelona at the Estadio Jose Alvalade in Lisbon on Saturday, with the game live on TNT Sports and discovery+.

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Barcelona star Aitana Bonmati admitted it was "a big surprise" to see Arsenal in the UEFA Women's Champions League final.

The Gunners beat eight-time victors Lyon 4-1 in their semi-final second-leg tie to claim a dramatic 5-3 aggregate victory and reach a first Champions League final since 2007, when they won the tournament.

They face Barcelona in the final on Saturday at the Estadio Jose Alvalade in Lisbon, with the game live on TNT Sports and discovery+.

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"For me, it was a surprise Arsenal reaching the final," Bonmati told ESPN. "They absolutely deserve it, because scoring four goals against Lyon in the second leg is not easy at all.

"I congratulate them for that because I think it was a big surprise, but a well deserved one."

Arsenal will once again be underdogs on Saturday, with their Catalan opponents featuring in their fifth final in as many years and looking to win the Champions League for a third successive season.

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The pair have not faced one another since 2021, when Barcelona dismantled Arsenal 4-0 and 4-1 in the Champions League group stage.

Bonmati, who has won the last two Ballon d’Or awards, continued: "It's a final with a different feel because we've never played Arsenal in a final.

"It's been a few years since we even played them. For that reason, it's a new challenge for us, being able to play a different team."

On the prospect of coming up against former team-mates Mariona Caldentey and Laia Codina, she added: "I am looking forward to it, but it will be strange to see Mariona in the other shirt and playing against us.

"I have never had that feeling of playing against her. She's been a player I have played with my entire life, here and with the Spanish national team.

"She's always been by my side, exchanging passes, so it will be strange to have her as an opponent."

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