When Barcelona star Aitana Bonmati sat down with ESPN ahead of Saturday's Women's Champions League final against Arsenal, she admitted "it was a surprise" to see the Gunners progress to this stage. It's a fair observation. After all, Arsenal only very lightly challenged Chelsea for the Women's Super League title this season, were beaten by an under-performing Manchester City in the semi-finals of the League Cup and suffered a shock loss to Liverpool in the quarter-finals of the FA Cup. Defeat to Barcelona this weekend would condemn them to a first trophy-less season in three years - and in that campaign, they at least fought tooth and nail with Chelsea for the league.
The Gunners have done things the hard way in the Champions League, too. In the quarter-finals, they put in an awful performance in the first leg in Spain, helping to give Real Madrid a 2-0 advantage that they managed to overturn at the Emirates Stadium. Then in the semi-finals, they made things even more difficult for themselves, losing 2-1 at home to Lyon. It was a result that meant they had to win in France against the eight-time European champions.
But the important thing is that, despite those obstacles, Arsenal have come through, with Bonmati keen to stress that while she wasn't expecting to face the Gunners this weekend, their run to the final has been "well deserved".
There are lots of reasons why they've earned their place in Saturday's game. One is the incredible turnaround Renee Slegers has overseen, after taking interim charge in October and getting the permanent job in January. Another is the impact of Mariona Caldentey, who joined Arsenal from Barcelona just last summer. But right up there, too, is the season that Alessia Russo has had.