On Wednesday, Arsenal and Wolfsburg played to a 1-1 draw in the first leg of their 2021-22 UEFA Women's Champions League quarterfinal at Emirates Stadium.
The visitors were able to take an early lead and hold off the home side for nearly the entire match, but a well-executed set-piece saved the Gunners late.
Wolfsburg opened the scoring in the 19th minute, with Tabea Wassmuth getting on the end of a cross into the Arsenal box. The opportunity came after an under-hit pass inside their own defensive third caused the Gunners to turn the ball over at the top of their penalty area, leading to Wolfsburg players flooding the goalmouth before Wassmuth could head the ball past Arsenal goalkeeper Manuela Zinsberger.
The rest of the half was uneventful as Arsenal struggled to create anything, resulting in just a single shot on target in the opening 45 minutes for the hosts.
Arsenal came out of the halftime break looking to control more of the play — something that the visitors seemed eager to allow. The Gunners held most of the possession and looked to break quickly behind the Wolfsburg defence, but the German side wouldn't allow much of the play to take place in their own half.
Aside from one or two forays into the attacking third by Arsenal, Wolfsburg had the most dangerous opportunities in the early part of the second half. However, a quick counterattack by the visitors ended with the ball striking the woodwork twice within a 30-second span at the hour mark, as both Wassmuth and Jill Roord saw their efforts hit the same post in quick succession.
As the half wore on, it looked increasingly as if Wolfsburg would escape with a victory, especially as Arsenal couldn't find another shot on target until the 83rd minute. However, a tug on Vivianne Miedema's shirt 30 yards from goal in the 88th minute changed that, as the hosts were awarded a free-kick. The Gunners didn't waste their chance, with Tobin Heath's low drive met at the penalty spot by Lotte Wubben-Moy, who calmly took a step forward before slotting the ball past Almuth Schult in the Wolfsburg net.
The teams meet again next week in Wolfsburg for the deciding leg.