All The Small Things You Do | Katie McCabe.

The first leg.

"Ian, what is it you expect from the game tonight - how are you thinking this is going to play out?" Alex Scott asked from pitch side, microphone up to her mouth as she stood there alongside Ian Wright and Fara Williams.

Ian Wright licked his lips. "I think it's gonna be tight, yknow? I think they're going to cancel each other out for a lot of the game. You know, both teams are world class. Barcelona are obviously the best in the world, but Arsenal aren't exactly a team that will lay down for them. They'll give them a game. I think Arsenal just need to go into it thinking it's just another team. Don't big them up in their heads, don't think of them as this unbeatable time. They're just a team. Everyone is beatable."

"I agree, I think the biggest mistake Arsenal could do here is come into the game fearing Barcelona. Listen, we know Barca are world class, every single player on that team would walk into virtually any other team across the world, but that doesn't mean Arsenal can't beat them. We've seen Barca be vulnerable, we know sometimes they put so much pressure on that they're likely to leave gaps. Arsenal cannot fear them. Respect them, yes, but do not fear them." Fara added.

"And who are you both keeping an eye on tonight, where do you think those key battles will be?"

"I think Maria Leon and Blackstenius is going to be juicy, Alex."

"Yeah." Ian agreed. "I think in terms of battles, that's one to look out for. But I think if we're talking about players, It's got to be Tatum Madden, right? She's been on such good form lately, well I say lately, I don't think I've seen her actively play a bad game. But she's gonna relish in this. This is the perfect tie for her. It's going to be physical, and she's that rare cross breed of player that's got magical feet but loves a tackle. She wants you to come and tackle her, because if you don't she's going to turn you inside out."

"Yeah, I think realistically, we know Catley and McCabe will drop back to more of a midfield role, I've got no doubt that most of their focus is going to be on controlling that midfield trio of Madden, Putellas, and Bonmati, it has to be. If you don't control them, they'll run the game. TK is definitely the more physical of those players, I wouldn't be surprised to see Katie McCabe covering her zone for most of the match."

"It's definitely going to be interesting. Right, time for waiting is over, here it is. The first leg of the champions league semi final. Arsenal, Barcelona, let's have it."

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The first leg was here.

The Champions league Semi finals.

The 1st leg was being held at the Emirates to a sold out crowd. And when Tatum says you can tell, she means you can tell. As soon as the girls started lining up in the tunnel, the fans were making themselves known, continuous chants being sang amongst them.

The Barcelona girls were the first to line up, the Arsenal girls left them waiting an extra minute or two. It didn't bother Tatum or her team mates. They were the best in the world, they knew they were every teams 'team to beat', so they'd had their fair share of mind games played against them by teams.

Tatum took a breath and tapped her studs on the ground, eventually hearing the tell tale loud voice of her best friend echoing through the tunnel. A few seconds after she felt a hand touch her shoulder, turning round to face Leah who stood there with a stoic face, but still wanting to acknowledge her friend and international teammate. Tatum smiled and held her fist out, Leah winking and meeting the first bump before walking past Tatum to start the line of the Arsenal team.

A few of the Arsenal girls copied Leah's example of stopping and briefly greeting Tatum, the England internationals at least, giving both Tatum, Lucy, and Keira fist bumps.