Katie McCabe will play in the Champions League semi-finals once again, after Arsenal completed a magnificent comeback against Real Madrid in Wednesday night's quarter-final second-leg.
Arsenal came into the second leg at the Emirates 2-0 down after last week's tie in Madrid, with a fervent home crowd hoping for a miracle to bring them to the last four for just the second time in over a decade.
A miracle was what the home fans got, as Arsenal came storming out of the gates and took control of the game. Though the game was still goalless on the night at half-time, there was a growing sense that it would not remain so for very long.
So it transpired, as Alessio Russo struck immediately after half-time to get the Gunners moving. Just three minutes later, Mariona Caldentey struck home a second to level up the tie. From there on out, an Arsenal winner was coming.
It would arrive ten minutes later, with Ireland captain Katie McCabe floating in a beautiful free-kick which was nodded down to Russo, who rifled home to put Arsenal in front.
That Russo had two further goals disallowed for offside showed just how rampant the Arsenal attack was on a memorable night in North London. It finished 3-0 on the night, 3-2 on aggregate, and Arsenal are through to face Lyon in the last four next month.
A glance at the stats post-match show just how influential Katie McCabe was in a superb win for Arsenal, to cap what was a memorable week for the Ireland skipper.
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Katie McCabe played crucial role in Arsenal's comeback v Real Madrid
Katie McCabe was one of the standout players for Arsenal on Wednesday night, with her stats showing how much of an influence she had on their attacking - and particularly defensive - play.
McCabe completed 39 of 46 passes, with 12 of those moving Arsenal into the final third, and she also created two chances - including the decisive goal on the night. Even more impressive were her defensive stats, which saw her record a 100% tackle success rate. She was not dribbled past once, and was not dispossessed once, throughout the 90 minutes.
These are the kind of numbers that make McCabe so important to Arsenal and why she is held in such high regard across Europe. The last time Arsenal reached the semi-finals in 2023, McCabe was named in the team of the season.
She has been a stalwart in North London and, ahead of Saturday's 4-0 win over Liverpool, was presented with an award from the club to mark her 250th appearance in red.
Ireland fans will hope to see Katie McCabe replicate this growing form in the upcoming double-header against Greece. McCabe was named in Carla Ward's squad on Tuesday, and will captain the side once more as they look to bounce back from a shock 4-0 defeat in Slovenia last month.
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