Two fingers, a kicked chair & a Euro dream ruined

Two goals, two yellow cards, a rude hand gesture and a kicked-over chair. Kelly Smith was “devastated” as she was escorted into the Arsenal changing room at Brondby Stadium.

The three matches she missed were to become among the most important in Arsenal’s history as Vic Akers’ side went on to win the 2006-07 Uefa Cup, now called the Champions League. The first and so far only British side ever to do so.

As Arsenal prepare to take on Wolfsburg in their first semi-final in the competition for 10 years on Sunday, Smith reflects on an eventful evening on the outskirts of Copenhagen that ended in the Gunners and Brondby settling for a 2-2 draw, with one of the world’s best players absent from the pitch.

“All I remember is just being quite angry at the referee,” former striker Smith said.

“My second foul was kind of near the halfway line and it was a little bit late, but I thought I got the ball.

“She didn’t think so, so she gave me another yellow card.”

By this point, Smith had scored twice, including one from a free-kick, but Brondby had levelled the scores shortly after on both occasions.

“I went off the field and didn’t act in my best behaviour,” Smith said.

“The fans were kind of jeering me and I stuck two fingers up at the crowd and then kicked the chair and then was ushered out.”

‘I let myself and the team down’

Arsenal, without Smith, progressed to the final as they cruised past Brondby with a 3-0 win at Borehamwood in the second leg.

Smith’s red card would have led to a two-match ban which would have seen her back in time for the second leg of the final, but her indiscretions after the dismissal saw another game added to her tally.

“I was devastated,” she said.

“I just felt like I let myself down, let the team down because I played pretty much in every game in the build-up in that competition.”

Smith had netted five times in the Uefa Cup that year as Arsenal went on to win a historic quadruple.

But they were without their inspiration for a final against Umea, a Swedish side who were already two-time champions of the Uefa Cup and had superstar players like Brazil’s Marta and Sweden’s Hanna Ljungberg.

“The manager at the time, Vic Akers, said to me ‘don’t worry, we’ll get David Dein (then chairman of Arsenal) to write a letter of apology on your behalf and say it was out of character for you to do that and we’ll get it rescinded’,” Smith recalled.

It was not to be for England’s former record goalscorer, who has often spoken about being shy and reserved as a person while becoming “so confident” when she stepped on to the pitch.

“I was a little bit uncomfortable in my own skin but once I was playing football across the white line, it was like a monster kind of thing – Jekyll and Hyde,” said Smith.

As a tricky forward, Smith often felt she didn’t get enough protection from referees and in the game against Brondby she admits she “saw red”.

“It was just that desire, that hunger to do anything to win and compete,” the 44-year-old said.

“I was always a target playing in the European league, because I was one of the names and the better players and I would be targeted and fouled quite a lot.

“I let that get into my brain, that I was angry because I was going to get hurt.”

‘An emotional journey from start to finish’

Despite her ban, Smith travelled to Sweden with her team-mates for the first leg of the final.

“We were the underdogs going into that game,” she said.

“I remember sitting there and Alex [Scott] hit that peach of a goal from the right-back position coming on to the ball and I think me and my friend were the only ones screaming in a very silent stadium.”

Scott’s long-range effort gave Arsenal a 1-0 lead and an all-important away goal. It turned out to be the decider as the two sides played out a goalless draw in the second leg at Borehamwood.

“It was so hard watching it,” Smith said.

“My heart was beating, sweaty hands, I couldn’t sit still and I remember as soon as the final whistle blew, I ran down from my seat, jumped over the barrier and celebrating with my team-mates, crying with everyone because it’s such an emotional journey from start to finish.”

And if Arsenal hadn’t have won?

“I probably would have beaten myself up for a long time and had a lot of guilt over it,” Smith responded.

“I did anyway. I was so angry at myself throughout that time.”

Luckily for Smith, the Arsenal of today are bidding for a second Champions League trophy rather than a first, and she is confident that Jonas Eidevall’s side can go all the way.

“They just really believe that style of football that they play in – it’s quick, fast pace, energy, intensity,” she said.

Their quarter-final victory over Bayern Munich was, according to Smith, “the best European performance I’ve seen from an Arsenal side ever”.