Alex Scott: Arsenal Ladies' dominance of women's football 'will not be seen again'

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Media caption,

Arsenal's Vic Akers remembers historic European win

Arsenal Ladies - The Game Changers

BBC Radio 5 Live Sport special

Date: Thursday, 1 June Time: 21:00 - 22:00 BST

Arsenal's dominance of women's football 10 years ago will not be emulated, because the depth of competition is now so much greater, says England right-back Alex Scott.

They won nine consecutive league titles between 2004 and 2012.

And they were the first British women's side to lift the European Cup as they won four major trophies in 2007.

"I don't think you ever want women's football in this country to be how it was back then again," Scott said.

"When you look back, 10 years ago, we were dominant, but some of those games were easy. It's more competitive now because every team wants to set the bar. That's great for the league."

Scott, 32, struck the only goal, external when Arsenal won the 2007 Uefa Women's Cup - which was later rebranded as the Women's Champions League - over two legs against Swedish side Umea.

No British side has reached the final since, although Manchester City did become England's third different semi-finalists since 2011 when they reached this season's last four before losing to French holders Lyon.

When will a British club rule Europe again?

Image source, Empics
Image caption,

Arsenal Ladies beat Umea 1-0 on aggregate to become European champions in 2007

Speaking to BBC Radio 5 live, Scott added: "It would be a massive feat for anyone to get to the Champions League final again.

"We knew it would take a long time. We knew, when we won the quadruple, that it was just an amazing year."

In the club's 30th-anniversary year, BBC 5 live's Arsenal Ladies - The Games Changers show will air from 21:00 BST on Thursday, as Lyon and Paris St-Germain meet in Cardiff in the 2016-17 Women' Champions League final.

The current Lyon side could arguably be likened to the Arsenal team of old, having won 11 consecutive French league titles.

Under former manager Vic Akers, the Gunners won 10 Women's FA Cups between 1993 and 2009.

"The quality of players is now more divided," Akers said. "We had most of the England team at that time.

"It's harder, at this point, because other clubs [in Europe] are making progress. They've upped their game.

"It is going to be harder for English teams to win the Champions League now, but certainly not impossible."

Alex Scott and Vic Akers were speaking to BBC Sport's Jo Currie.

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