Just a stone’s throw from the Arsenal tube station, a striking poster is positioned against a wall beside a chip van. It features Alessia Russo and her Arsenal teammates with the bold word ‘Champions’ emblazoned across it.

This poster isn’t for sale; instead, it serves as a poignant reminder to those loyal to the blue team that the coveted title they yearn for is held by their fiercest adversaries.

While Chelsea has triumphed across various competitions over the past decade, one prize remains elusive: the Champions League trophy. This is the singular achievement that continues to slip through their grasp.

Currently, Chelsea faces a daunting challenge in their quest to overturn a two-goal deficit in next week’s clash at Stamford Bridge, a task that seems increasingly difficult.

The sense of poetic justice was palpable when the player who restored the championship to north London for the first time in nearly 20 years opened the scoring at the Emirates on Tuesday night. This marked the inaugural encounter between these two teams in this prestigious competition.

Alessia Russo scored Arsenal’s third against Chelsea in their Champions League quarter-final

Arsenal’s Swedish super striker Stina Blackstenius put the Gunners ahead here after a testy opening few minutes which saw Chelsea hit the woodwork twice

Arsenal’s Swedish sensation, Stina Blackstenius, etched her name into local lore by scoring the decisive goal in Lisbon. She put the Gunners ahead after a tense opening, during which Chelsea struck the goalpost twice.

Alyssa Thompson and Lauren James had both come agonisingly close, but a free-kick awarded to Arsenal quickly ensured that the holders would be the ones controlling matters.

Katie McCabe, whose services will be deeply missed if she is to depart the club after 11 years this summer, sent a wonderful curling ball into the box, and Blackstenius rushed forward and nodded in.

The goal appeared to visibly deflate the visitors, and Arsenal’s boisterous home crowd grew in clamour.

Ten minutes later, a straightforward pass found an unmarked Chloe Kelly 25 yards out, and the 28-year-old did what she does best: popped up in an important moment with an important intervention.

Kelly lasted only an hour before she was replaced by her young protégé Olivia Smith, but her decisive, bouncing first-half strike, which slipped and scrambled under her England team-mate Hannah Hampton, ensured Arsenal’s advantage was sturdy.

‘Champions of England, you’ll never sing that,’ the 19,000-strong Emirates crowd taunted the visitors. They laughed as Erin Cuthbert uncharacteristically sent a free-kick straight out to touch. They jeered as Lauren James picked up a yellow card for a soft foul.

And they celebrated when Chelsea’s 19-year-old defender Veerle Buurman was adjudged to have pushed Arsenal’s Laia Codina from behind when jumping up to nod home from close range on the edge of half-time.

Kelly’s bouncing first-half strike which slipped and scrambled under her England team-mate Hannah Hampton ensured Arsenal’s advantage was sturdy

The decision to rule out Veerle Buurman’s goal for pushing Laia Codina at the back post was harsh

It was a harsh call, and one which VAR should probably have overturned despite their lengthy deliberation on the matter. But they stuck with the referee’s on-field decision, and Chelsea’s prospects looked rather bleak heading into the break.

Blues boss Sonia Bompastor fumed about the decision after the match.

‘It’s always more difficult to complain about the referees when you lose the game, but it’s not good enough. When you are playing in the quarter-final of the Champions League, you need to respect more of this game,’ she said.

‘You need to respect the players more because they work hard every week to put a good performance on the pitch. And for sure, the first goal is a goal. I don’t see how you cannot allow it.

‘When a human makes a mistake, I think you can understand it a little bit more, but when there is the VAR, it’s really difficult.’

In the second half, James was visibly riled and perhaps lucky to escape a second yellow after bringing Emily Fox down late on.

But with the game trudging on towards a second period lacking drama, the England star briefly set it alight with a wonderful goal which surpassed Kelly’s for distance. After a brief touch, James sent a rocket into the top-left corner.

And yet Arsenal had no interest in giving up their two-goal cushion, and Alessia Russo finished clinically from inside the penalty area a few minutes later. The England forward picked up the Player of the Match trophy at the end for good measure.

Chelsea, meanwhile, have had a turbulent season, and Bompastor now has a week to ponder how to go about winning their most important of games.

‘Are we playing the world sevens tomorrow?’ she joked in her pre-match press conference when asked about her side’s training session the day before this game containing only eight outfield players.

But she knows that their current injury situation is no joke. Big names such as Nathalie Bjorn, Millie Bright and Aggie Beever-Jones remain out due to injury.

Australian striker Sam Kerr was ruled out of contention after a lengthy journey back from her homeland following defeat in the Asian Cup final to Japan. A jetlagged Ellie Carpenter only just managed to drag herself onto the bench, but remained unused.

The return of that pair should at least set them in good stead for the grudge rematch.

And if not, there will be little surprise as to what the Arsenal fans will be singing the next time they meet.