Emma Hayes' send-off just got a little less perfect: Winners and losers as Chelsea's quadruple dreams go up in smoke after Arsenal snatch Conti Cup triumph

Hayes' final season in charge of Chelsea will not end in a quadruple after her team fell short in the first leg of that challenge on Sunday. It was always going to be difficult to achieve given the Blues have never won the Champions League and will face holders Barcelona in the semi-finals, but the dream has died at an earlier hurdle in this Conti Cup final.

Chelsea beat the Gunners just 16 days ago and were the favourites ahead of this game, but for the second successive year, they were beaten by their London rivals in the showpiece event. There are still three trophies to be won by Hayes and her side, but to lose this game in the manner they did, so late on and having had chances themselves, will be frustrating.

When Arsenal captain Kim Little was asked if she and her team had extra motivation to win this final in order to deny Chelsea that quadruple, she said she'd not thought of it like that. "But now you've said that," she added, "I think yes."

The Gunners' unique history has been preserved with this victory, and that will be as much of a delight to the club as the trophy, because it is an incredible achievement that all associated with Arsenal are so proud of. That it was their London rivals chasing a repeat of that feat just adds another layer to the result.

So often this season, James has been the difference for Chelsea in the big moments and the big games and it felt like that would be the case against on Sunday. She saw so much of the ball, more than any other forward on the pitch, and was constantly the Blues' most dangerous player.

However, a couple of poor decisions here and there meant the chances that fell to her, or the opportunities that opened up for her, were not capitalised on with the same ruthlessness and effectiveness that we have got used to seeing so far this campaign. It wasn't her day, but the 22-year-old will be better for the experience that she continues to accumulate.

Blackstenius has had her doubters over the years and yet, here she was once more, coming up with a huge moment in a huge game for Arsenal. Last year, her strike in this same final helped the Gunners turn the match around to win the competition, and she repeated the trick here, albeit in different circumstances.

It was only a few minutes earlier that Blackstenius had missed a huge chance, too, and so to keep her composure in the manner she did, at a stage of the game when the fatigue must've been really kicking in, was extremely impressive. Once again, she proved her worth and showed that she can be an extremely valuable member of this Arsenal team.

When Mead returned from her ACL rupture earlier this season, she did so with a bang, hitting a really rich vein of form almost immediately. For anyone of an Arsenal or England persuasion, it was exciting to see, as she was only just back and sure to get even better.

But the forward has struggled in recent weeks to replicate that effectiveness. It's often said that after an injury like the one she had, it can take several months for a player to feel like themselves again. Perhaps the end of the season, some rest and a proper pre-season can help her get back into some rhythm, though that's easier said than done given the chaotic women's football schedule this summer.

When Arsenal renewed Eidevall's contract earlier back in October, it came at a point when the Gunners had suffered some really poor results, had been knocked out of the Champions League in qualifying and shocked by Liverpool at the Emirates on the opening day of the Women's Super League season. Naturally, there was some scepticism about the decision given the situation.

But after ending Arsenal's four-year wait for a trophy last spring with the win over Chelsea in the Conti Cup final, to retain the trophy is a positive for a manager who has had his doubters and fair share of criticism. It is a sign that his team are moving in the right direction and will only give the Gunners confidence that they can put up more of a fight in more competitions next season.

It's been a bit of a struggle for Williamson since her return from a devastating ACL injury in January, and that continued on Sunday. The defender started for Arsenal and put in a strong first-half display, coming up with a particularly impressive block to thwart James, but didn't emerge for the second half.

"She had a medical situation," Arsenal boss Eidevall explained. "Possibly she could have carried on playing, but it would have been borderline that she could sustain something much more serious if she had carried on doing that. Hopefully it’s nothing serious."

Williamson will hope it's nothing serious, too. She is set to join up with England next week, having had to withdraw from the squad in February due to a hamstring problem. After spending so long on the sidelines in 2023, these niggles will be incredibly frustrating for her.