Maanum ‘stable’ after collapsing in League Cup final against Chelsea

Maanum needed treatment on the pitch at Molineux for around nine minutes, receiving oxygen through a mask

Arsenal’s Frida Maanum was in a stable condition on Sunday evening, after collapsing during the Women’s League Cup final and needing treatment on the pitch at Molineux for around nine minutes.
‌The Norway attacking midfielder went down yards away from any other player in the final minute of stoppage time at the end of the second half. She landed on her side, motionless, and her Arsenal team-mates quickly urged medical staff to rush on to the field.
The 24-year-old was attended to by medics from Arsenal, Chelsea and hosts Wolves, and received oxygen through a mask throughout the nine minutes she was on the pitch.
At one stage, 21 members of staff were present at the scene and the BBC, who broadcast the match, did not show a replay of what happened.
Shortly after play resumed, with the final going to extra time, Arsenal staff advised that Maanum was conscious, talking and in a stable condition. She will continue to be monitored closely by Arsenal’s medical team.
Silence fell around Molineux – where a record crowd for this final of 21,462 were in attendance – while Maanum received treatment, with fans visibly shocked and concerned in the stands. The final was goalless when the incident occurred.
Arsenal went on to win the match through a 116th-minute winner from Stina Blackstenius, who told Telegraph Sport she was “really impressed” by how her team-mates had re-focused back on the match after Maanum collapsed, adding: “We just came into the huddle and said ‘we need to win this game for her’. It’s just awful to see as a team-mate, and as a friend, to see something like that happen, and we just said ‘we need to win this game’.”
Arsenal and England centre-back Lotte Wubben-Moy, added: “I have no doubt whenever adversity hits our team that we’re going to step up, step forward. Thankfully she’s stable and conscious, but that instance in itself shows the depth of our squad being able to step up in moments and our fans were extremely respectful also in that moment to be cheering and clapping when times were hard. The epitome of us is that we withstand adversity.”
Wubben-Moy also felt the team’s huddle at the start of extra time after Maanum had been stretchered off the field was a key moment to galvanise them, adding: “When you look in people’s eyes – we’ve been working on that quite a bit to show confidence, show security – there’s so much that you can gain when you’re looking in a teammate’s eye. ‘I believe in you, you believe in me, let’s go.’ And ultimately that was what allowed us to stay in it.”
Maanum, from Oslo, has played for Arsenal since 2021. She made her Norway debut at the age of just 17 and was a goalscorer at the 2022 Women’s Euros in a group game against Northern Ireland.