VAR, good margins and a ‘superior’ Lyon cost Arsenal a Champions League final place.

But it wasn’t just VAR that hurt Arsenal’s chances of becoming the first English team to reach back-to-back Women’s Champions League finals.

The two-time European champions, who beat Lyon in last year’s semi-finals, were completely separated by the eight-time champions on Saturday.

Former England goalkeeper Rachel Brown-Finns came here last year and overcame her handicap to win.

They were the better team and had better quality on the pitch.

The Slaggers defense looked shaky from the start, with the French team scoring chances.

“Lyon stepped up today. They came out really strong. Selma Bacha and Melchi Dumornai put world-class players back into the side,” Arsenal captain Kim Little told BBC Two.

“They were the better teams. Between two legs, there were two teams with different styles of football going at each other.”

Considered one of the best attacking players in the world, Dumornai was ruled ineligible to play in the first leg but made her mark on the reverse play – running rings around Arsenal’s back line.

“You can’t go into these games with a slow start and let Leon build momentum,” former Arsenal defender Anita Assante said.

“They rode the expectations better and found players who could cause problems in the game.”

“From start to finish, his performance was better than Arsenal’s,” added Browne-Finis.