FROM THE EMIRATES STADIUM – Arsenal returned to winning ways under the Emirates Stadium lights, thrashing a Brighton & Hove Albion side 5-0 in the Women’s Super League on Friday night.
First-half goals from Beth Mead, Caitlin Foord and Frida Maanum were enough to put the game on hold before the break, before Lina Hurtig and Alessia Russo scored late on to secure a declared victory for the Gunners.
Brighton’s stubbornness saw them refuse to let go of their preferred style of football, and they were punished by Arsenal. The victory means that the Gunners jump to the fourth position of the WSLbeating Manchester United who will play Aston Villa on Sunday.
How the game developed
arsenal created both sides’ best chances in the early stages. The most convincing perhaps came from a clever short pass from Lia Walti to Katie McCabe inside the 18-yard box, which was intercepted by a brilliant sliding challenge from Madison Haley.
The Gunners were able to break the deadlock in the 13th minute, when Maanum opened the scoring with a visionary ball to Mead down the right channel. Mead did what he does best, cutting onto his left foot before burying his shot into the far corner for the opener.
Russo was too strong for the Seagulls defense as he moved around his markers before sending a pass to Mead in the channel. Before Mead had a chance to shoot, the offside flag was raised.
It wouldn’t take long for Arsenal to strike again though, as Emily Fox picked out Kim Little in the box before the Arsenal skipper found Foord with her cross. Foord made no mistake with his goal-line header, doubling Arsenal’s lead in the 21st minute.
Things got worse for Brighton just moments later when Maanum looped Sophie Baggaley in the Brighton goal with an absolute wonder from the corner of the 18-yard box. Gunners fans were delighted when Arsenal took a 3-0 lead in the 25th minute.
Foord attempted another nightmare strike for the Seagulls as Arsenal instigated a counter-attack to catch Brighton wide open from behind. The Australian beat Baggaley with her shot from distance, only to be denied by the post.
Brighton finally showed signs of revival in the final half hour as Kiko Seike sent Leah Williamson the wrong way before her shot was denied by the crossbar. Small glimpses were not enough for the Seagulls as their disorganized display was punished.
If the game wasn’t already put to bed, the Gunners wrapped things up in the 75th minute. A well-timed corner from McCabe was met by Hurtig, whose header flicked the ball into the back of the net to put the 4-0.
As if Brighton hadn’t already suffered enough, a clever turn from Stina Blackstenius saw her brought down by Jorelyn Carabali and she conceded a penalty. Russo was calm and composed from the spot, slotting home for a deserved goal after a strong individual display.
GK: Manuela Zinsberger – 8/10 – Hardly anything to do for Arsenal’s number one tonight. He only entered the action once in the second half and managed to keep a clean sheet well.
RB: Emily Fox – 8/10 – The USWNT defense continues to show why it is one of Arsenal’s most important assets. Instrumental to Arsenal’s attacking efforts and made no mistakes defensively.
CB: Leah Williamson – 6/10 – The center was not at its best, making some uncharacteristic personnel losses. However, he had no qualms on the defensive.
CB: Steph Catley – 7/10 – Good performance from the Arsenal centre-back. He deserved his place in the starting eleven and did well when moved to left back after Fox’s withdrawal.
LB: Katie McCabe – 8/10 – A very solid performance from the Irish defender. He combined well with Foord to threaten Brighton’s right side and catalyze some good attacking moves.
CM: Leah Walt – 7/10 – Sample composed by the defensive midfielder. He didn’t have much to do against a Brighton midfielder who was very lost.
CM: Kim Little – 7/10 – Definitely one of the most improved performances from the captain in recent times. He did superbly to set up Foord’s second goal and made no real mistakes before his 55th-minute substitution.
CM: Frida Maanum – 9/10 – A near perfect performance from the Gunners midfielder as he tormented the Brighton defence. Instrumental in the first goal to put Mead in the channel before slotting home a strike for Arsenal’s third.
RW: Beth Mead – 8/10 – The Mead of old was seen here. Very strong display and nice to see her back on the scoresheet. He used the space well but was perhaps too easily caught by the offside flag.
ST: Alessia Russo – 8/10 – Russo got his deserved goal in the 95th minute, scoring a penalty after an impressive performance at N5. Number 23 was strong and composed up front, causing real problems for the centre-backs marking it. A show of confidence from the striker.
LW: Caitlin Food – 8/10 – A very brilliant performance once again from the in-form vanguard. Foord terrorized the Seagulls’ right wing and got himself in the right position to score Arsenal’s second of the night. Combines very well with McCabe.
Substitutes
SUB: Laia Codina (55′ for Fox) – 7/10 – Strong defensively but not much was asked of him as Brighton struggled to threaten. A truly impressive challenge to preserve Arsenal’s goal in the closing moments.
SUB: Stina Blackstenius (55′ for Maanum) – 6/10 – It didn’t affect the game as much as I would have hoped. There are still plenty of questions to be asked about Russo and Blackstenius’ partnership, but their clever turn in the closing moments saw Arsenal awarded a penalty.
SUB: Kyra Cooney-Cross (55′ for Little) – 6/10 – He did what was asked of him on the occasion and played well defensively.
SUB: Lina Hurtig (71′ for Foord) – 8/10 – He made an immediate impact to score Arsenal’s fourth goal of the night and put the game to bed.
SUB: Rosa Kafaji (79′ for Mead) – N/A
Subs not used: Lotte Wubben-Moy, Kathrine Kuhl, Katie Reid, Daphne van Domselaar.
manager
Renee Slegers – 8/10 – A fine performance from Arsenal’s interim manager, who recently confirmed that he would lead the Gunners through the remaining three games before the upcoming international break. He set up well to nullify Dario Vidosic’s possession-based identity and managed to use his bench and give him some rotation ahead of a busy week. Questions still have to be asked about whether Arsenal should have tried new things by leading the game so much.
