Arsenal: Zinsberger; Fox, Wubben-Moy, Ilestedt, McCabe, Wälti, Pelova, Miedema, Mead, Russo, Foord.

Everton: Brosnan; Wheeler, Finnigan, Bissell, Bennison, Payne, Galli, Holmgaard, Snoeijs, Olesen, Stenevik.

The stage was set in Borehamwood, as Arsenal played host to Everton on Saturday afternoon at Meadow Park. After falling to disappointing defeat in the North London Derby in the closing weeks of 2023, the Gunners would be looking to bounce back with a statement performance at home.

As for Brian Sørensen’s Toffees, piling injury woes has seen the Merseyside squad face an uphill battle in recent weeks. Despite the difficult circumstances, Everton have still scraped eleven points in their league campaign, and a victory in Borehamwood would be sure to ignite the flame in their season.

It was the visitors who got things underway in Borehamwood, in what was sure to be an exciting clash between the two sides.

The home side looked convincing as the starting whistle blew, dictating the field of play almost immediately. The Gunners controlled the tempo in the fixture’s opening minutes, immediately plaguing Sørensen’s last line with an array of problems.

Vivianne Miedema looked back to old tricks in her first start in the Barclays Women’s Super League since returning from her ACL injury, immediately causing problems for the Toffees through the play’s central areas. The Dutch forward catalysed a promising attack for the Gunners, though her her ball found a leering Caitlin Foord in an offside position down the left side.

It wasn’t long before Arsenal found their advantage, as a well placed entry from Victoria Pelova found Foord at the front post, the Australian finding the back of the net with poise.

Arsenal kept knocking, as Alessia Russo found herself in a prime position inside the area. Though her attempt was mistimed, seeing the her strike fly wide of Courtney Brosnan’s goalposts.

Though home fans erupting in the North Bank were only permitted a short window of rapture as Sørensen’s side made their presence known just moments later.

A blunder at the back saw Katja Snoejis creep her way through Arsenal’s last line, finding herself in an advancing position toward a stagnant Manuela Zinsberger at the edge of the area. A well-placed work through by Snoejis saw Arsenal’s net rippling, bringing the scoreline back to a stalemate in the 25th minute of play.

Despite an Everton equaliser, the script remained unchanged as the half ran down. Arsenal continued to dictate the field of play, though unable to convert inside of the area.

It was a moment of brilliance from Lia Wälti that gave the Gunners a breakthrough, the Swiss midfielder locating Beth Mead on the end of a primly executed cross-field ball. Despite any chances missed, Mead gave no room for mistake, heading home Arsenal’s second for the afternoon.

The second half saw both sides remain unchanged at the interval, the home side getting play back underway in North London.

The script was flipped on what was a well organised first term, as the second half saw chaos ensued. Both sides looked scrappy in possession as the clock ran down, the fixture proving to be a well-fought arm wrestle.

Arsenal found their footing in an excellent display of football, working to break down the Toffees press from end-to-end. A brilliant build up play saw Russo come off first best, though her decision to further the play saw Mead collect the ball in an offside position.

The fourth official indicated six minutes of extra time to be played, as the Arsenal last line began to feel the mounting pressure of a determined Everton attack. Stina Blackstenius proved the hero in the dying moments, a clearing header evading the Arsenal box of any danger.

The final whistle blew in Borehamwood, as the Gunners collected a 2-1 victory over the Toffees at Meadow Park.