Leicester’s half-time delight was fleeting as the Gunners buried six , the art of the comeback becoming a signature weapon in Eidevall’s Armoury.

After a Super Sunday of surprises drew to a close, the final fixture saw The Arsenal take on Leicester City at King Power Stadium.

For Willie Kirk’s home side, the Foxes would be looking to turn the tides on the fixture’s history, having lost all 4 WSL appearances against the Gunners previously.

Following the Leicester manager receiving the Barclays WSL Manager of the Month award, Jonas Eidevall sung of Willie Kirk’s praises during the week.“He [Kirk] is a top manager, he’s done a really good job with Leicester, both in the way he recruits players that fit the model and the way he was come up with a way of playing that fits with his squad.”

As for Eidevall’s side, a draw at Brisbane Road Stadium between Tottenham and Livepool, as well as Brighton Hove & Albion’s clinching victory over Manchester City saw the second spot on the table for the taking. A starting eleven saw Kyra Cooney-Cross make her WSL debut, though questions were asked of the absence of captain Kim Little, as well as starting midfielder Lia Wälti, both missing from Arsenal’s squad list heading into the clash.

The first half commenced in true Arsenal fashion, Eidevall’s side lacking attacking conviction despite a display of possessive domination. Ignoring the left-side space that both Alessia Russo and Caitlin Foord found themselves in, an off-target chip from Victoria Pelova saw the Gunners miss a big chance in the opening third of game’s minutes. What made matters worse for the away side was what followed mere seconds later, a goal from Leicester’s Samantha Tierney off the back of a deep-placed corner that saw the foxes take a 1-0 lead in the 36th minute.

Russo back with the ball in the centre saw the Gunners surge forward again, hungry to equalise. A Leicester press put an immediate stop to any momentum attempting to be built by Arsenal, as Janise Cayman’s stretching effort found the back of the net, just 120 seconds later. By the time the half closed, Leicester had opened their scoring account, finding their first two WSL goals against Arsenal, all in just under two minutes.

No changes were to be made for Arsenal, but every WSL fan found themselves questioning what went in to Eidevall’s half-time speech as King Power Stadium was introduced to an entirely different red and white side come the second 45.

A searching ball from Caitlin Foord broke the line of Leicester’s defence, as Cloé Lacasse capitalised on a blunder from Courtney Nevin, seeing the Gunners make a 2-1 response just three minutes into play’s commencement.

Arsenal held tight with midfield ball control as Pelova found the feet of a roaming McCabe. The Irish captain showcased delightful on-field chemistry with the new summer-signing, as a clever chip into the box saw an unmarked Alessia Russo net home a second. The English striker left all celebrations in London, immediately collecting the ball from the back of the net, setting the tone for what Arsenal were searching to further do.

In tune of ABBA, a roar from the away stand heard “24, Lacasse!, as the Canadian international exploded down the wing, finding the space for Russo to exploit. A first time search from the English striker found Caitlin Foord expertly, who netted home a stellar finish into the top-left corner.

If that wasn’t enough, a counter attack effort saw red shirts flooding forward, Lacasse unselfishly assisting Victoria Pelova in what became four goals in just twelve minutes. A triple change for Arsenal saw both Stina Blackstenius and Lina Hurtig join in on the tally, the final whistle seeing the clash at King Power Stadium conclude at 6-2.

Although match possession remained at a deadlock, the Foxes seemed to lose the midfield discipline that permitted them such first half dominance. Arsenal players saw copious time on the ball, leading to Victoria Pelova picking up a goal and two assists for the match, five members of Arsenal’s rotated front line finding the net, and 24 shots on goal, in comparison to Leicester’s 8.

Despite the devastating finish to the fixture, Willie Kirk remained positive following the match’s final whistle. “I think today was a real reflection of how good we can be at the level we are trying to play, if we don’t get it perfect you can be punished.” Adding, “We will go away and find lots of really good things and also small details that we need to improve on.”

As for Jonas Eidevall, the Arsenal manager spoke in his post match press conference regarding a half-time focus shift that urged his side to create their own space, looking to generate and exploit gaps in Leicester’s press.

“If you turn the situation over, they leave a lot of players and they will punish you. That is what we spoke about at half-time: if a team choses to ID mark us, it’s going to be one-v-one situations and we can’t change that because we have the same number of players. What we can change is to see how much space we have in the one-on-one situation and where we want that space to be.”

This primary focus on optimising spacial dominance saw Arsenal with 166 passes in the opposition half, doubling Leicester’s tally of 87. The Gunners also orchestrated 30 successful long balls, searching play from Catley, Foord, and Cooney-Cross all being catalysts for Arsenal’s ever-growing scoresheet.

As for the opposition, Eidevall revisited his praise for Willie Kirk when speaking of Leicester’s performance. “They are a brave football team with a clear identity. They stick to their guns and play their away and I always respect that. That helps with recruiting players and developing players and teams over time. They play differently from many other teams in the league.

Arsenal now climb to to second of the table, just 3 points behind London rivals, Chelsea. Back on the road again next weekend, the Gunners will face a firing Brighton Hove & Albion at Broadfield Stadium. Kirk’s Leicester City return to King Power Stadium to face Robert Vilahamn’s Tottenham Hotspur side.