The Gunners return to N5, as a crowd of 42,820 piled through the turnstiles for the final fixture of the Barclays Women’s Super League season to be played at Emirates Stadium.

Impressive numbers showed up in attendance for what has been claimed to be a ‘dead rubber’ fixture. Arsenal however will be looking to further solidify their position in UEFA Women’s Champions League qualification, as three points get them within touching distance of a confirmed spot in the final three.

Jonas Eidevall makes one change to his starting eleven, as Lotte Wubben-Moy falls out of the match day squad to be replaced with Katie McCabe. The loss of the centre back from the list sees Eidevall opt for an adjustment, as Steph Catley steps into the central role.

Frida Maanum and Vivianne Miedema make their way back into the match day squad much to the excitement of Arsenal fans.

As for Leicester City, Jennifer Foster opts for the single change for her side to meet the Gunners, as Josie Green makes way for Julie Thibaud

LEI: Kop; Howard, Bott, Thibaud, Takarada, Tierney, Rantala, Cayman, Momiki, Rose, Petermann

Stina Blackstenius looked lively down the right side, as her clever footwork allowed a cross to be sent and deflected behind for a corner. Despite the opportunity, the Gunners failed to catalyse an attacking action off of the back of the corner piece.

Blackstenius again looked electric, carrying possession up the field’s length with conviction. Sending a line-breaking ball through to Beth Mead, whose failed cut-back saw her strike immediately blocked.

Back-to-back attempts to the Gunners would play out, as Caitlin Foord stormed the area at pace. Finding Mead on the edge of the area, the English forward’s strike would take a deflection to fly high of the intended target.

Yuka Momiki provided the first real chance of the afternoon for the Foxes, as she liked her chances from distance to produce a stellar strike from outside the area. Manuela Zinsberger brought the heroics, as a stretching effort saw the ball palmed away from danger.

Clever combination from Victoria Pelova and Caitlin Foord allowed Mead to find herself in a one-on-one position with Lize Kop within close range. Making no mistake did the Gunners number 9, as she hit home the advantage in the 27th minute of play.

The Foxes tried to strike back as the clock ran down on the opening half, as Deanne Rose found Sam Tierney in space on the edge of the area. Tierney’s hit from range looked promising, before Zinsberger once again proved a pillar between the posts as she palmed away the strike at the highest point.

A clever chip from Leah Williamson saw the Gunners with another glimpse in the final moments of the opening half, though Foord’s first touch was instantly met by the block of Sophie Howard as the half time whistle blew.

Play was back underway in N5, as the Gunners picked up proceedings just as they left them. Foord looked energetic in attack, before her shot from range was cleaned up by Kop between the goalposts.

Pelova did well to claim the midfield territory, before she found an advancing Emily Fox in the wide area. The American full back sent a perfect ball across the face, though Foord’s strike was well stopped by an active Kop off her line.

Fox won the footrace in the defensive third, before the Gunners worked brilliantly to garner possession up the field’s length. Blackstenius located an overlapping Fox on the right side, though the American was denied of her first Arsenal goal as Kop cleaned up her strike.

Hungry for more was Fox, as she once again tried her luck from range only to be narrowly denied by a stellar save from Kop.

Arsenal’s number 23 made her presence known as the clock ran in to it’s final fifteen minutes, as she buried a brilliantly placed her strike into the bottom left corner to double Arsenal’s advantage in the 7th minute.

The situation became increasingly dire for the Foxes, as Pelova placed a brilliant chip up and onto the head of Russo inside of the six-yard area. Forcing a save from Kop did Russo, before Mead cleaned up the remains to find herself a brace for the afternoon.

Returning off the back of another spell on the sidelines, Vivianne Miedema nearly found the scoresheet as she took to the field. A looping cross was well placed by Mead, though Miedema’s headed flick only narrowly missed the intended target.

The Gunners would prove too strong on the occasion as the final whistle blew in N5, now finding themselves a single point away from UEFA Women’s Champions League qualification.

The Halfway Line Player of Match: Steph Catley