Man City made a statement in a 3-2 victory over Arsenal in the Women’s Super League (WSL) thanks to a late goal from Iman Beney.
One of the most storied rivalries in the WSL took centre stage as Renée Slegers’ Arsenal travelled to a wet and blustery Joie Stadium to face Andrée Jeglertz’s Manchester City. The build-up was dominated by player narratives: Chloe Kelly returned to the Joie in Arsenal colours, while Vivianne Miedema lined up for City against the club she represented for eight years.
Both teams entered the match with something to prove. Arsenal, fresh off an unexpected Champions League triumph in May and buoyed by a couple of high-profile signings, were under pressure to deliver. However, early-season draws against Manchester United and Aston Villa already showed cracks, raising questions about consistency.
City, meanwhile, were looking to bounce back from a frustrating, injury-plagued campaign last year by proving they could best one of their fellow title rivals. Under new head coach Jeglertz, they’ve seen the return of key players and added talent of their own, notably with the signings of Sydney Lohmann, Iman Beney, and Grace Clinton.
The Lineups
MCI: Yamashita; Casparij, Rose, Greenwood, Ouahabi; Blindkilde Brown, Hasegawa, Miedema,;Clinton, Shaw, Fujino
ARS: Van Domselaar, Fox, Wubben-Moy, Catley, McCabe; Little, Caldentey, Pelova; Smith, Foord, Russo
The Action
The early stages of the game were cagey and neither side created many strong chances. Arsenal managed the first shot on goal through Spanish midfielder Mariona Caldentey, but it was a comfortable save for Ayaka Yamashita. City’s first chance came moments later as Aoba Fujino tried a volley which went over the bar. Olivia Smith and Alessia Russo combined for Arsenal’s next chance, which was intercepted by Yamashita, followed by a long-range effort for last season’s golden glove winner Bunny Shaw being blocked by an Arsenal defender.
Little of consequence occurred before Fujino found Kerstin Casparij on the overlap, and the Dutch defender’s cross met the head of Shaw, who headed home for her fourth goal in five games. This gave the home side the momentum as they had several chances, culminating in Casparij beating Daphne van Domselaar in the Arsenal net, only to be met with the offside flag. The half ended with Arsenal looking rattled and City one ahead.
Last season in this fixture, it took less than a minute for Caldentey to open the scoring, and this time, she scored within 50 seconds of the restart – Emily Fox’s cut-back found Caldentey inside the penalty area and she took her shot, beating Yamashita at her near post.
Iman Beney was introduced from the bench for City and was immediately involved. Miedema played the young Swiss international in, and her shot was deflected into the side netting. The resulting corner ended up in the back of the Arsenal net: Greenwood picked out Shaw at the back post, and Van Domselaar parried her header back into play. Casparij, one of several City players battling for the rebound, managed to get enough on the ball to turn it over the line.
Arsenal introduced Kelly to applause from both sides of the audience, and she did not take long to make an impact. The former City winger curled a shot into the top corner with the help of a deflection for the equaliser. As Arsenal pushed high to aim for the winner, space behind the high line was exploited as Shaw met a long ball, passing to Swiss teenager Iman Beney who finished expertly past van Domselaar to give City the 3-2 lead and win the game.
Arsenal fall victim to the dangers of a high line
Arsenal’s high line and aggressive press has seen them dominate territory, sustain pressure, and create chances from turnovers in advanced areas. For their second goal of the afternoon, it was their sustained high line and pressure that forced City into giving the ball away in a dangerous area, with Kelly in enough space to fire off a shot.
However, it also left them vulnerable at the back, leaving space in the wings that City exploited time and time again. Numerous balls were pinged forwards, and with the pace of Casparij, these almost always became dangerous for the Gunners. A prime example is City’s third goal. As Arsenal pushed their line high while they chased a winner, this left wide open spaces behind the midfield. The home side had plenty of pace to utilise that space, playing a long ball into Shaw who fed into Beney for City’s third.
A high line also requires a confident sweeper-keeping goalkeeper, and for most of last year, van Domselaar filled that role well. However, following a difficult summer at the European Championships with the Netherlands, van Domselaar appears low on confidence and is making errors that further expose the weaknesses of that high line – such as parrying the ball back into play for City’s second.
Frustratingly, this is not a new problem for Arsenal – and with Slegers forced into making changes to her back line due to the injury to Leah Williamson, it is likely not a problem that is easy to solve.
Casparij the key for Man City
Casparij has been on top form this season, scoring one goal and notching one assist in City’s opening four games. Her pace and ability to poach the ball in dangerous areas make her a serious asset to the Blues’ build-up play, particularly as her relationship with Shaw continues to develop.
Under Jeglertz’s leadership, City have become more confident in playing out from the back under pressure. Last season, there were numerous examples of players along City’s back line playing risky passes back to either Yamashita or Khiara Keating, putting their goalkeeper under enough pressure that they would make a mistake Particularly whilst they were missing captain and centre-back Alex Greenwood, this often led to scrambling the ball away or conceding a goal, and was one of the most prevalent issues for City last season.
With the reintroduction of Greenwood and a more organised and compact defensive line, this pressure has eased, giving Casparij more freedom to make the runs up field where she can provide those crosses into the box.
The win sees City usurp their local rivals Manchester United and claim second place in the table, two points behind leaders Chelsea. Arsenal remain in fifth, although Brighton could overtake them with a win over Tottenham on Sunday.
