We headed into the October international break with three points against a stubborn West Ham side.
A second-half penalty from Mariona Caldentey and a first Arsenal goal for Rosa Kafaji gave us a much-needed WSL win on the road on Sunday afternoon.
WHAT HAPPENED
Interim head coach Renee Slegers made two changes to the lineup from midweek, with Frida Maanum and Steph Catley coming in for Beth Mead and Leah Williamson.
There was good intensity from the off as Frida Maanum, Caitlin Foord and Alessia Russo aggressively pressed West Ham’s backline.
With Lotte Wubben-Moy still unavailable, Catley put in a rare shift as a centre-back, tasked with keeping Riko Ueki quiet.
Alessia Russo got the first shot on target, rising well for a header that went straight at Kinga Szemik in the West Ham goal.
Despite dominating possession across the pitch, our Gunners weren’t able to translate that into many clear-cut chances on goal. Foord and Maanum continued to combine well down the left flank, with overlapping runs and one-two passes as we tried to unlock space in the final third.
Lia Walti had the best chance of the first half, shrugging off her marker and letting fly outside the box before Szemik made a good stop.
With no change to the scoreline after the hour mark, Slegers made four changes to the team, bringing on Beth Mead, Rosa Kafaji, Kyra Cooney-Cross and Stina Blackstenius to change the game.
The match opened up from that moment onwards. Blackstenius looked bright from the start, running through on goal and trying to slip the ball past Szemik. Her shot beat the West Ham keeper but strayed just inches wide of the post.
Blackstenius’ dangerous runs in behind troubled the Hammers once again, only this time she was brought down in the area. The referee pointed to the spot and Mariona Caldentey made no mistake to finally give us the lead.
Fresh from her first WSL goal and switching from the wing to the 10 position, Mariona dictated our attacking play for the rest of the match.
It would be substitute Rosa Kafaji who would secure us the three points at the death. Blackstenius played a perfect cut-back to her fellow Swede by the penalty spot, and Kafaji took her first Arsenal goal in style with a brilliant first-time shot into the roof of the net.
what it means
We’re in fifth position in the WSL table, going into the international break.
Our Gunners are next in action on November 3, where we’ll face top-of-the-table Manchester United on the road.
