Tottenham Women 1-5 Arsenal Women: Caitlin Foord and Kim Little shine in reckless Gunners win
Match report and highlights as Arsenal won five against Spurs with Stina Blackstenius, Caitlin Foord, Kim Little and Frida Maanum; Beth England scored a consolation goal from the penalty spot; The Gunners moved up to second in the WSL standings, two points behind Chelsea
Slick Arsenal maintained their WSL dominance over bitter rivals Tottenham after winning their eighth straight derby 5-1 in north London thanks to goals from Stina Blackstenius, Caitlin Foord (2), Kim Little and Frida Maanum.
After three league games without a win between January and February, the Gunners have returned to their triumphant form, beating Liverpool, Reading and now Spurs ahead of Wednesday’s crucial Champions League second leg against Bayern Munich.
Arsenal’s resurgence, epitomized by another scintillating little masterclass in midfield, has forced a comeback in the WSL title race, with Jonas Eidevall’s side now second and just two points behind leaders Chelsea, who face Manchester. City on Sunday.
Blackstenius opened the scoring with force, firing past Tinja-Riikka Korpela from a tight angle in the opening five minutes before Foord ended a racy run by putting the ball cleanly into the post (29′) – the Australian striker was straightforward as she was involved in more league goals (10) than any Arsenal team-mate this season and scoring or assisting in her last three appearances.
Beth England scored a consolation goal from the penalty spot for the hosts (39′), which was won by Ash Neville after his shot caught Katie McCabe’s arm, but Arsenal’s creativity and determination l trumped the spirit of Spurs in the second half, which remained that game. without victory. From the point (66′) little added to the tally before Spurs’ resistance eased further as Foord netted their second of the afternoon and Maanum put in a ruthless attacking display on 13 minutes of the end.
Final score: Tottenham 1-5 Arsenal
Peeppeep! Arsenal start their big week in style by beating Spurs in the North London derby. The in-form Caitlin Foord scored two goals, with Stina Blackstenius, Kim Little and Frida Maanum scoring the other goals.
Beth England’s penalty that made it 2-1 just before half-time gave Spurs some hope, but Arsenal erased it with the most insistent second-half performance.
Match Summary
The player of the match is Caitlin Foord
[Why do you always score against Spurs?] I don’t know! They just seem to be the team I can put away. [Regarding the first goal] It’s something I train for a lot, so to see it pay off in one game… I’m always happy about it.
Stina’s goal was quality. I probably wouldn’t even think of shooting from there, so credit to her. [Were you frustrated when you were taken off the pitch when you scored a hat-trick?] No, actually I was fine.
I was quite happy to walk out as we have a big game coming up mid week. It would have been nice to get another one, but we won, that’s the most important thing. We are playing very well at the moment and we want to continue like this.
Do you feel the women will take the title this season going by the fantastic performance they had been putting up? leave your comments…
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William Saliba happy to focus on Arsenal title bid as contract talks continue
William Saliba insists he is “so happy” at Arsenal as contract negotiations continue behind the scenes of an increasingly compelling Premier League title bid.
The Gunners are eight points clear at the top after a 2-0 derby win at Tottenham on Sunday.
An own goal from Hugo Lloris and a long-range effort from captain Martin Odegaard secured Arsenal’s first-ever victory at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium and propelled them higher up the table.
France international Saliba has played a big role in the club’s revival after making his debut earlier in the season after being loaned out three times from north London.
His performances have been so high that he is set to sign a new contract with Arsenal and he is ready to continue the talks in the background as Mikel Arteta’s side seek glory. “We are delighted because the derby is an important match, and it was also an away game,” he said.
“We know it’s not easy to win here, so we are so happy. We didn’t concede a goal and scored two.
“We are focused on ourselves. We are not targeting our rivals. We have to continue like this and only focus on ourselves.
“I’m so happy here. The club are talking to my agent and me, the only thing I can do is (focus on my football). I’m so happy here.”
After Spurs’ victory, Arteta said a continued title challenge “would need almost perfection” for the rest of the season, with Saliba now hitting back with a win over Manchester United – the only team Arsenal should beat this season – looking for the next weekend.
“It’s never enough,” he replied when asked what it meant to be eight points clear at this stage. “We know we have a lot of games to play. We have to be focused because things can change quickly. If we lose a game we can’t have confidence afterwards, so we have to be focused to go ahead and try to win. We focus on ourselves.
“There is no pressure. It’s better to have that pressure when you’re up than when you’re down. It’s better to continue like this and we don’t need to be under pressure.
“We know we have a big game next week. We know they beat us. They are the only team to have beaten us in the Premier League this season and we want to beat them again at home. “We will prepare for this match very well, I think, and I hope we win in front of our fans. We will continue. We didn’t know about it before (Arsenal could win the championship), but when summer started, I said tell me we can do something “.
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Arsenal want to make an offer for the Real Madrid player
Real Madrid currently have a number of players whose long-term future at the Santiago Bernabeu is uncertain. One of those players seems to be making a good impression on loan at Milan. It is none other than Brahim Diaz, temporarily at San Siro from 2020, a period that could end in the summer.
Whether or not Brahim will return to Real Madrid remains to be seen. Even if he does, he may not have a permanent place in the starting eleven. Instead, there was much interest in signing the Spaniard.
Milan would like to extend his stay at San Siro and take him permanently from Real Madrid. On the other hand, Chelsea, Liverpool and Newcastle United have also been linked to Brahim. And now it seems Arsenal have also joined the race.
As reported by Corriere dello Sport (via Sport Witness), Arsenal want to ‘open negotiations’ and ‘make an offer’ to Real Madrid for Brahim. Mikel Arteta knows Spanish well from his time with Manchester City.
Brahim’s situation is interesting. There is no doubt that he is an excellent player and that he has impressed Milan. But his numbers for the Italian club are far from finished.
However, some of the biggest clubs in the world are believed to be interested in signing him. On the other hand, there are suggestions that Real Madrid want to hand him a contract extension.
Brahim’s current contract with Real Madrid is believed to run until the summer of 2025. And it will be very interesting to see where the youngster’s long-term future lies.
Do you think Brahim Diaz is a good option to add to Arsenal’s team? leave your comments…
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Arsenal star Gabriel Jesus asks for two things from team mates after Europa League exit
Arsenal striker Gabriel Jesus has sent a message of encouragement to his teammates after being kicked out of the Europa League by Sporting CP on Thursday night
Arsenal striker Gabriel Jesus has urged his team-mates to hold their heads high after being kicked out of the Europa League by Sporting CP on Thursday night.
Eventually the game went into extra time where Leandro Trossard saw a great chance which was saved by Sporting goalkeeper Adan before Manuel Ugarte was shown a red card after being shown a second yellow card for a nasty foul on Bukayo Saka in the dying embers of the game. Ruben Amorim’s side scored all five penalties in the penalty shootout, while Gabriel Martinelli failed to convert his penalty meaning Mikel Arteta’s side were knocked out of the tournament in the round of 16.
After the final whistle, centre-forward Jesus took to social media to motivate his team-mates. The Brazil international, who was substituted at half-time, posted a photo of the Arsenal players lined up at the halfway line during the penalty shootout, captioned: ‘Heads up’ with a kick fist and attached heart emojis. Jesus has been out of action for more than three months due to a knee injury sustained during Brazil’s World Cup campaign in November. But the 25-year-old finally returned to the pitch in Sunday’s 3-0 win over Fulham.
Next up for the Gunners is a home game against Crystal Palace, who on Friday morning decided to sack manager Patrick Vieira.
Also read…
William Saliba happy to focus on Arsenal title bid as contract talks continue
William Saliba insists he is “so happy” at Arsenal as contract negotiations continue behind the scenes of an increasingly compelling Premier League title bid.
The Gunners are eight points clear at the top after a 2-0 derby win at Tottenham on Sunday.
An own goal from Hugo Lloris and a long-range effort from captain Martin Odegaard secured Arsenal’s first-ever victory at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium and propelled them higher up the table.
France international Saliba has played a big role in the club’s revival after making his debut earlier in the season after being loaned out three times from north London.
His performances have been so high that he is set to sign a new contract with Arsenal and he is ready to continue the talks in the background as Mikel Arteta’s side seek glory. “We are delighted because the derby is an important match, and it was also an away game,” he said.
“We know it’s not easy to win here, so we are so happy. We didn’t concede a goal and scored two.
“We are focused on ourselves. We are not targeting our rivals. We have to continue like this and only focus on ourselves.
“I’m so happy here. The club are talking to my agent and me, the only thing I can do is (focus on my football). I’m so happy here.”
After Spurs’ victory, Arteta said a continued title challenge “would need almost perfection” for the rest of the season, with Saliba now hitting back with a win over Manchester United – the only team Arsenal should beat this season – looking for the next weekend.
“It’s never enough,” he replied when asked what it meant to be eight points clear at this stage. “We know we have a lot of games to play. We have to be focused because things can change quickly. If we lose a game we can’t have confidence afterwards, so we have to be focused to go ahead and try to win. We focus on ourselves.
“There is no pressure. It’s better to have that pressure when you’re up than when you’re down. It’s better to continue like this and we don’t need to be under pressure.
“We know we have a big game next week. We know they beat us. They are the only team to have beaten us in the Premier League this season and we want to beat them again at home. “We will prepare for this match very well, I think, and I hope we win in front of our fans. We will continue. We didn’t know about it before (Arsenal could win the championship), but when summer started, I said tell me we can do something “.