She Shoots, She Scores

The North London Derby: one of the biggest days in the footballing calendar, and today promised to be no different as Arsenal prepared to host Tottenham Hotspur with hopes to win bragging rights and a second place spot on the WSL table.

Ahead of the game, tributes were given to club captain and legend Kim Little, celebrating her 400 appearances for the club and the news of her contract renewal, securing her for one more year. The Scot was emotional as her family surprised her to present her with an honorary shirt, followed by a tifo in the crowd in her honour, highlighting just how loved and respected the skipper is.

It didn’t take long for Arsenal fans to have another thing to celebrate, as just five minutes in Alessia Russo headed in a beautiful corner from Katie McCabe to make it 1-0, before scoring again just two minutes later with a 1-1 attack slotted in to the bottom left corner, making it 2-1 before ten minutes. An unfortunate own goal from Frida Maaunum gave Spurs a goal back, but not long after a poor pass from keeper Lize Kop gifted Russo the goal to mark her first hat-trick for the Arsenal, making the score 3-1 at halftime.

The second half began and it wasn’t long before Arsenal were scoring once again, this time Caitlin Foord converting Smila Holmberg’s cross into a stunning smash of a goal in the 61st minute, her first in the WSL since September.

Spurs began to pick up their pace, putting pressure on the Gunners in the last twenty minutes, with a goal from Bethany England in the 78th minute keeping the game open enough to keep the Lilywhites hopes alive. However Stina Blackstenius with a through on goal in stoppage time solidified the result, ending things 5-2 at the Emirates.

The result marks Arsenal’s 5 WSL win on the bounce, and 11th in all competitions. Their focus will now turn to Wednesday nights visit to Stamford Bridge where they will fight to turn their 3-1 victory against Chelsea in the first leg into a place in the semi-finals of the Champions League.