Arsenal delivered a dominant performance, defeating north London rivals Tottenham 5-2 in the Women’s Super League derby at the Emirates Stadium. The victory propels the Gunners to second place in the WSL standings, surpassing Manchester United and Chelsea, though they trail leaders Manchester City by 11 points.
Match Highlights
Alessia Russo starred for Arsenal, netting a first-half hat-trick, including two goals within the opening seven minutes. Tottenham briefly rallied at halftime after Frida Maanum’s own goal, but Caitlin Foord restored Arsenal’s control with a fourth goal on the hour mark. Beth England pulled one back for Spurs, only for Stina Blackstenius to seal the win in injury time.
Tottenham Manager’s Praise
Tottenham head coach Martin Ho described Arsenal as the ‘best team in the world,’ acknowledging their achievements over the past six to twelve months. Despite the defeat, Ho highlighted moments where his side pushed back.
“You come to the best in the world if we’re honest about the team, who they are and what they’ve achieved over the last six to twelve months, and we pushed them back for large moments,” Ho stated.
Ho pointed to early concessions as pivotal: “[In the] first half, we conceded two quick goals and that dented us. By doing that, it makes it difficult for you to get back into the game and with small individual passes, we have to be better at that as players.”
He took responsibility for tactical elements and noted second-half errors: “I thought we then got back into the game, we got a goal, and then it goes into the second half where we conceded a really cheap goal again, which makes it 4-1. We push back, Bethany gets a goal, really good finish, that’s 4-2. Then we were pushing the game, we make another individual error and we get punished.”
Ho emphasized the impact of the opening minutes: “Yes, when you give two goals away like we have in those moments, you’re going to get punished for them. They have world-class players and then it gives you a bit of a mountain to climb at times.”
Looking ahead, Ho stressed improvement: “We just have to look at it, assess it, put it behind us and then focus on the Chelsea game going forward. We have to make sure we do that because we don’t want to be a team and I don’t want to be a coach who concedes five goals a game. We’re not going to be doing that moving forward.”
Arsenal’s Strong Form
Arsenal, under head coach Renee Slegers, advanced toward the Women’s Champions League semi-finals with a 3-1 first-leg win over Chelsea last week. As defending champions, they claimed the title last season by beating Barcelona in the final, securing their second triumph in the competition.
Slegers praised Russo’s leadership: “In training, she is communicating more and instructing more, driving the team more by being more vocal. You can see that she’s stepping up. She is also part of the leadership group at Arsenal now. She is always herself, wanting to bring her best version, and she is very humble. She’s definitely developing that and we love to see it.”
Last season, Arsenal finished 12 points behind champions Chelsea in the WSL, but their current form signals a strong challenge.
