Pioneers, record breakers and title chasers. Arsenal, England’s most successful women’s team, welcomed a new record 47,367 Women’s Super League crowd to the Emirates Stadium as they cruised to a 4-0 win over their north London rivals , Tottenham, to extend their early lead at the top of the table. .
There was a real uproar in North London. Metro trains were awash in red and white hours before kick-off, as crowds made their way to the ground. For those who had tasted England’s triumph at Wembley in July, there was hope and hushed whispers. Were they about to witness some more history?
Just 10 minutes before kick-off there were nervous faces, with the stands still uneven, but the flow of fans streaming down the aisles didn’t stop.
The gap between these two parties has been narrowing year after year. Last season, Tottenham took an early point from the Gunners and could feel aggrieved not to have picked up all three, after Vivianne Miedema’s 90th-minute goal canceled out a second-half goal from Rachel Williams (who swapped Spurs for Manchester United in the summer). This game, which snapped Arsenal’s winning start to the season, took place at the Hive, where Spurs played their home games before moving to Leyton Orient’s Brisbane Road. At the Emirates later that season, however, Arsenal cruised to a comfortable 3-0 win as they battled to stay in the title race.
Arsenal’s Beth Mead celebrates opening the scoring against Tottenham. Photograph: John Sibley/Action Images/Reuters
The expectation that Tottenham are ready to push on and challenge for a place in the Champions League is a testament to their consistency since their manager, Rehanne Skinner, joined in November 2020.
This campaign has not started so brightly for Skinner with a disjointed, and at times over-defensive, performance against Leicester City highlighted by two goals from defender Ashleigh Neville and new recruit Drew Spence to earn a 2-1 win. But against Arsenal this hesitation and confusion at the back, with the team drifting between a back three, four and five, was brutally exposed.
It took five minutes for Arsenal to allay fears that the club’s perfect day could be marred by pitch unrest and raise the record crowd to full voice. Captain Kim Little fed the ball to Beth Mead and the in-form forward sent a pass to find Caitlin Foord in the middle. Instead, Molly Bartrip side-footed the ball back and Mead curled it around goalkeeper Becky Spencer and in.
It was the loud roar of the ocean before the tsunami of Arsenal attacks that was to come, and those sitting in the Clock End could perhaps almost feel unhappy at the lack of action up close.
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There was a shot for the visitors in the first half, with Celin Bizet spying goalkeeper Manuela Zinsberger off her line and firing a weak shot wide of the goal from 35 yards, but they were still in the game.
The Gunners’ blow came with a minute left in the half. Spencer threw the ball to Eveliina Summanen with Miedema pulling down. The Dutch striker dispossessed Summanen before sliding the ball past Spencer.
The second half was more of the same, with Arsenal dominating possession in front of a crowd that mixed old and new. The next two goals would come from set pieces, with Brazilian centre-back Rafaelle Souza powering home at the far post from a corner before Miedema, whose new contract was arguably Arsenal’s best bargain this summer, he looked beyond Steph Catley’s Spencer. crosses after collecting Mead’s short corner.
The victory was as complete on the grass as the victory in the stands. Arsenal worked hard for this record crowd. The campaign to fill the stadium and capitalize on England’s victory at the Euros began earlier this year when the budgets were being written. Now the glove has been put on. Which club will be the first to sell out their main stadium for a domestic game?