We suffered a tough defeat at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Saturday afternoon.
Spurs’ Martha Thomas scored the game’s only goal in the second half as we were unable to convert our chances in the second north London derby of the week.
What happened
Jonas Eidevall made nine changes to the side that drew with Tottenham Hotspur in our midweek Conti Cup tie, with skipper Kim Little missing out on her 300th appearance due to injury.
Caitlin Foord had an early chance, weaving her way through the Spurs half and curling a shot goalwards, only for it to be deflected for a corner.
Our Australian winger continued to threaten down the left flank, cutting inside and rattling the post five minutes later.
Despite our dominance in possession, the opening 45 minutes had little to offer in terms of excitement for either side.
We closed out the half with another close call, some neat interplay at the edge of the area from Foord and Alessia Russo allowed Frida Maanum to let fly and force a good save from Votikova.
Our Gunners upped the intensity at the start of the second half, with Katie McCabe and Maanum coming exceptionally close to breaking the deadlock before the hour mark.
Entirely against the run of play, the hosts struck on the counter - Martha Thomas arriving in the area and burying the ball in the bottom-left corner.
Vivianne Miedema and Kyra Cooney-Cross entered the fray in the 65th minute as we pushed for an equaliser.
Despite digging deep, buoyed by incredible away support, Eidevall’s side were unable to find that all-important quality in the final third.
After Manuela Zinsberger came up for an attacking corner in the dying moments of injury time, Spurs had a chance to double their lead but were stopped by a heroic tackle from Cloe Lacasse.
What it means
After squandering our chance to go top of the WSL in our last game of 2023, our focus turns to the new year.
We're back in action in 2024 in the FA Cup with a home tie against Watford on January 14.
Team news
Arsenal starting XI: Zinsberger (GK), McCabe (C) (Lacasse, 89), Ilestedt, Wubben-Moy, Catley, Walti (Blackstenius, 80), Pelova (Cooney-Cross, 65), Maanum (Miedema, 65), Mead, Foord, Russo
Subs: D'Angelo (GK), Beattie, Codina, Maritz, Kuhl
Tottenham Hotspur starting XI: Votikova, James, Buhler (Turner, 19), Bartrip, Neville, Ildhusoy (Ayane, 95), Graham, Clinton, Petzelberger, Thomas (Percival 85), England (Naz, 46)
Subs: Zadorsky, Brazil, Ale, Spencer, Pearse
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