Match report: Arsenal Women 4-0 West Ham

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WHAT HAPPENED

We made it six wins from six in the Barclays FA Women’s Super League on Sunday as we ran out comfortable 4-0 winners over West Ham.

Kim Little delivered an outstanding individual performance, scoring twice and notching her 50th goal in the competition, while Beth Mead maintained her fine form with yet another emphatic finish.

With Vivianne Miedema back in the matchday squad but only named on the bench, Caitlin Foord was trusted to lead the line and we started strongly at Meadow Park, carving out a number of promising chances.

First Nikita Parris saw her curling effort sail just wide of the top left corner, before Mead lost her marker with a fake shot and sudden turn inside the area, only to be denied by the far post.

Mana Iwabuchi then went on to fire a golden opportunity wide and we looked to set to go in at the break on level terms, before a moment of class and composure from Little. Our captain wriggled between two defenders before firing across goal and into the bottom corner.

Little then went on to double our advantage shortly after the restart. This time it was Noelle Maritz who played our No. 10 through on goal and after shimmying in front of a defender, fired a powerful effort beyond the reach of Mackenzie Arnold.

It was a landmark moment too, as Little joined the exclusive club of scoring 50 Women’s Super League goals.

We weren’t done there, though, and shortly afterwards, Mead made it three with a powerful finish into the top left corner following an excellent run and perfectly—weighted pass from Parris.

Mead set up our captain’s opener and as she went searching for her second assist of the evening, her dangerous delivery from the left wing was flicked on by Grace Fisk and inadvertently directed into her own goal.

The Hammers attempted to claw one back late on, but our entire team continued to press until the final whistle, maintaining our perfect start to the season and securing our fifth consecutive clean sheet in the league.