Yet another record-breaking crowd for the Women’s Super League packed into Emirates Stadium to watch us secure an emphatic 4-1 win against Chelsea on Sunday afternoon.
A brace from Alessia Russo and goals from Beth Mead and Amanda Ilestedt meant we saw off our local rivals in style with a dominant display.
What happened
Our Gunners started brilliantly with a lovely breakaway run from Katie McCabe who then laid it off to Kim Little. Our skipper nearly found Beth Mead arriving in the box with a skilful dink but the Chelsea backline managed to clear.
The visitors did not avert the danger for long, however. Caitlin Foord broke down the left flank on the counter and with a series of intricate passes at the edge of the area, Victoria Pelova lost her marker with a neat turn and found Mead waiting. Our number 9 rifled into the roof of the net to give us the lead.
Almost immediately, Manuela Zinsberger was called upon at the other end, pulling off a great save to deny a long-range shot from Jessie Fleming. Johanna Rytting Kaneryd did pull the visitors' level before too long with a low, driven shot at the near post, and we were forced to reset.
Undeterred by the equaliser, our squad set about restoring the lead. We dominated the remainder of the first half with some fine attacking play and solid defensive work across the pitch to snuff out any Chelsea chance.
In the 35th minute, our hard work in pursuit of a second goal paid off. Steph Catley’s perfect delivery from a corner found Amanda Ilestedt rising high at close range and the Swede headed home.
But we weren't done yet. Less than two minutes later, Lia Walti played an exquisite through ball to a charging Alessia Russo and our number 23 completed the counter-attacking move with a stunning finish past Ann-Katrin Berger, giving us a two-goal cushion going into half-time.
As Emma Hayes made three changes to her side at half-time, the second 45 minutes began in a much cagier fashion than the first, but the Blues never looked capable of pulling off a comeback.
We were granted a penalty in the 73rd minute after Russo was brought down by a reckless Berger at the edge of the area. Our number 23 stepped up to take the spot kick and with pure composure, drilled the ball into the bottom left corner for her second.
Our rotated frontline had several chances to further extend our lead as we continued to dominate in every third but the scoreline remained an impressive 4-1 on the final whistle.
What it means
Today's result was our ninth straight win in all competitions. We remain in second, trailing Chelsea purely on goal difference.
Our Gunners are back in Conti Cup action against Tottenham Hotspur on Wednesday in the first of two north London derbies next week.
Team news
Arsenal starting XI: Zinsberger (GK), McCabe, Wubben-Moy, Ilestedt, Catley (Maritz, 74), Walti, Little (C) (Maanum, 61), Pelova (Cooney-Cross, 90), Mead (Lacasse, 74), Foord, Russo (Blackstenius, 74)
Subs: D'Angelo, Codina, Beattie, Miedema
Chelsea starting XI: Berger (GK), Perisset (Lawrence, 46), Mjelde (Buchanan, 46), Carter, Charles, Nusken (Kirby, 46), Cuthbert, Kaneryd (Reiten, 65), Fleming, James (Fishel, 75), Kerr
Subs: Musovic, Hampton, Ingle, Beever-Jones
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