Our Gunners nabbed three points on the south coast in a 2-1 win over Southampton in the Conti Cup.
A record crowd of 13,438 packed into St Mary's Stadium on Thursday evening as Amanda Ilestedt’s last-minute winner broke Saints’ hearts.
What happened
A much-changed side lined up against the Saints, with nine players coming into the starting XI after Sunday's win over Brighton & Hove Albion.
In the game's first chance, Cloe Lacasse danced her way into the penalty area and laid the ball off to Lina Hurtig, whose curling effort wasn’t far away.
Hurtig had a lot of joy down the left wing in the first half, with her speed and physicality causing trouble for the Saints' backline.
Kathrine Kuhl took up her place alongside captain Lia Walti in a double pivot, and the pair dictated play from the middle of the park.
Both Alessia Russo and Frida Maanum came close in the opening 15 minutes but a lack of originality and rhythm up front meant that Kayla Rendell wasn’t truly threatened in the Southampton net throughout the first half.
Eidevall made two changes at the break, introducing Amanda Ilestedt and Caitlin Foord into the tie in the hopes of breaking the deadlock.
It was the hosts who struck first in the 55th minute, however, Molly Pike wrong-stepping Jen Beattie before hitting a rocket past Sabrina D’Angelo.
The goal became the lightning rod to shock our team into action. Less than five minutes later, Maanum struck with a short-range bullet to bring us back level.
After the equaliser, however, the game settled back into its earlier lethargy and neither side looked especially likely to score again.
Vivianne Miedema and Katie McCabe came off the bench late in the second half as our Gunners sought a winner to avoid a penalty shootout.
It was Amanda Ilestedt who proved to be the hero in the dying minutes of the game, heading home from a header to earn us three points.
What it means
The win moves us into second place in Group D, just behind rivals Tottenham Hotspur on goal difference. Our next Conti Cup fixture is against Spurs on December 13.
Our Gunners now have one more tie before the international break - a Women's Super League clash against West Ham United this Sunday.
Team news
Arsenal starting XI: D'Angelo (GK), Beattie, Catley, Maanum, Walti (C) (Cooney-Cross, 60), Maritz, Hurtig (Miedema, 60), Kuhl, Russo (Foord, 46), Lacasse (McCabe, 77), Codina (Ilestedt, 46)
Subs: Zinsberger (GK), Mead, Pelova, Lia
Southampton starting XI: Rendell (GK), Morris, Mott, Kendall, Parnell (C), Wilkinson (Primus, 69), Dean (Lloyd-Smith, 46), Pike, Griffiths (Peplow, 69), Purfield, Peake
Subs: Howard, Rafferty, Wynne, Pharoah, Thompson, Kraft
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