We capped off Jonas Eidevall's 100th game in charge with a strong 2-0 win over Liverpool on Sunday evening.
Vivianne Miedema bagged her first goal back from injury in style with a rocket from outside the area and Caitlin Foord tapped in our second to secure the three points.
What happened
Our Gunners kicked off with the same starting XI who saw off Everton 2-1 last weekend, especially determined for a win after our opening day defeat to the Reds in October.
We looked threatening from the outset, especially down the left wing, with Katie McCabe and Caitlin Foord combining well.
In one such early chance, Victoria Pelova danced through the defensive line, setting up Alessia Russo but our number 23 didn’t quite manage to get enough power on the shot.
We forced the hosts into giving away dangerous set pieces in their own half, but we were unable to take anything from the resulting chances and Rachel Laws remained relatively untested.
Time and time again, Lia Walti showed her composure in the middle of the park, halting Liverpool's counter-attacks as soon as they began.
Vivianne Miedema looked bright in the number 10 position, seeing a lot of the ball in the first half and switching the play brilliantly, despite being incredibly closely marked.
Liverpool’s low block caused a lot of congestion for our forwards in open play and we came closest to breaking the deadlock via set pieces.
Arguably the best chance of the half came just before the break, with a great corner whipped in by Beth Mead and Lotte Wubben-Moy’s header stopped by Laws in the Liverpool net.
It took a moment of magic right on the hour mark to finally find that opening goal. Picking up the ball in her own half, Emily Fox showed incredible pace and skill to skin several Liverpool defenders before finding Miedema unmarked in the centre.
As she has done on countless occasions, our Dutch magician let fly from range with a fantastic strike that rippled the back of the net.
We doubled our lead soon afterwards. Fox was the instigator again, spotting a lovely run from Russo. Our number 23 raced towards the byline and cut a perfectly weighted ball across the face of goal, and Caitlin Foord was more than happy to convert.
Super-sub Stina Blackstenius looked sharp when she came on for the final 20 minutes, causing constant havoc for the Reds' defence but the scoreline remained 2-0 at the final whistle.
What it means
The victory means we remain level on points with Manchester City, trailing only on goal difference.
Next up for our Gunners is a trip to east London to face a beleaguered West Ham United side.
Team news
Arsenal starting XI: Zinsberger (GK), Fox, Wubben-Moy, Ilestedt, McCabe (C) (Catley, 72), Walti, Pelova (Maanum, 86), Miedema (Little, 71), Mead (Lacasse, 86), Foord, Russo (Blackstenius, 71)
Subs: D'Angelo (GK), Williamson, Codina, Cooney-Cross
Liverpool starting XI: Laws (GK), Fisk, Bonner, Fahey, Matthews, Nagano, Holland, Lundgaard (Hobinger, 70), Daniels (Roman Haug, 60), Van de Sanden (Enderby, 70), Lawley (Koivisto, 70)
Subs: Micah (GK), Clark, Kearns, Parry
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