It was a tense FA WSL Continental Cup final but in the end Vivianne Miedema’s first-half strike was enough to see off Manchester City at Adams Park.
The Netherlands international has now scored seven goals since her summer arrival - although none more important than Wednesday’s winner - and Joe Montemurro took the chance to pay tribute to the 21-year-old after the game.
“She’s a very smart footballer,” he said. “You won’t see her for a while, but she does a lot of work off the ball to create space for Jordan Nobbs and Kim Little to get involved. Her movement and positioning is fantastic, and she got the reward with the goal.
“All credit to the girls who played very well. Our gameplan went very well for 50 or 60 minutes but then Man City threw everything at us towards the end and it got a little bit hairy. We got there in the end.
“It’s actually been seven games since we last conceded a goal and City created a couple of very good chances in the second half. We dominated the first half though and we got the rewards.
“Winning the competition means a lot to me but we have to make it habit again. It’s hopefully one of many going forward. I just applaud the players because they’ve worked so hard ever since I came in and they’re starting to believe again. We just want to get better and better.”
Copyright 2024 The Arsenal Football Club Limited. Permission to use quotations from this article is granted subject to appropriate credit being given to www.arsenal.com as the source.