Arsenal 3-0 West Ham United
by Aimee Logan at Meadow Park for Impetus (27/11/23).
Above: Beth Mead is swamped by Arsenal team mates after scoring her first goal since returning from her ACL injury yesterday. Photo: Arsenal Women.
Arsenal took all three points in a home win over West Ham in the WSL whilst keeping a critical clean sheet.
Jonas Eidevall’s side went into their final fixture before the international break as clear favourites. The biggest shock on the team sheets was the absence of West Ham captainand goalkeeper, Mackenzie Arnold who was out of the fixture due to an arm injury that has also ruled her out of the Matildas squad for their two games in Canada.
Arsenal dominated from kick-off and it was inevitable that the visitors were going to have a tough day. A sublime wave of play conducted by Kyra Cooney-Cross led to a pass to Frida Maanum who was waiting to strike a shot across the goal from just outside the area. Two minutes in, the home team were already ahead of the visitors.
The Gunners continued on the offensive, with the midfield pairing of Pelova and Cooney-Cross showing off their immense quality while they’re in possession.
A second goal for Arsenal was inevitable and it came as an almost carbon copy of the first. Cooney-Cross fired a ball across the field to a waiting Mead who impressively chipped the keeper with her left boot. Her teammates flooded around her in celebration of her first goal since her injury, 428 days since she last scored for the Gunners. Mead also became only the second player in the WSL to reach 100 goal involvements, 57 goals, and 43 assists, her teammate Vivianne Miedema the only other to hold that achievement.
Every single player in the Gunners’ team was in top form. Alessia Russo was persistent on the attack and had some close chances one-on-one with West Ham keeper Megan Walsh.
Russo’s determination didn’t go unnoticed as her impressive run along the back line set up Mead to score her second goal of the day. The home team were 3-0 up going into halftime.
At the start of the second half, The Hammers came out fighting and put slightly more pressure on The Gunners’ back line, but nothing was able to test Zinsberger between the posts. The game finished in a 3-0 win for Arsenal, taking all 3 vital points ahead of their top-of-the-table fixture against Chelsea at the Emirates after international break.
Unsurprisingly, Mead was chosen as the player of the match for her outstanding performance in the front line. However, many fans were eager to draw attention to Cooney-Cross who was sublime pulling the strings in the midfield. The young talent played the full 90 minutes and consistently dominated the opposition. Fans have been eager to see her make her mark on the WSL, and she definitely showed her quality on the field in this fixture.
Speaking to the press after the game, Amanda Ilestedt spoke on the importance of their second consecutive clean sheet in the WSL: ‘’Yes, it is important…we really want to have that clean sheet every game and to have had that now two games in a row, it’s good.’’
Ilestedt also spoke about how her partnership with Wubben-Moy was building at the back considering the absence of Leah Williamson due to her injury: ‘’It’s not a relationship you can build on two games. It takes a while to do that, and I think it’s getting better and better. It’s great to play next to Lotte, she’s had a great season so far, so she makes it easy for me to play with her. We are building something really good.’’
Jonas Eidevall reflected on the influence of Beth Mead’s impressive performance saying: ‘’I think she had a very good performance. I think her details in defence, you could see she was so switched on in the counter defence moments. When she reacts so quickly when we lose the ball and she stays forward, I had the feeling, that’s Beth Mead, that’s what she can bring.’’ Mead is going into the international break on a high as she returns to the Lionesses camp for the first time since her injury.
West Ham manager, Rehanne Skinner, emphasised how her squad is full of ‘’young players’’ and in comparison to the home side that has ‘’An experienced bench with players who have over 100 caps for their country.” The Hammers boss also expressed how she believed Arsenal are the ‘’toughest opponent in the WSL’’ so ultimately, she knew that ‘’no one thought we (West Ham) would win this game’’.
Whilst the WSL now breaks for the international window, anticipation is growing for the encounter between Arsenal and Chelsea in a fortnight’s time – a match that has already seen over 50,000 tickets sold.
Teams: ARSENAL (4-2-3-1): Zinsberger, McCabe (Maritz 64’), Ilestedt, Wubben-Moy, Catley, Pelova (Walti 75’), Cooney-Cross, Mead (Lacasse 64’), Maanum (Miedema 82’), Foord, Russo (Little 82’). Substitutes: Beattie, D’Angelo, Kuhl, Codina.
Scorers: Maanum 2′. Mead 18′, 41′.
WEST HAM UNITED (5-3-2): Walsh, Evans, Shimizu, Tysiak, Cissoko, Smith, Harries, Stringer, Hayashi, Asseyi, Ueki. Substitutes: Denton, Cooke, Stapleton, Ademiluyi, Flannery
Referee: Lisa Benn.
Attendance: 3,686.
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