Arsenal travelled up to the King Power Stadium to face Leicester City earlier today, where the home team conceded in a tightly fought 0-1 battle.
Both sides kicked off their 2024/25 campaigns with draws, Arsenal with a 2-2 tie against Manchester City and Leicester held their own against Liverpool 1-1.
Last time the two sides faced each other at the King Power Stadium marked the best comeback of the season, with Arsenal falling 0-2 behind at the break before scoring six goals in the second half and conceding nothing further.
Laura Weinroither made the initial starting line-up today, hoping to make her 50th appearance for the club, but after getting injured during the warmup she was replaced by US international, Emily Fox.
After her stunning goal against BK Häcken earlier in the week, Lia Wälti started in midfield alongside youngster Kyra Cooney-Cross.
Notably Dutch goalkeeper, Daphne van Domselaar made her Arsenal debut making three crucial saves to keep the Gunners in it.
Equally Leicester’s Lize Kop put in a solid shift for her team, saving them from numerous attempts from the Gunners to put the North London team ahead in the first half.
New signings for Leicester, Ruby Mace and Noémie Mouchon also featured on Amandine Miquel’s starting lineup.
Jutta Rantala got things underway with an early missed attempt in the third minute and the first half continued in this fashion, with the closest attempt coming from Alessia Russo who failed to direct the ball Beth Mead sent in for her.
Knocking it just wide of the post, Russo let slip one of the few chances they had in the first half and neither side had anything to show after the first 45 minutes.
In the second half, it took just ten minutes for Frida Maanum to find the back of the net, securing the lead for Arsenal.
CJ Bott, in attempts to pass it back to the goalkeeper, let the ball loose in the box and Russo took advantage of the opportunity, chipping the ball in and finding the boot of Maanum.
Leicester struggled to find any consolation, van Domselaar standing strong between the posts for the Gunners.
After proving herself crucial in their game against Manchester City last week, Laia Codina was booked for a bad foul during added time before the whistle was blown.
Starting XIs:
Arsenal: van Domselaar (GK), Fox, Wubben-Moy, Codina, Wälti, Mead, McCabe, Maanum, Foord, Russo, Cooney-Cross
Leicester: Kop (GK), Bott, Howard, Thibaud, Cayman, Tierney, Mace, Momiki, Rantala, Mouchon, Goodwin
Featured image courtesy of Abby Rampling.