It was an afternoon to forget for Aston Villa as Arsenal scored two goals either side of half-time to secure a comprehensive 4-0 victory at the Emirates Stadium.
Arsenal again named a formidable side as Lionesses Beth Mead and Alessia Russo partnered Frida Maanum and Caitlin Foord in a front-four.
Meanwhile, after netting a dramatic 94th-minute match-winner against newly-promoted Crystal Palace in game week eight, Ebony Salmon was rewarded with a place in Aston Villa’s visiting XI at the expense of Gabi Nunes.
Trailing Barclays WSL leaders Chelsea by nine points heading into this afternoon’s match at the Emirates Stadium, Arsenal were straight on the offensive from the outset.
First, Mead had the ball in the back of the net in the 11th minute, however, the striker frustratingly saw her effort rightly ruled out for offside, after straying marginally beyond the shoulder of the last Villa defender in the build-up.
Katie McCabe had the next big chance and fired a fierce free-kick straight at former teammate Sabrina D’Angelo.
The hosts’ unrelenting attacking endeavours did pay dividends in the 18th minute. Russo directed Kyra Cooney-Cross’ delicious delivery into the danger zone into the far corner of the net with an instinctive backwards header.
One could have become two almost immediately after Russo’s opener, but D’Angelo was up to the challenge. The Canadian initially blocked Mariona Caldentey’s effort from a tight angle with her legs, before rising to her feet to keep out the rebound from Frida Maanum.
A second for the hosts came six minutes before the break as Mead got her name on the scoresheet with a clinical close-range rebounded finish; Maanum had hit the post, following an expert exchange of passing in the build-up.
With the advantage already in their favour, interim Arsenal manager Renée Slegers was forced into a change during the break as Lotte Wubben-Moy replaced Emily Fox. But that did not affect Arsenal’s momentum.
Second-half substitute Stina Blackstenius secured all three points in the 70th minute by expertly executing Katie McCabe’s defence-splitting pass from the left flank beyond D’Angelo.
A disappointing afternoon for Villa – who failed to register a shot on target in the capital – was compounded in the final minute of the game. Player of the Match Russo added a spectacular second strike to the scoresheet with an exquisite curler straight into the top corner.
Starting XIs
Arsenal: Van Domselaar; Fox, Williamson, Catley, McCabe; Cooney-Cross, Caldentey; Mead, Foord, Maanum; Russo
Aston Villa: D’Angelo; Mayling, Turner, Patten, Tomás; Staniforth, Nobbs; Grant, Daly, Hanson; Salmon
Featured image courtesy of Ronnie Macdonald via Flickr. No changes were made to this image. License details found here.