FROM TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR STADIUM – Arsenal claimed the north London bragging rights after an emphatic 3-0 victory over Tottenham Hotspur in the Women’s Super League.

A goal in the first minute from Alessia Russo sent Arsenal on their way, before Frida Maanum and Stina Blackstenius were able to get the job done in N17.

Arsenal remain unbeaten under the interim management of Renee Slegers, while a lacklustre Tottenham Hotspur continue to face the same defensive nightmares. Robert Vilahamn will be left asking several questions of himself after the disappointing showing from his Spurs side.

How the game unfolded

A disastrous start for the hosts meant it took just one minute for Arsenal to grab the lead. Mariona Caldentey’s pass into the box took an unfortunate deflection from Hayley Raso to run into the path of Russo. With true striker’s instinct, Russo fired her shot first-time across her body and into the bottom left corner to send the away end into rapture.

Arsenal doubled their advantage in the 20th minute as Kim Little and Maanum combined well to split the Spurs midfield before the latter buried her strike into the bottom corner. Matters were growing worse for Tottenham as the Lilywhites midfield struggled to keep up with the Gunners at all.

Katie McCabe forced a corner for the visitors as the clock ticked on after Luana Buhler was given no choice but to boot the ball out in order to stop the defender’s run. The delivery from Maanum was pin-point, and Caitlin Foord nearly capitalised on the cross before being denied by a desperate block from Clare Hunt.

Tottenham finally created a chance of their own after the half-hour mark, with Jessica Naz locating Beth England in space on the counter-attack. England tested her luck from distance but was narrowly denied by an exceptional save from Daphne van Domselaar, who tipped the shot over the bar.

Spurs were handed another opportunity to get one back just before the stroke of half-time as Eveliina Summanen floated her free-kick toward the back post in search of England. A brave tracking run from Leah Williamson meant she was able to head the ball out and behind for a corner. Tottenham failed to create something meaningful out of the corner, with Amanda Nilden blasting her shot into the stands.

The second half started off far more even than the first as the pitch opened up to Tottenham’s benefit. Despite this, it was Arsenal who had the first chance of the second term as Hunt fouled Foord on the edge of the area, earning herself a yellow card. The free kick didn’t lead to anything, however, as McCabe fired her shot straight at Becky Spencer.

The Gunners put the nail in the coffin in the 65th minute as a clever combination from Maanum and Caldentey set Blackstenius free in the box. The Swedish striker made no mistakes, slotting home Arsenal’s third.

Tottenham failed to get any momentum after conceding the third, and the derby narrative seemed already written as the clock ran down in north London.

GK: Daphne van Domselaar – 8/10 – An excellent save in the 33rd minute to tip Beth England’s strike over the bar and preserve the clean sheet. Wasn’t really given much more to do.

RB: Emily Fox – 9/10 – The Arsenal right-back may just be one of the most consistent players in the WSL at the moment, and this was no exception. The alternating Raso and Naz struggled to gain any ground against the formidable defender.

CB: Leah Williamson – 8/10 – Derby day delight for the homegrown Gunner after a solid performance at the back.

CB: Steph Catley – 8/10 – Another really solid showing from the Australian, working well with Williamson to completely nullify the threat of Beth England.

LB: Katie McCabe – 8/10 – An impressive display from the left-back who was back at her best. Spurs failed to threaten her defensively, so she gained the freedom to create a lot more for the Gunners in attack.

CM: Lia Walti – 9/10 – A defensive midfielder often goes unnoticed in a game like this, but Walti deserves the credit. So much of Arsenal’s ability to attack was set up by her composure in the middle of the park. Nullified Spurs in the few moments that they looked bright, and dictated the field of play with such experience.

CM: Kim Little (c) – 6/10 – Some uncharacterisic mistakes from Little as she lost possesion a few times in the opening half. Was subbed at half time for Cooney-Cross after Slegers likely realised her defensive strengths were not required against the tired Spurs midfield.

CM: Frida Maanum – 8/10 – On the scoresheet once again, Maanum continues to prove why she is deserving of her spot in the starting XI. Played with real freedom allowing her to open up the spaces for Arsenal going forward.

RW: Mariona Caldentey – 7/10 – One of her more quiet performances in an Arsenal shirt, though made no mistakes. Set up Blackstenius with a visionary ball for Arsenal’s third.

ST: Alessia Russo – 9/10 – A dream start for the Arsenal striker who definitely has her mojo back. A true striker’s finished topped off another strong performance from Russo. Slegers’ persistence to start her is confidently paying off, with the Gunners striker collecting her fourth goal in five fixtures. Her off-the-ball work should not go unnoticed as she left the Spurs defence absolutely gassed with her proactive movement.

LW: Caitlin Foord – 6/10 – Smoked Amanda Nilden for pace and strength down the right side, but struggled delivering the end product with the final pass during her time on the field.

Substitutes

SUB: Kyra Cooney-Cross (46′ for Little) – 7/10 – A solid showing from the midfielder in north London. Arsenal had control of the midfield, so it allowed Cooney-Cross to play with more freedom – something that suits her playing style.

SUB: Stina Blackstenius (63′ for Russo) – 8/10 – A super-sub yet again, Blackstenius put the game to bed with a clinical finish. The striker is getting much better at putting her opportunities away when they arrive.

SUB: Beth Mead (63′ for Maanum) – 6/10 – Didn’t make any real impact but the game already seemed put to bed when she came on.

SUB: Rosa Kafaji (78′ for Caldentey) – N/A

SUB: Lotte Wubben-Moy (84′ for McCabe) – N/A

Subs not used: Manuela Zinsberger (GK), Laura Wienroither, Laia Codina, Lina Hurtig

Manager

Renee Slegers – 10/10 – The Gunners remain unbeaten under the interim management of Renee Slegers, who has her players ticking, with Alessia Russo scoring her fourth goal in five games despite not scoring in eight consecutive fixtures at the start of the season. Was able to rotate her bench in preparation for an important Champions League meeting with Juventus on Thursday.

GK: Becky Spencer – 3/10 – Distribution was always kick and hope, offering no breathing room for the Tottenham defence. Didn’t make any key saves.

RB: Ash Neville – 6/10 – Tottenham’s brightest defender on the occasion in a very low quality award. Provided some outlet for Spurs going forward and defended decently when called upon. Really struggled for pace in moments.

CB: Clare Hunt – 4/10 – A really harsh outting for the Australian centre-back as she was put under huge amounts of pressure from the Gunners forwards. Failed to use her height and strength to her own advantage, and clearly kept Blackstenius onside for Arsenal’s third.

CB: Molly Bartrip – 4/10 – Failed to keep up with the Arsenal forwards and really struggled for strength against Russo.

CB: Luana Buhler – 5/10 – Buhler and Hunt have still not figured out how to work alongside each other, and that was extremely evident today. The back five did nothing to help her skillset, and she looked a bit brigther when Spurs transitioned into a back four for the closing stages of the game.

LB: Amanda Nilden – 3/10 – A really poor showing from one of Tottenham’s most consistent performers. Regularly bested for both pace and strength down the right side.

CM: Drew Spence – 6/10 – Quiet performance, but probably looked to be Tottenham’s best outlet out of midfield.

CM: Eveliina Summanen – 5/10 – Another really quiet performer. Made some promising set piece deliveries but none were capitalised on.

RW: Hayley Raso – 2/10 – A poor deflection allowed the Gunners to lead after just one minute. Anonymous performance.

ST: Beth England (c) – 4/10 – An uninspiring performance from the Spurs skipper, but wasn’t given much help at all as Tottenham failed to give her the ball more than a handful of times. The defensive setup left her on an island.

LW: Jessica Naz – 5/10 – Completely dominated by the experienced Emily Fox on the occasion. Looked bright when on the ball, but her teammates provided her with zero options going forward so all good chances were wasted.

Substitutes

SUB: Olga Ahtinen (67′ for Hunt) – 6/10 – Spurs looked much better when Ahtinen was on the field, and she should have started. Gained a little bit of control back in midfield when she was brought on.

SUB: Martha Thomas (78′ for Spence) – N/A

SUB: Matilda Vinberg (84′ for Raso) – N/A

SUB: Lenna Gunning-Williams (84′ for Naz) – N/A

Subs not used: Eleanor Heeps (GK), Amy Turner, Charlotte Grant, Ellia Morris, Anna Csiki

Manager

Robert Vilahamn – 2/10 – The starting lineup seemed all wrong for Spurs, with the decision to play a back five really hurting Tottenham’s chances at winning the midfield battle. Changes were made far too late in order to swing the momentum, and Vilahamn failed to find any answers to the questions asked by Arsenal.

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