Key events
34 min As expected, Arsenal are just a bit too good for Spurs at the moment.
31 min: Fine save by Korpela! Arsenal should be 3-0 up. Maanum threaded an angled through pass to Pelova, whose shot was diverted wide by the left leg of the outrushing Korpela.
Pelova cut inside from the right, still inside her own half, and forced a pass across the field to Foord. She ran at a backpedalling defence then veered inside Neville, just outside the D, and curled an immaculate shot that beat the diving Korpela and bounced into the net via the far post. That’s an outstanding goal.
GOAL! Tottenham 0-2 Arsenal (Foord 29)
Caitlin Foord continues her great form with a terrific individual goal!
28 min In the last 10 minutes Arsenal have had 73 per cent possession, but the most telling stat is probably the touches in the opposition box in that time: Spurs 0-8 Arsenal.
27 min: Great defending from Turner! Maritz’s low cross is controlled a little awkwardly on the run by Blackstenius, who is about to shoot when Turner slides in to make a brilliant challenge. That probably saved a goal.
25 min Korpela is okay to continue.
24 min Both managers take the opportunity for an unscheduled quarter-time teamtalk.
23 min Beth England is having an increasingly lonely afternoon, which is a concern for Spurs. As it this: the goalkeeper Korpela is down and needs treatment. She was accidentally kicked on the thigh by Williamson when claiming that cross a moment ago.
22 min The second is half cleared, and eventually Maanum’s deflected cross is claimed by Korpela.
21 min Pelova plays a good reverse pass to the underlapping Maritz, who is well tracked by Ayane. Corner to Arsenal, and then another…
20 min Foord wriggles cleverly away from two players near the halfway line, moves forward and finds an offside-looking Maanum to her left. Her cross just evades Pelova at the far post.
Spurs would have been fuming had that led to a goal because replays showed Maanum was indeed offside.
19 min A quiet period in the game.
16 min Blackstenius shoots wide from a very tight angle, this time on the left side of the box. Arsenal are on top, no question, but Spurs are well in the game at this stage. They just need to give the ball to England all the time.
14 min Here’s the opening goal from Stina Blackstenius.
11 min: Chance for Spurs! Bizet zig-zags thrillingly between Walti and McCabe before firing the ball into England near the penalty spot. The pass is a bit too firm, and by the time England gets it under control there’s no scope for the shot. Instead she lays it off to Spence, who drives wide from the edge of the area. Spence didn’t really get hold of it.
10 min Arsenal have settled into a nice rhythm since the goal. They almost have another chance when McCabe’s flat corner from the left just evades Williamson at the near post.
9 min A goal has been scored, and you know what that means. Yep, it’s the first appearance of our old friend, the as-it-standds table.
8 min Vicky Jepson will be so frustrated that have conceded such an avoidable goal so early in the game.
Williamson’s pass forward was miscontrolled by Pelova, but that worked out perfectly for Arsenal because it ran beyond the Spurs defence towards Blackstenius. She surged away from Bartrip and then, with Korpela in no woman’s land, flipped the ball high into the net from a tightish angle. That’s a positional error from Korpela, I’m afraid, though it was still a cracking finish from Blackstenius.
GOAL! Tottenham 0-1 Arsenal (Blackstenius 5)
Arsenal score with their first attack!
4 min Harrop curls a brilliant pass down the left wing to release Ayane. She cuts into the area but then pokes a tame cross that is claimed by D’Angelo. In her defence England was the only Spurs attacker in the box, marked by about six Arsenal players.
3 min It looks like Drew Spence is playing further forward for Spurs, more of a No10, of even a No9.
1 min Peep peep! After the players take the knee, Celin Bizet gets the north London derby under way.
It’s a big day for the Spurs left-back Kerys Harrop. As of the referee’s first whistle, nobody will have played more often in the WSL.
177 – Tottenham’s Kerys Harrop is set to make her 177th WSL appearance in today’s North London derby against Arsenal, joining Gilly Flaherty as the joint-leading appearance maker in the competition’s history. Occasion.
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) March 25, 2023
A reminder of the teams
Tottenham Hotspur (possible 4-3-3) Korpela; Neville, Turner, Bartrip, Harrop; James, Spence, Summanen; Bizet, England, Ayane.
Substitutes: Spencer, Graham, Cho, Karczewska, Ale, Ubogagu.
Arsenal (possible 4-3-3) D’Angelo; Maritz, Williamson, Wubben-Moy, McCabe; Little, Maanum, Walti; Pelova, Blackstenius, Foord.
Substitutes: Zinsberger, Marckese, Beattie, Rafaelle, Wienroither, Kuhl, Gio, Hurtig, Taylor.
Referee Louise Saunders
Big interview: Leah Williamson
Leah Williamson couldn’t give a boring interview if she tried, and her chat with Simon Hattenstone is as candid and vivacious as you’d expect.
It got to a point where I’m thinking: this is not fun for me any more, because I’m too afraid to fail. The worst of it was in lockdown when I thought: this isn’t sustainable. I’m wishing my career away rather than loving it. In lockdown, I spent a lot more time with my own thoughts. There was so much instability.
This is part two of Women’s Football Weekend, which began with the Merseyside derby last night. Manchester United play West Ham at Old Trafford later, and then tomorrow lunchtime there’s the game of the weekend: Manchester City v Chelsea.
Risk vs reward department
If Katie McCabe is booked today, she’ll be suspended for next week’s match against Manchester City. Oh, and she’s playing on the same side as her old friend Ashleigh Neville.
🗣️ “We need Katie McCabe”
Jonas Eidevall says he is aware of McCabe’s yellow card situation but it never crossed his mind to leave her out of the NLD ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/w6ZH8MppKn
— Sky Sports WSL (@SkySportsWSL) March 25, 2023
“How does it feel to see D’Angelo in the lineup instead of Zinsberger?” says Zach Neeley. “Disconcerting. Better than seeing links to Arsenal’s prior thumpings of Spurs, most of the photos prominently featuring Miedema. Sigh.”
Spurs haven’t beaten Arsenal since turning pro in 2019, though they came closer than close – closer than you ever can imagine – last season, when Vivianne Miedema scored an injury-time header to give Arsenal a 1-1 draw.
Team news
Spurs’ interim manager Vicky Jepson makes a single change from last weekend’s win over Leicester: Celin Bizet is in for Nikola Karczewska.
Jonas Eidevall has picked an attacking Arsenal team, with Katie McCabe playing at left-back. There are three changes from the 1-0 defeat in Munich: Sabrina D’Angelo replaces Manuela Zinsberger in goal – this is her WSL debut – while Victoria Pelova and Lotte Wubben-Moy come in for Laura Wienrothier and Rafaelle. Jodie Taylor is among the subs.
Preamble
Hello and welcome to live coverage of Tottenham Hotspur v Arsenal at Brisbane Road. The north London derby is usually all-consuming, but for Arsenal this game is almost – I said almost – a warm-up ahead of a potentially season-defining week.
On Wednesday they play Bayern Munich, with the chance to qualify for the Champions League semi-finals for the first time in a decade. Then, next Sunday, they host Manchester City in a match that is significant both to this year’s WSL and next year’s Champions League. Arsenal aren’t out of the WSL title race, not with all three of their rivals still to play, but for those games to matter they really need to take care of Spurs today.
This is the be-all and end-all for Spurs. Last week’s win over Leicester should ensure they won’t be dragged into a relegation battle, so this game exists in a bubble of local rivalry.
Spurs lost an alarming nine league matches in a row last weekend, which led to Rehanne Skinner being sacked, and the 2022-23 season has largely been a disaster. An historic first win over Arsenal would make it a whole lot better.
Kick off 3pm.
