Arsenal have sent a stern warning to leaders Manchester City that the race for the Women’s Super League title is not over yet, following a 7-0 thrashing of bottom-placed Leicester at the Emirates Stadium.
Stina Blackstenias and Smila Holmberg each scored twice, with Frida Mahnum scoring the opening goal in her 100th WSL appearance, while Mariona Caldenti and Leah Williamson were also active.
The Gunners have surpassed Man United and moved into third place, two points behind second-placed Chelsea and eight points behind City. But they still have two games left, and four overall.
Next up is Brighton, which will be broadcast live on Sky Sports Football from 7.45pm on Wednesday 6th May.
Meanwhile, the defeat means Leicester are guaranteed to finish bottom of the table and will face a relegation play-off next month against the two third-placed WSL teams.
Wednesday, May 6th 7:35pm
7:45pm kickoff
Gunner’s seventh heaven
It is unclear whether this is a direct result of Arsenal manager Rene Sleggers resting players such as Williamson and Alessia Russo ahead of the weekend’s Champions League semi-final second leg against Lyon, but it took a while for games to warm up in north London.
The Gunners had the upper hand, but it took them 25 minutes to take control. And even after doing so, they didn’t let up on the gas.
Arsenal’s Smila Holmberg celebrates after scoring fifth goal against Leicester
On a milestone night, Mahnum played a key role in the first three goals. She opened the scoring herself and equalized for Holmberg just two minutes later, scoring her first goal since joining from Hammarby in January.
Emily Fox then rattled the crossbar and the home side went for the jugular, but with 41 minutes gone and it was 3-0, Mahnum chipped the ball and Blackstenias scored with a deft touch. She added another goal late in first-half stoppage time, converting Viktoria Perova’s pass into an empty net.
This was Arsenal’s 100th goal for Sleggers, and just two minutes after the restart, Holmberg scored after receiving a pass from Olivia Smith, making Arsenal’s 101st goal.
Mariona Caldenti (left) celebrates after scoring the sixth goal
Arsenal’s 11-1 victory over Bristol City in December 2019, the biggest win in WSL history, looked to be under serious threat with almost 30 minutes left in the remaining 90 games when Williamson also fired a shot at his near post and found the back of the net.
However, the Gunners had the luxury of letting their guard down as they secured their third-highest number of wins in the competition.
Look at the first five goals…
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Frida Manum scored in the 1-0 win against Arsenal.
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Smilla Holmberg gives Arsenal a 2-0 win
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Black Stenius scores Arsenal’s third goal
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Black Stenius attacks again, 4-0
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Holmberg adds his second goal to make it 5-0.
