Arsenal 5-0 Spurs (WSL) | Robert's verdict | OneFootball

Robert Vilahamn was keen to reiterate that the squad is ‘taking steps’, but admitted Arsenal were just too superior on the day as they ran out 5-0 winners in the Barclays Women’s Super League.

We started strong at the Emirates, midfielder Maite Oroz firing over the bar in the opening stages, but an unfortunate own goal from Clare Hunt, where Alessia Russo’s header came off the defender’s knee and sneaked in at the back post, put the hosts ahead on 15 minutes and they took control of proceedings from there.

Mariona Caldentey added a second just before the break, then, in the second half, Frida Maanum’s deflected effort and Russo’s clinical finish further extended their advantage, before Emily Fox rounded off the scoring in the final minute of normal time, condemning us to a disappointing afternoon in north London.

There were some positives on a difficult afternoon, with defender Ella Morris returning from injury to make her first appearance since the end of November, 2024, coming on as a substitute in the final quarter of the game.

Speaking to us afterwards at the Emirates, Robert said: “Extremely tough to lose in big numbers to Arsenal, of course.

“If you look at it, in the first 10 minutes, we looked quite good and then we had a spell for the rest of the first half which is not good, they were really strong in that moment and they scored a few goals.

“We tried to get back into the game in the second half, but they had some very clinical finishes. When Martha and Drew came on, we got back in the game, we played with more control and tried to create a few chances but, then again, they had a really strong attack at the end and scored a few more goals, so it’s a really tough loss.”

Robert on the difficulty of falling behind first at the Emirates…

“It’s a tough game, away against Arsenal, and they’re extremely good team. It’s frustrating to lose, it’s also frustrating to see where we are and not see us compete with them, but that’s the honest truth of where we are. The good thing today is that Ella [Morris] coming on, Matilda [Vinberg] is playing and Olivia [Holdt] is also coming on, these young players coming and showing some real quality so, for me, we have the quality and the potential in the squad, so now we need to make sure we keep working with them. I think we just need to know we’re on a journey and, right now, we can’t compete with them, but there’s some really good potential in this squad and I’m a strong believer we’re going to take those steps, and when we do, we’re going to look very good.”

On what we can take from the game to put into practice over the international break…

“We need to make sure we reflect on this game, make sure we analyse it, and get better as well because, tactically, we can do better stuff and make better decisions. Those players that will stay and train, we’ll make sure to use them and make sure we can develop them during these two weeks, and when everybody comes back, we have a big game, so it’s more about preparing for that because it is against a top team. So, we need to make sure we learn from this and have a little bit of a better structure when we defend.”

On refocusing over the international break…

“When you go on an international break, you spread out, you fly all over the world and play your games, and I think it’s good for them to do that, to get that change of environment. But this is football, sometimes you win, sometimes you lose, you just need to get up there again and keep going, work really hard and take steps.”