2-0 Aston Villa lead at the half over Arsenal shows everything Arroyo was asking for | OneFootball

Anyone tuning in and viewing the Aston Villa Women match as an isolated event would have guessed it was the hosts who were fighting for a WSL title. Instead, Natalia Arroyo's side proved that the side she is building can compete with the likes of Arsenal. It was AVWFC who led 2-0 after 45 minutes at Villa Park.

Both teams entered the day with a number of injuries. In something of a makeshift lineup, this game showed a spirit and a test of will. It was Jordan Nobbs who got things going. Villa went from one end of the pitch off a tremendous effort from Sabrina D'Angelo to the Gunners' side, and the defensive midfielder capped it off with a goal in the 30th minute.

Shortly into stoppage time, the press of the Villans once again won the ball back, and Kirsty Hanson beat Manuela Zinsberger with a fabulous left-footed strike to double the lead shortly before halftime. In truth, Villa were somewhat unfortunate to not be up more, as moments later Ebony Salmon did well to outpace the defender and nearly put one in the back of the net from close range.

How Aston Villa Women took the lead into halftime

Naturally, Arsenal had their fair share of possession. In truth, the three-CB system, anchored by Miri Taylor, did well to limit any clear goal-scoring chances. Anything that did sneak past was comfortably dealt with by D'Angelo. The work rate of  the entire team made the visitors uncomfortable and forced a number of errors high up the pitch. Salmon may have been close to scoring at the end, but there were plenty of others throughout the half from her teammates.

Rachel Daly, playing as more of an attacking midfielder, nearly got on the scoresheet herself. Between a header off a corner that looped over and two instances of excellent service from Taylor, Daly appeared to be getting herself warmed up to score in front of the home fans.

Either way, the opening half showed an Arroyo side that played with the freedom that the manager had hoped to see while also keeping the needed intensity that she demanded in the build-up to the week. There aren't too many more opportunities, but if the season started now, Villa would be legitimate contenders to win the WSL.