WSL: Arsenal and Man City share spoils as Miedema scores against former side | OneFootball

Arsenal and Manchester City kicked off their Barclays Women’s Super League 2024/25 campaigns with a hard-fought point each on Sunday.

Frida Maanum’s opener saw the Emirates Stadium erupt, but the return of Vivianne Miedema threw a spanner in the works. The former Arsenal star scored her first goal for Man City after leaving the Gunners at the end of last season.

Jess Park’s firing form continued as she put the visitors in front but Arsenal were able to claw their way to a 2-2 tie through substitute Beth Mead.

Starting XIs

Arsenal

Zinsberger; Fox, Wubben-Moy, Codina, Caldentey, Little, McCabe, L. Maanum, Foord, Blackstenius, Cooney-Cross

Manchester City

Yamashita; Aleixandri, Greenwood, Miedema, Hemp, Ouahabi, Park, Casparij, Fujino, Shaw, Hasegawa

How it started

Manchester City quickly worried the home crowd, with a ball inside Arsenal’s defensive half sloppily gifted to former player Miedema. The notable new Citiyzen struck from 35 yards out, her brilliant ball surpassing Manuela Zinsberger, but falling on the wrong side of the woodwork.

Despite an initial scare, Maanum gave the home side the lead with just eight minutes on the clock. A confident cross by Caitlin Foord was flicked into the Norwegian’s path by a lively Stina Blackstenius, allowing her to slot it home from the face of goal.

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End-to-end

A well-timed run from Blackstenius soon saw her pounce on a long ball, challenging Ayaka Hamashita. However, the final touch from Arsenal’s No. 25 was just wide.

At the other end, Zinsberger was called into action. Lauren Hemp’s shot from distance was denied by the goalkeeper’s poised positioning. Zinsberger also staunchly stopped Aoba Fujino’s effort after the Sky Blue collected the remnants of Hemp’s cross in to Bunny Shaw.

Continuing to push for another, Arsenal’s Lotte Wubben-Moy picked out Mariona Caldentey, whose one-touch finish fired over the crossbar.

Manchester City found the equaliser through Miedema as half-time drew near. The Dutchwoman had no problem beating former Arsenal teammate Wubben-Moy, and her shot’s deflection off of Laia Codina saw it into the back of the net. Then, despite a one-on-one opportunity for Blackstenius, the scoreline remained level at the break in N5.

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After the break

Arsenal emerged from the tunnel voraciously for the decisive remaining 45 minutes. Foord broke through almost immediately, and only the offside flag kept things square.

It was Manchester City who broke the deadlock thanks to 58th minute volley. Arsenal’s backline thought their clearance had done enough, but a superb strike from just outside of the box by Park rifled beyond Zinsberger.

The Sky Blues became dominant, testing Zinsberger and her defenders on more than one occasion. The score stayed even, and Arsenal substitute Alessia Russo’s weak one-on-one effort was collected by Yamashita.

Arsenal worked to catch up with Taylor’s Man City, with two substitutes proving essential to their game. Summer signing Rosa Kafaji could find only the side post, but the deflection fell to Beth Mead, whose no-hesitation tap in was paramount.

The Sky Blues continued to threaten their hosts, but an even contest persisted and a vital save from Zinsberger kept the Gunners in it until the final whistle blew.

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On to the next

It was a strenuous start to the season for the Gunners and the Citizens, who share the points following a tense seven minutes of added time.

Both teams now gear up to continue their pursuits of UEFA Women’s Champions League qualification. Manchester City will take on Paris FC, currently 5-0 ahead of the French side after a dominant away display. Arsenal, in the meantime, look to redeem their 1-0 loss at BK Häcken as they take to the stage at Meadow Park on Thursday.

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