And here it is!
OK, that’s about us – thanks all for your company. Our report will be here shortly, so check back or check the site for that. Ta-ra!
Stoney takes issue with Hayes’ VAR comments, saying she doesn’t accept that it’s not in the women’s game, but post-pandemic it’s about keeping clubs and the game alive. What should happen, obviously, is that the men’s game should pay, but here we are.
Hayes starts by congratulating Arsenal, saying that the advantages of them being together for longer were apparent. However she also says that you can’t concede three and expect to win away from home, noting that each goal came in transition and that’s not good enough.
She says Mead was offside when she scored the third and that the women’s game should have and be demanding the same as the men’s, calling for VAR – the ref was two yards behind play, so needed some help.
Her players, she says, weren’t quite ready, but they’ll be fine as no one wins the league on the first weekend and the process will see them right.
Eidevall tells Sky that Mead played really in attack and defence, then when asked about his celebrations, which were extravagant, says he’s a passionate coach, quoting someone whose name I missed who said “You have to be on fire to give off heat”.
He’s happy with how his team played out of pressure and exploited Chelsea’s high line, but after that stepped off a bit which he didn’t like. He’s pleased with how they defended though, once they stopped stressing about wide areas – his focus was on the middle – and expected Chelsea to play a four at the back, not a three. He doesn’t think Arsenal had to win today to win the title, but in any case he’s new to English football and knows that his team area work in progress.
He doesn’t think it’s feasible to play the same 11 players every game, saying that rotation and big squads are relatively new in women’s football but the team who finish the game are just as important as those who start. Shown the fans still in the ground, he says he hopes more people come to watch and comes across as an extremely likeable and impressive individual.
Mead tells Sky that it’s hard to put into words how good that win feels. They’ve had some bad times, but feels good now and isn’t surprised Miedema found her for her second goal. She hit the keeper’s towel and Berger told her afterwards that she didn’t know she had a left foot, then assures everyone that she wasn’t hurt when she went off and was just “being a drama queen”.
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I don’t think I’ve seen Beth Mead play better than she did today. Chelsea’s three at the back helped her, because there was so much space for her to attack, but the way she used the ball and took her goals had nothing to do with anything but her.
We missed you, @BarclaysFAWSL 😘 pic.twitter.com/m8DuTn0cOW
— Arsenal Women (@ArsenalWFC) September 5, 2021
We cut to the pitchside footage and see the players chatting to fans, signing things and taking photos with them. It’s great to see, and there are young girls – and boys – having their days made.
Carney is impressed by how well Arsenal saw that out, while Stoney doesn’t think Chelsea crossed from angles good enough to give Kerr a chance in the air.
The Arsenal crowd LOVED that! 😍
— Barclays FA Women's Super League (@BarclaysFAWSL) September 5, 2021
Nicely done, @bmeado9! 👏
Watch the #BarclaysFAWSL on @SkySports 📺 pic.twitter.com/Yk3BO4bQT2
Chelsea, meanwhile, can take heart from the fact that they’re undercooked, didn’t start some of their best players, probably got their tactics wrong, were handed the arse-end of a marginal decision that cost them a goal, and still only lost by one. But the last thing they’ll have wanted it a team as talented as Arsenal starting the season with the buzz of beating them, and will know that they’ve lost to potential champions.
Credit to Beth Meade too, who’ll have seen Heath, Iwabuchi and Parris turn up and known that her place was under threat. Well, not today - not only did she score two lovely goals, but she helped create the climate in which they came, pulling Chelsea wider than they wanted to be, running into space and using the ball intelligently. And when you give Miedema that sort of support, goals are inevitable.
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That’s the funnest, most interesting and generally the best game I’ve seen so far this season. Arsenal were so ready for that, and Chelsea, though they produced the moments of quality you’d expect from a squad so replete with it, weren’t up to handling them. Both sides will improve, which is great news for them and equally great news for us. This is going to be a season.
Full-time: Arsenal 3-2 Chelsea
Jonas Eidevall gets down on his knees, arms aloft, mouth wide open. His team have beaten the champions while playing superbly, and that is a serious piece of statement from Arsenal! What a game that was!
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90+5 min Kirby finds Andersson down the left and collects possession again when the resultant cross is blocked back to her, but her curler aimed towards the far post drops wide.
90+4 min Arsenal have attacked really well today and I’m sure that’ll be the focus post-match, but don’t sleep on how they’ve defended – they’re everything the men’s side aren’t.
90+3 min Nice from Arsenal, working space for Parris inside the box. But rather than shoot she drill a pass for Miedema, who needs to take a touch to control, then her shot is blocked.
90+2 min Sue Smith gives Mead player of the match and no one can argue with that, so doubtless someone will.
90+1 min Arsenal win a free-kick in centrefield and Williamson sprays it out to Patten, who holds the ball for as long as possible. That’s 90 seconds disappeared with minimum fuss.
90 min There’ll be six minutes of added time, more than enough for Chelsea to force an equaliser (or concede a clincher).
90 min Arsenal have defended the box really well today, and make three clearances as Chelsea sticks balls into the box.
89 min Another cross seeks Kerr and this time she gets a head on it, but it’s too high for her to generate power and Zinsberger holds easily enough.
88 min Chelsea have a final go at it, sending on Fleming for Bright.
87 min Lovely from Ji, feinting to cross then sending a lovely disguised ball inside Catley for Cuthbert. But though there are defenders serried between her and the far post, she drives hard towards it anyway and Arsenal clear.
86 min Revenge for Parris, who slides in when Eriksson moves the ball away from her, autographing metatarsal with studs. She’s booked.
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85 min Chelsea haven’t quite got going since scoring their second, unable to sustain attacks and build pressure. Arsenal look just that little bit quicker and nippier.
84 min Again, Harder pulls left, again she looks for Kerr’s head, and again there’s just too much on her cross.
83 min Chelsea send Andersson on for Reiten, while Arsenal remove the injured Mead and Walti too, sending on Patten and Wubben-Moy.
82 min Thing is, Arsenal are such a threat on the counter and looking solid enough defensively to sit back and inviter pressure. Chelsea might make something happen, but they’re being forced to stick crosses in and hope because they’re being denied space in which to play.
81 min Ingle spreads to Reiten and when her cross is cleared Ji collects, beating Little and looking to bend a finish into the far corner ... but Williamson heads it away!
80 min Little finds Catley, who goes down the line to Mead, but her first-time cross is aimed at no one and Carter clears up.
79 min Miedema pulls left and sends in a cross, but Berger comes and claims. These final 12 minutes are going to be something.
77 min Yup, she’s done, and Boye – another new signing – replaces her. That’s great news for Chelsea, but Arsenal clear the imminent danger, getting a throw away.
77 min Beattie, who’s had a really good game, is down taking treatment and walks over the by-line – this might be it for her today.
75 min A fine switch from Bright finds the sensational harder down the left and her cross is every bit as good as you’d expect, Kerr failing to grow the couple of centimetres she needs to head home what would’ve been another classic goal.
73 min Brave challenge from Eriksson, sliding everything through Parris when on a yellow card. She wins the ball and piles through the unfortunate debutant, who winds up hurt again, while the Arsenal bench want a red card. But when we see it again, we can see it was a fair tackle and actually, Parris stood on her calf.
72 min We see Mead’s second goal again and she was indeed offside, fractionally.
72 min It’s taken longer than it ought to have done, but it’s great that Sky are covering this game properly, not just the match itself but giving an hour to analysis and scene-setting beforehand.
71 min
Superb header from Harder and Chelsea hit back instantly!
— SkySportsWSL (@SkySportsWSL) September 5, 2021
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70 min Cuthbert has been Chelsea’s best player today, by far, and when she bursts down the right Zinsberger has to dive to shove her powerful cross away.
68 min Parris is indeed fine.
66 min Parris and Eriksson go up for the ball together and there’s a clash. I’ll need to see it again, but Parris goes down and stays down, while Eriksson is booked. I hope she’s ok and they’ve rolled her onto her back so I think she is.
GOAL! Arsenal 3-2 Chelsea (Harder 64)
This is another belter! Chelsea attack down the right with Kirby who Beattie foils with a juddering challenge – that was risky, as Kirby was in the box, but brilliant. The ball then goes backwards, to Ingle I think, and when she crosses Harder leaps like a salmon on a trampoline to thunk home a devastating header. What a game!
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62 min Now have a bit of this! Arsenal send on Catley and Parris for Iwabuchi and McCabe. I think that change was set for before the goal, so Eidewall gets a bit of luck – but his players have earned it and so has he, because they look very well drilled indeed.
GOAL! Arsenal 3-1 Chelsea (Mead 60)
Arsenal work it out of defence really well, McCabe finding Miedema on the right touchline, and she moves the ball inside for Iwabuchi ... who sweeps a first-time pass into the path of Mead, one on one! She shimmies outside and around Berger, then when Cuthbert shapes to make a last-ditch tackle, she sends her out for a bag of otter’s noses, ducking back inside and sliding gleefully into the empty net! but was she offside? I think she was, but there’s no VAR!
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59 min Kerr forces a yard down the right, digging out a fine cross towards the far post ... but Eriksson can’t quite introduce brow to ball.
58 min By the looks of things, Chelsea have stuck to three at the back.
58 min Cuthbert, who’s played really well, finds Kirby down the right of the box, but when she squares for Harder, Williamson intercepts.
56 min Ingle replaces Leupolz, Kirby replaces Charles, and Kerr replaces England. I imagine Chelsea will move to 4-3-3 now, and I wonder if Eidewall is minded to unleash Parris, who pace, trickery and ability to hold the ball should be useful.
55 min I’d not be surprised to see Kirby and Kerr soon, and as I type that we cut to see the pair of them, along with Sophie Ingle, on the touchline waiting for a break in play.
54 min Arsenal will be conscious of what happened in the first half, and of what Chelsea can do to change the game – they need a third, while Karen Carney’s 2-2 shout looks a decent one.
52 min Arsenal are menacing a third, Berger forced to charge out and kick clear before Mead can reach another ball into space, then Miedema collects from Iwabuchi and slides Mead in, Berger doing really well to get out quickly and spread herself, blocking the resultant low shot.
50 min Chelsea’s five at the back isn’t helping them but their high line is what’s really costing them, allowing Arsenal so much space to attack - especially in transition or when there’s no pressure on the ball.
OHHH WHAT A GOAL! Arsenal 2-1 Chelsea (Mead 48)
Miedema gets a happy deflection off Harder and sticks Mead away through the middle. With Eriksson in pursuit, she heads left and slows her down, using the change of angle and pace to work the ball onto her left foot before punishing a tremendous finish inside the far post, halfway up!
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47 min Ach! Harder moves the ball left for Reiten who looks for England in the middle ... but her cross drifts off target and looks destined for the far top corner ... but it clips the woodwork! What a let-off for Arsenal!
46 min Chelsea struggled with Arsenal out wide, as predicted pre-match, especially down their right – I wonder if Hayes has made an adjustment in that aspect.
46 min We go again...
Right, our players are back with us.
The champions are up and running 🚀
— SkySportsWSL (@SkySportsWSL) September 5, 2021
Erin Cuthbert lashes an effort into the far corner
Watch live now on Sky Sports Premier League and Main Event 📺 pic.twitter.com/bORgXwGtDl
Absolute flames.
Who else was it going to be?!
— SkySportsWSL (@SkySportsWSL) September 5, 2021
A lovely finish from Vivianne Miedema 🎯 pic.twitter.com/9lz9Jpe6qM
Half-time: Arsenal 1-1 Chelsea
Chelsea have got away with one here, and both sides will know it. Arsenal have played really well and Chelsea have not, but a moment of defensive laxity and the game is all-square. The second 45 is going to be something.
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46 min This is easily the best half of football I’ve seen so far this season.
45 min There’ll be two added minutes.
45 min This has been a great half and here come Arsenal again, Mead hitting the line and looking for Little with a cut-back. Someone, Bright I think, intercepts, but the ball falls to Miedema who shoots wide.
GOAL! Arsenal 1-1 Chelsea (Cuthbert 44)
That is what champions do! Arsenal get the corner clear but Chelsea sustain the attack and when the ball comes into Leupolz, inside the box, she turns it one more and Cuthbert punches a composed side-footer into the far corner!
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43 min But as I type that, Carter darts a ball into Ji who allows it through her legs then spins, collecting Cuthbert’s return into her path! She’s in! But again, as she shoots, a phalanx of defenders slide in front and block her shot. Chelsea are coming though.
42 min This has been as good a first half as Arsenal can have hoped for, bar the second goal that Iwabuchi ought to have given them. Chelsea will play better in the second half, but the match-up isn’t working for them at the moment.
40 min Harder drives towards the box an finds Cuthbert, who sends it one more to Charles down the right. But her cross is a poor one and Chelsea are still struggling to create, whereas Arsenal threaten a goal nearly every time they go forward.
38 min Cuthbert pops up on the right of midfield and finds Harder who drills a shot which Zinsberger turns around the post following a deflection. It was probably going wide anyhow, and the resultant corner comes to nowt.
37 min Chelsea have had a bit more of the ball these last few minutes but Arsenal are getting into shape and shutting off the angles, presumably confident in their ability to find another goal on the counter.
35 min England drifts to the right side of the box and slides the ball back into the centre, but Little does superbly to slide in and take it away from Harder.
34 min Arsenal have looked very solid defensively, getting into shape and around the player in possession, so when Carter is given the ball 25 yards out, she’s got little choice but to lamp a hopeful shot that wafts over the bar.
32 min McCabe has been such a good outlet for Arsenal down the left and she’s in hectares again, slinging over a decent cross that Charles misreads, allowing Mead to gather beyond the far post. Chelsea are in trouble! And Mead does really well to feed Iwabuchi, who eludes her markers by standing still, and this should be two! But the head goes back and the ball goes up, flying over the bar from 10 yards. Will Arsenal come to regret that?
31 min Ji twinkles past a pair of challenges and into the box, again from right of centre, but Arsenal get around her and block her shot at source. I can see why she kept possession there - it’s hard to pass it on when you’re on a roll like that – but she was never scoring from that position.
30 min A rare attack from Chelsea, Reiten swinging over from the left and Zinsberger coming to collect ahead of England.
29 min Chelsea can’t find Miedema never mind handle her, and she eases away from the Chelsea midfield then finds Iwabuchi who finds Maanum, and this time her shot flies over the top. She’s got the taste.
27 min Midema is turning up all all across the front line, moving from left to centre where Bright tracks her. So she turns and sends the ball back from whence she came to meet the run of Maanum, who shoots wide of the near post from the edge.
26 min Iwabuchi finds Little, who has Mead outside her but opts to look inside to Miedema ... who’s crowded out.
25 min Arsenal are playing really nicely – they’ve got so many options going forward and are getting to the ball first.
23 min Carter looks to run the ball out of trouble and is caught by Iwabuchi, then McCabe piles through Charles and is booked.
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23 min Yup, both are up and we’re back away.
20 min England robs Maanum when she looks to beat players close to her own box, but just as the danger looks imminent, Walti dashes in from behind and pokes the ball away. That’s a fine and crucial challenge, but England is hurt and so is Zinsberger, down inside her area. I think both will be ok.
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19 min Chelsea, meanwhile, started the game pretty well, but the last 10 minutes or so have been all Arsenal.
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18 min Chelsea are playing a pretty high line, and Arsenal are really testing that by feeding runs into the channels with balls in behind.
16 min Miedema pulls right now and slides a square pass into the box for Iwabuchi, but Little arrives on the burst and takes it away ... except she can’t quite get her right foot around it to shoot. Good from Arsenal again though, who looks flexible and lithe in attack.
GOAL! Arsenal 1-0 Chelsea (Miedema 14)
Vivianne Miedema is an expert! She runs in behind at inside left and McCabe finds her, but when Carter comes across, it looks like she’s overrun the ball ... as if! Instead, she feints inside, nips outside, and with Carter stretching to block, drags a finish through her legs and inside the near post, Solskjær-style! That is a beautiful, brutal finish.
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12 min Arsenal counter, Miedema flicking for Iwabuchi who collects on the touchline and sticks an instapass into space for McCabe, on the charge. On the far side, Mead is free, and the ball into her’s a decent one, but she doesn’t control ... and the flag goes up anyway. Still, that was very nicely done.
10 min McCabe returned to the left, swings in another cross, and this time Berger dives on it. This has been a decent start.
10 min Berger comes for it and gets nowhere near! But Williamson, on the burst, can’t get her head to it under pressure from Eriksson.
8 min Williamson drills a fine switch out to Mead, stuck to the touchline. But with nothing on, she turns and retains possession then, when the ball comes back, wears a tackle from Reiten who ploughs through the back of her and McCabe has a chance to swing in the free-kick.
7 min Good from Chelsea, passing their way forward with Harder cleverly turning to lay back for Ji, who wiggles hips and slides her back in, down the right of the box. But Maanum does really well to intercede, making the challenge while winning a goalkick.
6 min The game hasn’t quite settled yet but Chelsea are knocking it about their back four. I’d expect Eidevall’s Arsenal to press, but perhaps it’s too hot and too early in the season for that today – and perhaps they don’t want to create holes for their opponents to play through.
4 min By the looks of things, Iwabuchi is playing down the left, doubtless wandering infield, with Mead on the right, presumably staying wider. Chelsea, meanwhile, have gone with three at the back.
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4 min Arsenal win a free-kick down the left which Little swings in, but Carter does well to hook clear.
2 min “As you say, this is one of the definitive matches,” says Charles Antaki, “certainly for Arsenal, who lost out on the top two spots last season by getting very little from their matches agains Chelsea and Man City. And the interview with Miedema will give it an extra frisson, as she seems to be saying pretty plainly that if it doesn’t go better this year she’ll be off.”
Well, she’s one of very few players who can pick the team for which she wants to play because they’d all want her, but she seemed excited by the new environment and Eidevall has been backed in the market.
1 min A long ball is flicked on by England and Cuthbert nashes down the right with players in the box! But her cross eludes all of the ones on her side, Beattie heading clear.
1 min Away we go!
The players take the knee and the crowd applauds. This is London.
The PA belts out London Calling, of course it does. I’ve always thought the “live by the river” bit breaks the mood a bit, but absolute tune nevertheless.
Here come the teams!
Stoney expects a tight game that’ll be won the team scoring first – she plumps for Arsenal – while Carney goes for a 2-2 draw.
I wonder if the weather will help Arsenal, who should be the fitter side. Other hand, Kerr and Kirby coming on fresh when you’ve spent an hour-odd chasing England, Harder and Reiten sounds like an extremely unpleasant experience.
“Glorious,” says Emma Hayes of today’s weather, then says that Kirby and Kerr are on the bench because her Olympic players need more rest – in any case, she conceives of a squad not an XI. “It’s just another game for us, beautiful weather, beautiful stadium,” she tells us, and she’s looking forward to watching her team today, especially in front of fans. I’d do anything she asked me to, and I’m certain the same is so of her players.
Carney and Casey Stoney – that she felt forced to resign from Man United is a crime - reckon Chelsea can be got at in wide areas, especially on the Emirates pitch, and wonder if Arsenal might be a bit narrow. On the other hand, they reckon the home side will be fitter, which should give them an advantage.
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Eidevall says Chelsea have a strong starting XI and a strong bench, so he’s prepared his team for various different situations. Arsenal beat Chelsea in pre-season but he knows that this is a very different situation and is excited to see Iwabuchi and Miedema link up. He notes that the way Iwabuchi understands not just Miedema but the rest of the team, and the way they understand her, is impressive. Asked about Parris being on the bench, he says that the way his team finish is just as important as the way they start, and I doubt any defender will want to see her coming off the bench when they’re tiring after 70 minutes.
There’s something about Mason Greenwood that reminds me of Miedema, who Karen Carney says is the best finisher she’s ever seen in the women’s game. Her ability to generate power with minimal backlift, and to apply whatever finish a situation demands, but also run with the ball and bring others in to play is what does it.
Miedema tells Sky the change of manager has been refreshing - they way they play and train. “Being me comes with a bit of pressure and a bit of expectation,” she says. She also notes that she loves playing with Iwabuchi and they’ve a good connection on the pitch – she’s not bothered about scoring goals, she’s just as happy creating them.
It’s exciting to be playing at the Emirates, she reckons, and thinks Chelsea have the strongest squad in Europe, but notes that Arsenal have struggled with injuries - Jordan Nobbs, who’s had such bad luck lately, is again unavailable.
As for Chelsea, their bench is almost as telling as their first XI, a gathering of talent that enables Emma Hayes to keep the starters on their toes and change the flow of things should that not be to her taste. Arsenal will fancy finding joy against her back four, but her front six is of amusing quality and I’d expect if to be decisive this afternoon.
Arsenal don’t have Tobin available and leave Parris on the bench, but Iwabuchi starts the game in a tasty front three – Mead and Miedema aren’t just one of the game’s great sonic treats. Whether they can get enough of the ball depends on whether their midfield can compete, and though we know how good Kim Little is, we don’t know whether Lia Walti and Frida Maanum – another new arrival – can do enough. I’d also be worried their back four isn’t quite up to keeping Chelsea quiet, but when you have Miedema you have hope in any game.
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Teams!
Arsenal (4-3-3): Zinsberger; Maritz, Williamson, Beattie, McCabe; Walti, Maanum, Little; Iwabuchi, Miedema, Mead. Subs: Williams, Cull, Wubben-Moy, Patten, Goldie, Boye, Catley, Parris.
Chelsea (4-3-3): Berger; Carter, Bright, Eriksson, Charles; Ji, Leupolz, Cuthbert; Harder, England, Reiten. Subs: Musovic, Nouwen, Ingle, Kirby, Fleming, Kerr, Spence, Andersson, Fox.
Preamble
At some point every summer fixtures are released for the forthcoming season, a reminder that the winter of the soul will soon be over and football will soon be back with us. And when that happens, there are games for which we look out, scanning the list with our mental Stabilo Boss and picking out our key encounters – it’s a rare pleasure.
Well, this time, not so much, because one of the definitive matches is about to happen right now, on the first weekend, and it should be a belter. Chelsea, defending champions and Champions League runners-up, already had the best manager and the best players before they went and augmented them with Aniek Nouwen and, most significantly, Lauren James. They’re not unbeatable, but it’ll take an extremely serious team to finish above them after 22 games.
Arsenal, though, will fancy a shy. Joe Montemurro did a terrific job in his time in charge, but probably picked the right time to turn it in, and it’s going to be a buzz to see what Jonas Eidevall makes of a highly talented squad. Vivianne Miedema is as good as anyone in the world, and though Danielle van de Donk has left, Mana Iwabuchi, Tobin Heath, signed on Friday, and Nikita Paris, are exciting acquisitions who should go a long way towards compensating. Don’t be going anywhere – other than to the Emirates.
Kick-off: 12.30pm BST
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