Olivia Smith's reaction
It was a very special moment for me. That’s the kind of goal I want to score – every time I see an inch of space I want to go for goal.
Before the game, Renee [Slegers] told me to be myself and enjoy it. They brought me here for a reason and I think I showed that today.
The fans are amazing and I didn’t feel any pressure.
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Full time: Arsenal 4-1 London City Lionesses
A strong start to the WSL season from Arsenal, who came from behind to thump newly promoted London City Lionesses. The key moment was Olivia Smith’s spectacular 29th-minute equaliser, which tipped the mood of the match on its head. From that moment on, Arsenal were far too good.
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90+4 min Maanum’s shot is tipped over acrobatically by Lete. It took a while for them to get going, but Arsenal have shown London City Lionesses how much work they have to do to break into the top four.
90+3 min Lucia Corrales comes on for her London City Lionesses debut. Not sure who has gone off.
90+2 min Six minutes of added time.
90+1 min Arsenal play on for ages even though Rofiat Imuran is down. I don’t think it’s a head injury so I guess that’s fair enough. Mead can’t quite make room for a shot and eventually the ball is cleared. LCL are out on their feet.
87 min: Arsenal substitution The returning Taylor Hinds gets a huge cheer as she comes on to replace Katie McCabe.
85 min “Caitlin Foord is such a great player to have on your team,” writes Zach Neeley. “I have no doubt she fully believes she’s good enough to start every game but also seems to have no problem coming off the bench and blending in to a changing team. I’m always impressed by people who are extremely competitive but also very sane about it.”
GOAL! Arsenal 4-1 London City Lionesses (Maanum 84)
Frida Maanum didn’t have to wait too long for her goal. Mead stood up another inviting cross and this time Maanum headed in from a few yards at the far post.
London City Lionesses look shattered and Arsenal’s high-class attacking substitutes are running them ragged.
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GOAL! Arsenal 3-1 London City Lionesses (Blackstenius 83)
Arsenal’s bench strength is brought to bear. Mead and Blackstenius, who combined for the Champions League-winning goal, have done so again. Mead collected a nothing ball from Caldentey and clipped an inviting cross into the middle. Maanum was waiting to head into the net but Blackstenius got there first to poke a close-range volley into the net.
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80 min: Great chance for Blackstenius!
London City are hanging on to their one-goal deficit. A pass out of defence is intercepted and fed through to Blackstenius, whose low shot is half blocked by the outrushing Lete. She springs to her feet to dive on the loose ball just ahead of Blackstenius.
79 min Maanum pokes wide after good play from Foord. A tough chance because of the angle and the presence of a covering defender.
76 min: Arsenal substitutions Stina Blackstenius and Beth Mead replace Chloe Kelly and the quietly brilliant Alessia Russo.
75 min McCabe’s long-range shot takes a nick off a defender and is comfortably saved by Lete.
73 min Foord’s teasing cross is taken off the head of Russo by Linari, probably a goal-saving intervention. Arsenal have the game under control; well, as much as you can with a one-goal lead.
71 min Neat interplay from Arsenal. Eventually Kelly scoots into the area and hits a low shot that is half blocked by a sliding defender and spins over the crossbar.
69 min Goodwin threatens to gallop beyond Reid, who does well to keep pace and then guide Goodwin away from goal. Reid has reacted well to the disappointment of conceding that early penalty.
66 min Russo controls Kelly’s flick, abracadabras a yard of space with a smart turn and hits a left-foot shot that is excellently blocked by the sliding Kumagai. Those two have had a great battle all day.
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65 min: Double substitution for London City Sanni Franssi and Sofia Jakobsson replace Maria Perez and Nikita Parris (who isn’t injured).
64 min Kelly is booked for a bad tackle on Parris. She was trying to commit a tactical foul but ended up catching Parris on the back of the ankle. Parris gets to her feet and accepts Kelly’s apology.
63 min “Nice of you to show some appreciation for Alessia Russo,” says Jeremy Boyce. “Too many people seem to think that, as a striker, she should be sticking the spherical object into the net much more often, but this shows a lack of understanding of the facts of footie. It’s a TEAM game and she works her socks off for the TEAM, be that Arsenal or England. It’s the results that count, not who’s grabbing the goalscoring opportunities. Russo has great energy, touch, movement, understanding and determination. These are qualities vital to the success of all teams, in any sport.”
Don’t exalt the messenger. Only dullards and knaves wouldn’t appreciate Russo’s performance today, or her work more generally.
62 min: Double substitution for Arsenal Caitlin Foord and Frida Maanum replace Victoria Pelova and the outstanding Olivia Smith. The squad depth at the top of the WSL has never been better.
60 min: Good save by Lete! Smith cuts inside from the right and blasts a left-foot shot from the edge of the area. Lete gets down smartly to her right to push it away.
58 min Russo rolls Kumagai, who shoves her over and is booked. Russo is putting on a clinic in centre-forward play.
56 min: Imuran hits the post!
London City almost equalise out of nothing. They broke smoothly, with Parris playing a penetrative pass to Imuran on the left. She mishit a cross towards Goodwin that looped over Van Domselaar and bounced off the inside of the post.
54 min Pelova’s cross is headed wide from 12 yards by Smith. Tough chance.
51 min: Great chance for Arsenal
Little lifts an excellent pass down the right for Smith, who moves into the area and cuts the ball back towards Pelova 15 yards out. Her first touch is beautiful, taking a defender out of the game and teeing herself up for a left-foot shot… which she sprays over the bar. She should have hit the target.
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47 min Parris, who was booked in the first half, gets a final warning from the referee after another late challenge on Katie McCabe.
McCabe is furious and growls at the referee when she gets to her feet.
46 min: London City substitution In fact LCL have made a change at the break – Julia Roddar is on for Katie Zelem in midfield.
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46 min London City Lionesses begin the second half.
Half-time reading
Half time: Arsenal 2-1 London City Lionesses
A cracking first half at the Emirates. London City Lionesses took the lead through Kosovare Asllani’s assured penalty, and for the first 28 minutes they looked very comfortable. Then Olivia Smith, Arsenal’s record £1m signing, whacked a glorious equaliser and the mood of the match changed. Arsenal had several chances before Chloe Kelly poked them in front just before the breka.
Arsenal’s second goal has been coming ever since they scored their first. Fox intercepted a tired ball out of defence and slipped it into Russo on the right side of the area. She turned and crossed low to Kelly, who met the ball on the run at the near post and poked it across Lete. Good finish and terrific work from Russo, who has been increasingly majestic in her hold-up and link play.
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GOAL! Arsenal 2-1 London City Lionesses (Kelly 45+2)
Her again.
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45+1 min: Brilliant save by Lete!
Smith’s cross evades Kelly at the far post. McCabe runs onto the loose ball and pings a flat, half-volleyed cross into the six-yard box. Russo heads it whence it came and Lete changes direction to paw it round the post. Thgat’s a brilliant reaction save.
44 min London City Lionesses enjoy a bit of respite with a free-kick on the left edge of the Arsenal area. Asllani shapes to cross then guides the ball back to the unmarked Zelem on the edge of the D. She shoots high and wide. For a player of Zelem’s ability that wasn’t the worst opportunity.
41 min Kelly has a shot blocked after a quick Arsenal break. Smith’s goal changed the mood, never mind the scoreline.
Moments later, a left-wing cross is flicked up neatly by Russo to Kelly on the edge of the area. She contorts her body to crack a technically superb volley that flashes just past the near post. Lete may have had it covered but it was a high-class attempt.
39 min: Just wide by Smith
The Emirates has a new darling. Russo runs down the left, looks up and clips a deliberate cross towards Smith beyond the far post. She stretches to drag a volley that bounces back across goal and just wide. A really good effort because Russo’s cross dropped over the head of a defender so it wasn’t easy to follow it all the way.
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35 min It’s all Arsenal now, and London City Lionesses will need all their individual experience to get to half-time at 1-1.
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33 min “Smith!” says Charles Antaki. “Money is the saviour of this game.”
31 min: Kumagai clears off the line!
Almost two in two minutes for Arsenal. Pelova runs onto a straight through pass, strolls round the outrushing Lete and sidefoots a shot that is blocked on the line by the sliding Kumagai. Great defending.
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The £1m signing Olivia Smith has equalised with a stunning goal. She received a simple pass 30 yards from goal, slightly to the left of centre, and had only one thing in mind. She veered to the right, away from Perez, pushed the ball into space mand crashed an explosive shot back across Lete. Wonderful goal.
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GOAL! Arsenal 1-1 London City Lionesses (Smith 29)
You get what you pay for.
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28 min Asllani’s corner is too close to van Domselaar. She flings the ball out to Pelova, who is tripped without sentiment by Zelem. A clear yellow card.
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25 min The London City Lionesses keeper Elene Lete hasn’t had a save to make, which along with the goal represents a near perfect start. Arsenal look a bit rusty in attack, though they have excellent options on the bench should they require.
22 min Smith beats Linari in the area and screws a cross from the byline that is well held by Lete. Arsenal are starting to up the tempo.
21 min “Money is ruining this game,” writes Charles Antaki.
I’d love to reply, Charles, but there’s no time: Olivia Smith is on the ball and looking dangerous.
20 min Parris is booked for a studs-showing lunge at McCabe, who rolls around in pain. While she receives treatment, the London City manager Jocelyn Precheur conducts a quick mid-match interview with the BBC. Heaven help us all.
GOAL! Arsenal 0-1 London City Lionesses (Asllani 17 pen)
Kosovare Asllani slips a precise penalty into the bottom-right corner. Van Domselaar went the right way but couldn’t quite reach it.
Well, well. London City Lionesses, the unashamed upstarts of the WSL, lead at the Emirates.
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15 min: Penalty to London City!
A bad moment for the teenager Katie Reid, who trips Asllani to concede a clear penalty. Reid did well originally to make a challenge on Goodwin but then lunged for the loose ball and was beaten to it by Asllani. From that moment, a penalty was inevitable.
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14 min Asllani, on the left wing, clips a dangerous free-kick into the Arsenal area. Van Domselaar comes through the crowd to make a decisive and important punch.
10 min At the other end, a loose pass goes straight to Parris 30 yards out. She takes the shot early, with Van Domselaar well off her line, but doesn’t get any elevation on it.
9 min There’s the first chance. After a patient move from Arsenal, the right-back Emily Fox drags a left-foot shot well wide from the edge of the area.
8 min Arsenal are starting to settle, with their record signing Smith producing a couple of nice touches. No chances for either side yet.
5 min London City have made an assured start, with most of the early play taking places in the Arsenal half.
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2 min Chloe Kelly, supersub for England and starter for Arsenal, wins the first corner of the game on the left. Caldentey’s inswinger is chested away at the near post.
1 min Peep peep! Alessia Russo gets the match under way, with Arsenal kick from left to right as we watch. It’s a lovely day in north London. Sun is shining, weather is sweet, yeah.
A reminder of the teams, who are about to take the field
Arsenal (poss 4-2-3-1) Van Domselaar; Fox, Reid, Catley, McCabe; Little, Pelova; Smith, Caldentey, Kelly; Russo.
Subs: Zinsberger, Wubben-Moy, Codina, Mead, Maanum, Foord, Hinds, Blackstenius, Cooney-Cross.
London City Lionesses (poss 3-5-1-1) Lete; Fernandez, Linari, Kennedy; Parris, Imuran, Zelem, Perez, Kumagai; Asllani; Goodwin.
Subs: Orman, Goldie, Corrales, Jakobsson, Franssi, Roddar, Lindstrom, Sangare, Henson.
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A limping Leah Williamson, her right leg in a brace, is parading the Champions League trophy at the Emirates. Yep, it really did happen.
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Here’s more on London City Lionesses’ remarkable signing of Grace Geyoro from PSG
Team news
Arsenal’s record signing Olivia Smith goes straight into the starting XI. With Leah Williamson injured, the teenager Katie Reid starts in defence.
LCL have a number of debutants, including Katie Zelem and Nikita Parris – but not the injured Danielle van de Donk or Grace Geyoro, whose signing was not registered in time for this weekend’s fixtures.
Arsenal (poss 4-2-3-1) Van Domselaar; Fox, Reid, Catley, McCabe; Little, Pelova; Kelly, Caldentey, Smith; Russo.
Subs: Zinsberger, Wubben-Moy, Codina, Mead, Maanum, Foord, Hinds, Blackstenius, Cooney-Cross.
London City Lionesses (poss 3-5-1-1) Lete; Fernandez, Linari, Kennedy; Parris, Imuran, Zelem, Perez, Kumagai; Asllani; Goodwin.
Subs: Orman, Goldie, Corrales, Jakobsson, Franssi, Roddar, Lindstrom, Sangare, Henson.
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Suzanne Wrack is chatting all things WSL on our sibling blog, Matchday Live. Here’s her take on London City Lionesses’ dramatic rise.
Given Michele Kang’s ongoing commitment and deep pockets I think we can say with a decent degree of certainty that London City Lionesses will be a serious force within the next few years. Top four this season is probably a stretch, but anything’s possible. The squad is stacked with top level experience and upcoming talent but it could take some time for them to gel and settle. That’s where teams bidding to break into the top four have fallen short before. Each team that has finished fifth in the last few years, has bought the following summer with ambitions of breaking into the top four but have struggled with the high turnover of players and fallen way short.
Preamble
The European champions start their season today. And they’re not even the talk of the town. London City Lionesses, who were only founded in 2019, have made a splash by signing a host of stars ahead of their first season in the WSL. Yesterday they signed Grace Geyoro for a reported world-record fee, and it’s hard to recall any team in English football history who have started their first top-flight season with such an eye-catching squad.
There’s no I in team, though, and at this stage we have no idea how LCL’s revamped squad will gel. The best-case scenario is that they smash the glass ceiling and break into the top four; it’s also possible that reality bites and fifth place becomes their short-term ambition. Today will provide some clues. If they can hold their own away to the European champions, there will be little to fear.
Arsenal broke the world record earlier in the summer to sign Olivia Smith from Liverpool. Chloe Kelly has also returned to the club on a permanent deal, with the addition of Taylor Hinds and Anneke Borbe completing a good window’s work. All told, the air at the Emirates Stadium is thick with optimism and hope.
Kick off 1.30pm.
