Review
March
Arsenal's season began with a trip to Birmingham City to contest the FA Cup fourth round, where ex-Arsenal player Freda Ayisi gave the home side the lead after 26 minutes. Arsenal found themselves on the brink of an early exit, but found an equaliser with just over ten minutes remaining through Danielle Carter. It took penalties to decide a winner, and with Arsenal scoring all five of their spot kicks, Charlie Wellings' miss for Birmingham saw Arsenal through to the next round. [14]
Arsenal's WSL campaign began with a home tie against recently promoted Reading. Dominique Janssen's drilled effort from outside the box gave the home side the perfect start, and seconds into the second half, Asisat Oshoala rounded Grace Maloney and finished from the tightest angles to score her first Arsenal goal on her debut. Reading were able to pull a goal back through Jade Boho-Sayo when Leah Williamson saw her clearance charged down, but Arsenal sealed the win with twenty minutes to play when Carter converted Marta Corredera's corner. [15]
Arsenal's next match was a trip away to Manchester City. Arsenal had won at the Academy Stadium in their previous two visits, but events took a disastrous turn when defender Jemma Rose was sent off after 13 minutes for bringing down Jane Ross as the last defender. Arsenal did their best to hold on, but Manchester City made their numerical advantage count as Ross gave them the lead midway through the second half, and Toni Duggan scored from the spot with ten minutes left to play.
April
Back at Meadow Park, Arsenal faced Notts County in the FA Cup quarter-finals. Kelly Smith announced her return to the starting lineup with a volleyed finish after 21 minutes, only for Sophie Bradley-Auckland to equalise just minutes afterwards. The tie then swung towards Notts County when Aivi Luik prodded them ahead. However, the tie took a twist when Ellen White was sent off for a second yellow with just under thirty minutes left to play after kicking the ball away. With the player advantage, Arsenal pushed on, and Natalia's header in the 81st minute took the match to extra time and penalties. For the second round in a row, Arsenal required spot kicks to progress. They were indebted to Sari van Veenendaal, who celebrated her birthday by saving from Danielle Buet, Leanne Crichton and Luik, with Katie McCabe scoring the winning kick to send Arsenal through to the Semi Finals. [16]
In the semi-finals, Arsenal were drawn at home again, this time against Sunderland. In a chaotic match, Emma Mitchell was sent off on 33 minutes for two bookable offences. Yet despite being a player down, Arsenal took the lead before half time when Van de Donk tucked home the rebound when Janssen's shot was saved by Laws. They then doubled their advantage at the start of the second half when Carter poked in Natalia's cross. The tie was all but over when Sunderland's Abby Holmes fouled Van de Donk in the penalty area, conceding the penalty and being shown the red card. Fara Williams stepped up and converted the spot-kick, her first goal for the club, and with the player disadvantage erased, the Gunners pulled further ahead. Van de Donk scored two more to complete her hat-trick, Nobbs got herself on the scoresheet, before Carter scored her second of the match in added time to complete a 7-0 hammering, ensuring progression to the Final at Wembley. [17]
Arsenal's opponents in the FA Cup Final in May would be Chelsea, and it was they who they faced next in the WSL. They fell behind when Fran Kirby took advantage of Van Veenendaal abandoning her post and Jemma Rose's defensive hesitancy to poke the ball into an empty net. Arsenal thought they had scored an equaliser through Jordan Nobbs' long range pile driver, only to discover the referee had already blown for an earlier foul on Nobbs. It proved to be costly, as Fran Kirby scored her second of the match by scrambling home at a corner after Leah Williamson had cleared Drew Spence's effort off the line. [18]
After back-to-back defeats in the league seriously compromised their title charge, Arsenal returned to winning ways in the away trip to Reading. Nobbs' effort from range and Janssen's header at McCabe's corner put Arsenal 2-0 up after 60 minutes. Although Emma Follis was able to pull a goal back late on, it proved to be a mere consolation. [19]
May
Arsenal's inconsistent start to the season showed no sign of stopping, as they followed up their win over Reading with a 0-0 draw with Birmingham City. Both sides hit the crossbar through Remi Allen and Dominique Janssen, but neither could find a winner. [20]
Arsenal's final game before the summer break was their FA Cup Final against Chelsea at Wembley. For once, Arsenal arrived in the Final as underdogs, having fallen behind Chelsea in recent seasons. But it was the Gunners who prevailed, with Danielle Carter's curling finish from the wing deceiving Hedvig Lindahl proving to be the difference. It was Arsenal's 14th FA Cup in their history, and their first since the Final was moved to the new Wembley Stadium. [21]
Summer Break
During the summer break, Arsenal played a friendly against NWSL side Seattle Reign, managed by former Gunners boss Laura Harvey, the first time a WSL side and an NWSL side had faced each other. Arsenal suffered a huge stroke of misfortune just 8 minutes in when Leah Williamson was stretchered off with an ankle injury, ruling her out of action until October. [22] Beverly Yanez gave Laura Harvey's side the lead in the first half, but after half-time, Vicky Losada was fouled in the box and Natalia scored the resulting penalty to level the match. [23]
June
Arsenal returned to WSL action with a comprehensive 5-1 win over Sunderland. Two own goals from Stephanie Bannon gifted Arsenal the early advantage, and they pushed on with a further two goals from Natalia. Janssen's deflected effort from range in the second half made it 5-0, although Sunderland were able to find a consolation goal from Beth Mead at the end of the match. [24]
Such had been the mantra so far this season, Arsenal followed up their win by drawing their following match, this time another 0-0 draw against Birmingham City. [25]
The month ended with another departure, as Chloe Kelly went out on loan to Everton after struggling to find game time. [26]
July
July saw the start of Arsenal's defence of their WSL Cup, opening with a dominant win over Reading. The Royals were able to hold Arsenal at bay throughout the first half, but once Vicky Losada had put the Gunners ahead, the floodgates opened. Fara Williams' penalty made it 2-0, and she followed that up with a chipped finish to seal the tie. Reading were able to respond through Emma Follis, but weren't able to save the match. [27]
Notts County were up next at Meadow Park, and after 10 minutes, Nobbs' superb long pass sent Daniëlle van de Donk clear of the defensive line and her composed finish put Arsenal 1-0 up. Jordan Nobbs' then got onto the scoresheet 10 minutes into the second half when her effort from inside the box deflected off Jade Moore and into the net, completing a routine win. [28]
A trip to Wheatsheaf Park followed, as Arsenal found themselves five points behind their West London rivals and six points behind leaders Manchester City. A bizarre own goal from Sari van Veenendaal, after she failed to control Alex Scott's back-pass, gifted Chelsea the early lead. Chelsea had the chances to extend their lead further through Drew Spence, Eni Aluko and Claire Rafferty, but their wastefulness in front of goal would prove to be their downfall. Vicky Losada's flicked header before half time levelled the match, and with six minutes remaining, Daniëlle van de Donk rounded the keeper and finished from an acute angle to win the derby. [29]
After an indifferent start to the season, Arsenal now found themselves within touching distance of the top spot. Needing to put pressure on Chelsea and Manchester City, they travelled to Sunderland. They were given a dream start when Carter was barged over in the penalty area. Williams saw her penalty saved, but Losada was alert to convert the rebound. A quick one-two with Van de Donk got Jordan Nobbs free in the box, and her striker found the top corner, leaving goalkeeper Rachael Laws no chance. Danielle Carter's fierce near-post drive in the second half made it 3-0, and Fara Williams redeemed herself of her earlier miss when she converted from the spot at the second attempt. [30]
Having won three WSL games in a row for the first time this season, Arsenal's good form came to an end when they hosted Liverpool at Meadow Park. They were given a huge slice of luck when Williams' low drive took a freak deflection off Gemma Bonner looped over the helpless Siobhan Chamberlain. Unfortunately, that was as good as it got for Arsenal, as Liverpool soon equalised thanks to Shanice van de Sanden's superb turn and finish. Arsenal couldn't find the second goal, and it was Liverpool who took all three points at Meadow Park yet again as Caroline Weir's excellent free kick left Van Veenendaal no chance. [31]
August
August began with a WSL Cup quarter-final tie with Notts County at The Hive, a replay of the 2015 Final. Arsenal won then, and a repeat looked to be on the cards when Casey Stoney's header gave the Gunners the lead after just 9 minutes. However, Notts County were determined to avenge their Cup Final defeat, and equalised just before half time when Fern Whelan headed in Jo Potter's free kick. The turnaround was complete when half-time substitute Jess Clarke burst into the box and scored her customary goal against Arsenal. On the brink of a quarter-final exit, Pedro Martinez Losa brought Kelly Smith off the bench with 25 minutes left to play, and she brought Arsenal level with a low drive from 25 yards that arrowed into the bottom corner. The rescue job was complete when Laura Bassett, sent off in that Final, brought down Asisat Oshoala in the penalty area on 90 minutes. Fara Williams stepped up to convert the spot kick to send Arsenal through to the semi-finals. [32]
Back in the WSL, and it was Notts County again, this time at Meadow Lane. After the drama of their WSL Cup match, this appeared to be developing into a more routine affair. Asisat Oshoala gave Arsenal the lead half time when she pounced on Whelan's weak back-pass, nudged the ball past Megan Walsh and slotted the ball into a vacant net. But Notts County were gifted a route back into the game when Emma Byrne wiped out Ellen White outside her area as she beared down on goal. Byrne was sent off, leaving Arsenal a player short with 30 minutes to player. The Ladypies were unable to player the advantage count however, and were made to pay when Walsh was unable to prevent Oshoala's flicked effort from crossing the line. [33]
September
Arsenal's WSL Cup semi-final saw them having to travel to the Academy Stadium to face Manchester City. Wastefulness in front of goal would prove to be their undoing, as Daniëlle van de Donk and Casey Stoney both passed up glorious opportunities to give the away side the lead, and Carter saw a long range dipper crash off the bar. Manchester City absorbed all the pressure, and then provided the sucker punch when Toni Duggan's late free-kick flashed through the Arsenal box and former Arsenal player Jen Beattie was free to volley in from close range. Kelly Smith saw an effort cleared off the line in the dying stages, as their Cup defence crumbled, Manchester City making it through to the final at their expense. [34]
The two sides found themselves paired off against one another just seven days later, as this time it was Arsenal who played host to the Citizens. With the FA Cup won, but the WSL Cup lost, the WSL was the only trophy available for Arsenal to compete for. However, the home loss to Liverpool, combined with Manchester City winning their games in hand, had seen them fall 12 points behind the unbeaten league leaders. Both sides had chances to take the lead, but it was a free kick once again that would prove to be Arsenal's undoing. Steph Houghton's effort took a wicked deflection off Jane Ross to completely wrong foot Van Veenendaal and win the game. Arsenal's faint title hopes were over, falling 15 points behind Manchester City, whilst they moved seven points ahead of second-placed Chelsea. [35]
October
Arsenal bounced back from their home defeat to Manchester City with a resounding 5-0 win over bottom side Doncaster Rovers Belles. Danielle Carter gave Arsenal the lead after 12 minutes and Natalia added to the scoreline midway through the second half. Carter and Natalia both scored again in the last 10 minutes, but the day belonged to Kelly Smith. In her final appearance in an Arsenal shirt, she chipped the keeper from the edge of the box with virtually the last kick of the game. It was also a game which saw the return of Leah Williamson from injury and Chloe Kelly following her loan spell with Everton. [36]
Arsenal last home game of the season also came against Doncaster Rovers Belles. It was a game that also saw the long awaited debut of Jodie Taylor, having been out injured since being signed from Portland Thorns. Brought off the bench with just over 30 minutes left, she tapped into an empty net after Anna Moorhouse had parried a low ball into the penalty area. Taylor was alert again when Moorhouse parried Alex Scott's shot to convert the rebound and round off a 2-0 win. [37]
The end of the month saw the departure of Arsenal's Spanish contingent, as Vicky Losada, Marta Corredera and Natalia all returned to their home nation after two seasons at the club. [38]
November
Arsenal's WSL campaign ended at Liverpool, where both sides played out an incredible eight goal thriller. Liverpool struck first when Satara Murray's cross looped over Van Veenendaal and into the net. Arsenal's response was rapid, Danielle Carter with a quick fire brace of two long range efforts. Jordan Nobbs then tried her luck from range in the second half, and her luck was in via the inside of the post. Shanice van de Sanden reduced the arrears four minutes later when she burst clear of the defence and slotted the ball past Van Veenendaal. Chloe Kelly and Asisat Oshoala both scored late on to confirm the win, but there was still time for Caroline Weir to take advantage of Williams' weak header and smash the ball past Van Veenendaal to ensure the home side would at least have the final word. [39]
A thrilling end to yet another disappointing season under Pedro Martinez Losa. The FA Cup win was cause for celebration, but it was another campaign where they had fallen short, and the gap was as wide as it had ever been. Despite the talent within the side, they had finished ten points off champions Manchester City and five short of the coveted Champions League places, paying the price for an inconsistent start to the season, and home losses repeated from the previous season.
