A five-minute burst of pent-up frustration and energy was enough to propel Arsenal to a 2-1 victory over a spirited Spurs side in north London, as goals from Georgia Stanway and a second-half penalty from Alessia Russo guided the Gunners to an 11th WSL north London derby win.
The result will keep their manager Renée Slegers in her post for at least another week, but had it not been for an adrenaline-fuelled start to the second half, it could and perhaps would have been the same-old story for Arsenal, who were outplayed in the first half and struggled to kill the game in the second.
The Gunners started the second half with arguably their best 10 minutes of the season, attacking Spurs with pace and intent. They were almost immediately rewarded as excellent work down the left from Caitlin Foord opened space for Russo, whose shot was met with an outstanding save by Spurs goalkeeper Lize Kop.
Kop barely had time to settle herself before her goal was shelled once more. Thirty seconds later, a Lisa Baum shot cannoned off the post and was cleared straight into the arm of a startled Ella Morris, who was adjudged to have known just enough about it to be considered a guilty party.
Referee Phoebe Cross pointed to the spot — much to Spurs manager Martin Ho’s chagrin — and Russo calmly made up for her miss a minute earlier, sending Kop the wrong way for the eventual winner.
Spurs played their part in this derby, counter-attacking with verve and belief. They deserved to go ahead after 13 minutes, striking first through Cathinka Tandberg’s thumping header from a Victoria Pelova corner — her late run untracked by a sleepy Arsenal defence.
Despite their obvious frailties, Arsenal still had world-class players at their disposal. Georgia Stanway has been their main creative force in the final third this season and she was the one to equalise four minutes later, latching onto a Russo cut-back at the edge of the box and smashing it past Kop, whose hand could only divert it onto the underside of the bar.
Spurs continually showed their teeth on the counter throughout this contest and Ho will no doubt be delighted his side competed for 90 minutes against an elite WSL side — especially after Spurs were crushed underfoot by Chelsea and London City Lionesses in weeks prior.
He will, however, wonder what could have been as his side exposed Arsenal’s soft underbelly on the break and from dead balls. The Gunners don’t like being run at; don’t like defending crosses; don’t like defending set pieces. They looked frail and anxious at the back, but Spurs couldn’t land another punch after Tandberg’s opener.
As Spurs pushed for a winner, Arsenal looked more dangerous than they have all season on the counter. Runs in behind from Foord and Olivia Smith offered consistent threat, as did the ever-dangerous Baum, who was once again Arsenal’s brightest spark amid a dull first-half performance.
Arsenal’s full-time celebrations were loud and full of relief, revelling in a derby day victory with their 4,000 ‘travelling’ fans who made all the noise at the Tottenham Hotspur stadium.
Slegers said after the game that the fans were on her and the players’ minds, and that the decision to celebrate so vigorously after the final whistle was an off-the-cuff moment of joy and relief.
“We went to see the fans before the game for the warm-up and it was a nice little moment. Normally we do a huddle afterwards on the pitch and we decided to say, let’s go see the fans,” Slegers said. “There was not much more talking to do, so we enjoyed the celebrations and the three points.”
Spurs have now lost three WSL games in a row, all to elite sides, and their Champions League hopes look gone. Worse still, it looks as though Martin Ho will be without Alice Sombath for an extended period after she was stretchered off with what looked to be a serious knee injury.
Ho was upset with the decision that led to Arsenal’s winner, and with WSL officiating more broadly.
In his post-match press conference, Ho said: “It’s got worse. The refereeing this year has got worse than it was last year. I’m going back in [to see them] in a minute.”
He continued: “They [referees] have a hard enough job and I get it, but in games like this when it’s decided on things like that… and I thought the inconsistency throughout the game was the same. We just have to dust ourselves down but it’s frustrating that it’s decided on a decision like that, when the rule is in black and white and we get told that at the start of the season.”
For Arsenal, this derby day win will feel extra sweet after the torment of the past six weeks. Spurs must now “dust themselves down” and prepare to turn a corner against Birmingham next weekend.