Arsenal 1-0 at Borehamwood. 14-time FA Cup winners Arsenal are now looking progressively shaky as they get knocked out of the FA Cup for the second successive season. The previous weekend, they had already lost to West Ham for the first time ever, a historic moment for the Hammers and a major blow for the Gunners. This served as somewhat of a warning sign for Arsenal, while also providing City with an extra boost of encouragement for Sunday’s match.
In a pre-match interview, Vice-Captain Leah Williamson still held big hopes for the Gooners, telling the BBC that she was “definitely looking to upset the party.” Despite Arsenal’s loss, Williamson had a good game and was voted Player of the Match by fans. This was certainly deserved, as she covered most of the pitch during the game, jumping in fairly regularly with some good defensive tackles. However, the return of Williamson from her ACL injury did not prove to be enough for Arsenal this time around.
The Gooners were not aided much by other players recently returning from ACL injuries. Beth Mead didn’t make much impact on the game, and Vivianne Miedema was on the bench with a knee irritation, which certainly could have hindered Arsenal’s performance somewhat.
As for City, Khiara Keating was the heroine of the moment, successfully dealing with Arsenal fans’ chants, which were largely pointed at Keating as a result of her previous performance against the Gunners, as the nineteen-year-old goalkeeper made multiple impressive saves. Keating’s play ultimately put these fans in their place, but this did not stop there from being a resulting angry online discourse over whether these chants went too far.
After almost even possession for both sides for over seventy minutes, City broke the deadlock. Spain’s Laia Aleixandri scored the winning goal from Chloe Kelly’s free kick with just over ten minutes to go. This, alongside Keating’s fantastic saves, ultimately made City victorious, solidly kicking Arsenal out of the FA Cup.
As per previous games between City and Arsenal, the match was once again full to the brim with individual battles, the most memorable and entertaining being the scrap between Katie McCabe and Lauren Hemp. McCabe, frequently given yellow cards at matches for her aggressive play, kept nudging Hemp with her shoulder until Hemp had had enough. Both players laughed, and Hemp eventually lightly pushed McCabe over, who fell theatrically to the ground in protest.
There was, however, substantial discourse over potential missed action taken against players for aggressive tackles on Bunny Shaw inside the box. Lotte Wubben-Moy’s elbow to Shaw’s face seemed reminiscent of recent behaviour from Aston Villa’s Rachel Daly, who was then banned from three games. That and a substantial knock from Caitlin Foord during a free kick left Shaw having to sit the rest of the game out due to nursing several minor injuries as a result.
Debates continued past the game over a possible missed goal for the Gunners. Keating saved a shot from Foord, with the ball slipping momentarily from her grip before she quickly snatched it back. Footage during the game looked as if the ball had gone past the goal line but the referee did not agree, letting play continue. Replays suggest that it did not in fact pass the line, but discussions over the potential benefits of adding VAR to the women’s game continue since this would certainly have provided a more accurate examination of the issue.
After this defeat, Arsenal’s current prospects are looking increasingly worrying. Having already not made it in the Champions League and now out of the FA Cup, they are running out of options. Their fate lies in the Conti Cup and the Women’s Super League (WSL) and with their current record, fans are looking on with concern and progressively waning hope for the Gunners’ success this season.
In the BBC’s post-match interview with Alex Greenwood, the City captain said of their next big match, “I’m not afraid to say it any more—I want to win the league and I want to go there next week and beat Chelsea.” This being City’s tenth successive win across all competitions, there is much excitement to see what they’ll have to offer in their next battle against the Blues, who currently sit only three points ahead of City in the WSL.
Monday’s FA Cup Quarter Finals draw revealed a spicy line-up taking place on the weekend of March 10. Everton will take on Chelsea, Brighton faces Manchester United, Liverpool comes up against Leicester, and City will battle it out with Spurs. So far, the FA Cup has been full of twists and turns. We can only wait and see which team will get their hands on some silverware, but this year, as City ensured on Sunday, that team will not be Arsenal.
“Leah Williamson 20191016” by El Loko Foto is licensed under CC BY 4.0.