Arsenal delivered a dominant 7-0 victory over Leicester City, condemning the visitors to a bottom-place finish in the Women's Super League (WSL) and keeping the pressure on league leaders Manchester City. Goals from Smilla Holmberg and Stina Blackstenius, who each scored twice, along with strikes from Frida Maanum, Mariona Caldentey, and Leah Williamson, helped Arsenal reduce their goal-difference deficit with City from 13 to six.
Arsenal's Ruthless Performance
Arsenal head coach Renée Slegers expressed her delight after the match: "I'm so happy. We wanted to win today, we needed to win today, so we did that. What's most pleasing to see is that we play the Arsenal way and that doesn't change regardless of who's on the pitch. Everyone's contributing." The Gunners entered the match with three games in hand, and City's loss to Brighton on Saturday opened the door for Arsenal. City now need to win their final two games, or win one and draw one, while maintaining their superior goal difference to secure their first league title in a decade.
Team Changes and Strategy
Slegers made five changes to the team that secured an impressive 2-1 win over Lyon in the Champions League semi-final first leg, ensuring key players were rested. Injury-hit Leicester made three changes after a 5-1 defeat to London City Lionesses, but faced an uphill battle against a team with a perfect record against them. The small consolation for Leicester is that finishing bottom before the league expands to 14 teams still gives them a chance to stay up via a playoff against the third-placed team in WSL2.
Leicester's Struggle
Leicester head coach Rick Passmore acknowledged the difficulty: "It's going to be very tough. When you look at the second half of the season, a lot of times in those games we were in the games and were competing, but over a period of time the results can knock your confidence because you know you've just been so close. What's happened in the last couple of games is confidence and momentum is against us."
Match Highlights
Arsenal took control early, with Maanum breaking the deadlock with a looping header. Holmberg scored her first goal for the club two minutes later, and Blackstenius added two more before halftime, heading in from Maanum's clipped pass and turning into an empty net from close range. Leicester goalkeeper Olivia Clark was substituted after a clash of heads, but the second half brought no respite. Holmberg scored her second three minutes after the restart, Caldentey added the sixth, and Williamson headed in a corner for the seventh. Arsenal could have scored more, but substitute goalkeeper Katie Keane made several saves to limit the damage. Leicester's Noémie Mouchon almost pulled one back but fired wide late on.
Looking Ahead
Leicester must now regroup for a tough match against Chelsea and then face Everton to build confidence before the crucial playoff. "It's about confidence, about belief and working with this group, not only on the pitch but off the pitch, to ensure that that is covered over the forthcoming weeks leading into the playoff game," said Passmore. Meanwhile, Arsenal continue their campaign with a Champions League semi-final second leg next, and Slegers is relishing the busy schedule: "We love it and we are ready for it."
