When the north London derby came to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium last year, it was an historic day for the hosts. Martha Thomas’ goal secured a first-ever win over Arsenal for Spurs, and there were several Gunners who returned to the scene of that miserable afternoon on Saturday who must have shuddered at the memories brought back. But any fears of a similarly disappointing result were alleviated with little more than 60 seconds played, as Alessia Russo’s early goal helped kickstart an important 3-0 victory for Arsenal – securing back-to-back wins in the Women’s Super League for the first time this season.
It’s been a tough start to the campaign for the Gunners, with Jonas Eidevall resigning from his head coach role last month after a string of poor results. However, interim boss Renee Slegers has helped steady the ship, with this a fourth win in five games under her charge. Included in that revival has been a fantastic run of form for Russo, who didn’t score in any of Arsenal’s first five WSL games. On Saturday, she bagged her third goal in her last three league outings to break the deadlock inside two minutes.
When Frida Maanum doubled that lead 20 minutes later, it put the visitors in firm control of proceedings, a status they held for the majority of the game. There were flashes from Spurs, most notably when Beth England forced Daphne van Domselaar into a good save from range, but not enough to really trouble the Gunners and get back into a game that was all-but-over when Stina Blackstenius came off the bench to add a third just past the hour.
GOAL rates Arsenal’s players from the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium…