[more], The North London derby is much more than two rivals facing off for 90 minutes, it's the dichotomy between the two ways of living in modern-day north London. This move ensured that our back line was still completely solid and able to bail us out in the unlikely event of a rapid Tottenham counterattack, while still giving us more than enough bodies in midfield to keep our opponents under constant pressure. The circumstances surrounding the first north London Derby of the new Women’s Super League season on Sunday could not be more removed from last year’s affair. Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window), Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window), Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window), Click to email this to a friend (Opens in new window), USMNT’s Brenden Aaronson seals “record” transfer to RB Salzburg. Aside from the hat-trick, she also played a key role in both of Caitlin Foord’s goals and could be regularly seen to drop back not only to midfield, but sometimes to our own defensive third just to win the ball back and start another Arsenal attack. pinpointing the WSL’s six-month coronavirus-enforced break. It was the perfect start for the Gunners, and exactly what our excellent start had merited. One could see how much it meant to Viv and the entire squad to mark her achievement in such a memorable way, and it was all smiles in the Gunners’ camp as we went into half-time with a comfortable 5-0 lead. There were strong cases for both Schnaderbeck and Foord to take this accolade from this match, given their regular selflessness and willingness to give up personal glory to ensure the team’s success, but Viv just edges it for me here. Miedema dropped back into midfield to pick up the ball as she so often does, and exchanged a quick one-two with Danielle van de Donk to find herself with enough time and space to bear down on goal and fire across the goalkeeper (Figure 3) as she surpassed Nikita Parris to become the outright greatest goalscorer in WSL history (and in 60 fewer games). “We just prepare for the match and we aim to get the result regardless of whoever plays. Arsenal and Tottenham meet in an FA Women's Super League north London derby today. Leah Williamson, who always looks out for such opportunities, played another one of her trademark long balls over the top, which Foord latched onto and made no mistake as she calmly rolled the ball past the helpless Rebecca Spencer and into the bottom corner (Figure 4). Maybe do it more often, which is obviously hard to organise and put in place because of men’s fixtures, but it’s definitely doable.”. A slightly fortuitous deflection off a Tottenham defender allowed Viv’s shot to squeeze past the goalkeeper at her near post from a tight angle, but it takes nothing away from the intelligence of our striker’s run or McCabe’s awareness to play a quick pass from the free-kick instead of floating a ball into the box. The Telegraph values your comments but kindly requests all posts are on topic, constructive and respectful. Spotting Foord ahead in the centre-forward role, Miedema flicked the ball nonchalantly to the Australian and then continued a run into the box, which Tottenham’s defenders criminally failed to track. But to have these players from America coming over which hasn’t really happened in past years is great for the game. Vivianne Miedema. Barely three minutes later, it was two, and a momentous goal as well. The first, as mentioned before, was the use of Viki Schnaderbeck at right-back instead of her usual preferred positions of either CB or a holding midfielder. If there was one area which could be described as a somewhat surprising cause for concern for Arsenal so far this season, it was that we seemed to be starting matches slower than fans are accustomed to seeing, often giving our opponents the unnecessary chance to settle into the game. Before half-time, she had proved once again that she is in a league of her own, as a sublime first-half hat trick cemented her place at the summit of the WSL’s greatest goalscorers and led her team to a resounding 6-1 victory on the day. To be very fair to them, Tottenham began the second half far better than they began the first, winning a penalty (albeit a very soft call) within the first five minutes. Last time out, it took the best part of 70 minutes before we managed to break through Tottenham’s stubborn resistance. It seemed clear that the manager had rewatched the FA Cup fixture and noted that we had been a bit too pedestrian in our build-ups that day, thus possibly instructing his players to attack with greater intensity right from the get-go on this occasion. pinpointing the WSL’s six-month coronavirus-enforced break. This time, we faced no such issue. 52 goals in 50 games now, on track to take the Golden Boot for the third season running. Facebook. We made no such mistake today, dominating the opening minutes with ease and pinning our city rivals into their own defensive third of the pitch. Miedema dropped back towards midfield once more, dragging two defenders with her and leaving acres of space in the heart of Tottenham’s back line. Maybe do it more often, which is obviously hard to organise and put in place because of men’s fixtures, but it’s definitely doable.”. Last time out, it took the best part of 70 minutes before we managed to break through Tottenham’s stubborn resistance. This move ensured that our back line was still completely solid and able to bail us out in the unlikely event of a rapid Tottenham counterattack, while still giving us more than enough bodies in midfield to keep our opponents under constant pressure. I think that just exaggerates the fact that it’s all about 22 players that we've got and the squad and the depth that we've got, the quality players that can come in and fill roles and do their part on a week to week basis.”. “It was very special,” recalled Little. The circumstances surrounding the first north London Derby of the new Women’s Super League season on Sunday could not be more removed from last year’s affair. ‘There is a massive internal review of what we’re doing’ – Arsenal boss Montemurro addresses injury concerns ahead of north London derby Ameé Ruszkai Women's Football Correspondent It's definitely up there with one of the best memories I've had playing. We were not to be denied, however, and just after the hour mark Caitlin Foord managed to net her second and Arsenal’s sixth after some excellent build-up in attack involving Van de Donk, Miedema and Mead (Figure 7). Although Leon scored a consolation goal 13 minutes from time after some poor marking at a set-piece (their first-ever goal against us, by the way), it could not take away from an otherwise professional and dominant performance from the Gunners, who comfortably saw out the remainder of the match and extended our perfect start to the campaign with 5 wins out of 5, the only side in the division yet to drop any points as we go into the international break. Through four games, United have 10 points (2.5 points per game); after 14 games last season, when the season ended abruptly, they had 23 points (1.64 points per game). As the north London derby looks set to be a thoroughly lopsided affair in Sunday’s Women’s Super League action (Watch live, 9:30 am ET, online via NBCSports.com), perhaps we will finally see Alex Morgan make her Spurs debut against Arsenal and level the playing field ever so slightly. "Mikel found a way for them to be stable and improve. "I think the game was more tactical," Mourinho said. Schnaderbeck won us a free-kick just outside the box on the right, and McCabe stepped up to curl an absolute stunner off the post and give us a lead after less than four minutes played (Figure 2).