Man City Beats Arsenal 4-2

Manchester City continued their perfect start to the season by beating Arsenal 4-2 at the Etihad Stadium. The win puts City at the top of the table, while Arsenal are 10 points behind with only one league win this campaign.

The Gunners were the better team in the first half, with Lisa Baum, Emily Fox, and Georgia Stanway all having close chances. Baum gave Arsenal the lead late in the first half, but replays showed she may have been offside.

City's leveller had a level of controversy to it, as Mariona Caldentey asked to come off and went down injured, but City played on. Thirty-five seconds later, Lauren Hemp forced an own goal off Emily Fox, with Arsenal furious the ball was not put out of play in a sporting gesture.

The second half continued with drama, as Bunny Shaw ran through on goal, but her heavy touch allowed Anneke Borde to collect. Forty-five seconds later, Alessia Russo curled Arsenal ahead again after an error while playing out from the back by Ayaka Yamashita.

The game would turn on its head again, with Arsenal's second-half defending and inability to hold onto a lead letting them down. Kerstin Casparij took 65 seconds to come off the bench and curl a stunner into the far corner, then Hemp put City ahead for the first time as the Arsenal defence switched off.

Shaw got her customary goal late on as Arsenal committed bodies forward. The pre-match talk surrounded the pressure Slegers and her team were under, with many claiming defeat would put Arsenal out of the Women's Super League title fight after just five games.

With one win from the opening five games and 10 points behind the leaders in a 26-game league, Arsenal are further into the mire. The long international break ahead raises questions about what is next for Slegers.