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Key events
44 min: Tottenham favour a slow buildup once again. They lose it and Arsenal go on the attack; Foord centres the ball to Russo who fails to get her shot off.
43 min: More Arsenal pressure but Mead and Fox are caught at cross purposes, while Tottenham are struggling to clear their lines, and keep the ball.
41 min: Katie McCabe is booked for stopping a Holdt run in its tracks. That was a tad cynical from the Ireland player.
41 min: Does this game need a goal to lift it? Arsenal look the likelier, but still not too likely.
39 min: Nice skill from Blackstenius, who drops her shoulder, feints and shoots. Kop was more than equal to the task.
38 min: A rare Tottenham attack breaks down in familiar fashion, Naz’s ball into the middle is cleared, though there was a bit of a wobble from Arsenal’s defenders.
37 min: Arsenal have had 78% possession in the last 10 minutes. And yet they haven’t threatened too much. Tottenham have defended well.
35 min: Best chance so far, Mead sets up Russo, who blams her shot wide.
33 min: Another Arsenal free-kick, Blackstenius heads across goal and that’s no big problem for Kop. Arsenal have the momentum now, pinning Tottenham back.
30 min: The game is yet to catch light, lot of tension within both teams. Attacking play has been sub-optimal so far.
28 min: Catley was one of the players involved there, and there’s an on-field conference as she and Tottenham’s Hunt are taken off, and brought back on.
26 min: Cooney-Cross’s free-kick ball is aimed at Russo but knocked behind for a corner. That leads to a clash of heads, and a break in play.
25 min: Blackstenius looms with intent but the ball is whacked clear. They’re coming more into it, and Tottenham’s Neville concedes a foul.
23 min: Spurs are doing better in midfield but are struggling to link their attacking players….Caldentey has a pass intercepted, just as it was reaching Beth Mead. Arsenal are showing similar shortcomings.
22 min: Arsenal on the attack, Cooney-Cross has a speculative effort, but is leaning back so it flies wide and high.
20 min: Beth Mead is hurt, looks to have a dead leg or muscle injury. She’s OK to continue. She’s been peripheral so far, and so has Caldentey.
19 min: Naz gets down the right this time, and her ball into the middle is missed by all, including Vinberg who was its target.
17 min: Blackstenius almost intercepts a pass meant for Kop. Almost: the Arsenal attackers are pressing high at the moment.
15 min: The lively Naz is sent away; the ball ends up going backwards. The Arsenal defence is holding its shape well.
14 min: An Arsenal counter, and some breathing space. Mead releases Fox, who finds space opening up, and shoots. Easy save for Kop, though.
13 min: A neat turn from Tottenham’s Naz is brought to a halt by a foul; it’s bitty stuff so far. Nilden goes down that left flank again as she and Naz keep up the pressure.
11 min: Vinberg almost escapes down the left, only for her final pass to be intercepted by the Arsenal defence.
10 min: Wubben-Moy is robbed by Tandberg to set up a Tottenham counter. It comes to nothing, the defences very much on top here.
9 min: Caitlin Foord is the target for a long pass but can’t keep it in; neither set of forwards have hit the right wavelength just yet.
7 min: Van Domselaar claims the resultant free-kick with ease.
6 min: Hell of a noise from both sets of fans. Good stuff, good to hear. Wubben-Moy concedes a foul by knocking over Tandberg.
5 min: Tottenham continue to hold possession, this is impressive from them. Arsenal eventually win it back and are similarly slow on the ball.
4 min: Tottenham take their time over a buildup, trying to take the steam from Arsenal. Seems a sensible policy.
2 min: Tottenham’s Holdt looks for a through ball but it goes awry. Arsenal look the more comfortable in possession so far.
Away we go…
1 min: It’s a chilly afternoon in Leyton, as Lotte Wubben-Moy makes her 100th WSL appearance for the Gunners. Arsenal go straight on the attack with North London Forever being sung lustily. The ball goes to Mead, who miscontrols.
Charles Antaki gets in touch: “A decent starting XI for Arsenal, but the team have been fragile recently, badly missing Kim Little and of course Leah Williamson. The view at the top of the league looks pretty bleak, with the lurking prospect of missing out entirely from qualification for next year’s WCL – presumably not something the accountants would be very happy about, let alone players and fans. But the opposition today might give a bit of a fillip – ladies, it’s Tottenham.”
That Chelsea draw is a huge result, especially after Manchester City won their derby match.
Today’s other WSL matches:
More details here:
Last time out.
https://www.theguardian.com/football/2025/nov/09/wsl-roundup-manchester-city-go-top-liverpool-and-west-ham-stay-winless
One change from Arsenal’s loss to Bayern in midweek, Kyra Cooney-Cross replaces Victoria Pelova in midfield. Tottenham are unchanged, despite losing to London City last time out.
The teams
Tottenham XI: Kop, Neville, Koga, Hunt, Nilden, Summanen, Spence, Naz, Holdt, Vinberg, Tandberg. Subs: Heeps, Grant, Bartrip, Rybrink, Ahtinen, England, Graham, Gunning-Williams, Thomas.
Arsenal XI: Van Domselaar, Fox, Wubben-Moy, Catley, McCabe, Foord, Caldentey, Cooney-Cross, Mead, Blackstenius, Russo. Subs: Borbe, Codina, Maanum, Smith, Kelly, Pelova, Nighswonger, Hinds, Harwood.
Suzanne Wrack spoke to Arsenal’s Alessia Russo.
“When you get to where we are, there is so much that comes with it, pressures and highs and lows. Doing something like this is a real switch-off from that and it’s something we’re all passionate about as players. We all know the growth of the game is happening really fast, but we also know where we all started. That’s what’s really unique about the women’s game, because we’re all looking at what we can do to leave it in an even better place.”
Here’s the WSL table.
Preamble
Welcome to coverage of the north London derby, with the action taking place out east at Brisbane Road, home of Leyton Orient. It’s a battle of fourth v fifth, the European champions needing an away win to stay in touch with the top three. They face a much improved Tottenham team, lifted by Martin Ho’s arrival as coach. Spurs can leapfrog their rivals if they win.
Kick-off is at 2.30pm UK time. Join me.
