Arsenal Women head coach Renée Slegers felt that experienced midfielder Lia Walti made a crucial impact from the bench in her side’s 4-3 win over Manchester City.
Early goals from Mariona Caldentey and Lotte Wubben-Moy gave Arsenal a dream start before Mary Fowler halved the deficit. Vivianne Miedema levelled five minutes into the second half, before quick-fire goals from Frida Maanum and a controversial Fowler penalty made it 3-3.
Arsenal struggled to find control in the game until Walti’s introduction, and Stina Blackstenius helped to capitalise by netting the winner 12 minutes from time. The Swiss midfielder was unable to start with her minutes being managed after a recent injury.
Slegers said of Walti: “She’s got great leadership on the pitch, she’s a great communicator and covers a lot of space, and she reads the game really well.
“She was exactly what we needed today. We often speak about game-changers from an attacking point of view, but she was definitely a game-changer from us from a midfield perspective."
Blackstenius was chosen to lead the line, partly down to her illustrious catalogue of important goals against City. "We know that Stina has been very effective against Man City before,” said Slegers.
“When players step forward and there's space in behind it's always good to have Stina on the pitch."