Live blog: Arsenal vs London City Lionesses
Live updates from Emirates Stadium
Photo: The calm before the storm by Suzy Lycett (@boodlepim)
Live BLog Saturday Sep 6th
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Full time, 4-1
Attendance announced as 38,402
93' Maanum's strike on target prompts a good save from Lete who tips it over the bar
90' 6 minutes added time
89' Arsenal hunting for a 5th goal here, Mead lookuing keen for a hatrick of assists
86' McCabe makes way for Taylor Hinds
83' Maanum finds the back of the net, another assist for Beth Mead who is enjoying herself today
GOOOALLL AGAIN!!!! (4-1)
82' Arsenal's Blackstenius finds the back of the net after Mead's ball in finds her. A very Blackstenius goal
GOOAAALLLLLLLLL!!!
81' Ex-Gunner Teyah Goldie looking set to come on for the visitors as Arseanl struggle to find a third
79' Lete almost has a goalkeeping mishap after Blackstenius takes a shot but is able to claim it and clear it
78' Score remains 2-1 here at Emirates stadium
77' Kennedy puts the ball out at the back, meaning another Arsenal corner, which they have once again found no joy from
75' SUBS: Chloe Kelly makes way for Beth Mead who receives a big cheer. Alessia Russo leaves the field, and Arsenal's UWCL hero, Stina Blackstenius comes on
74' Asllani is down on the edge of the LCL box, holding her ankle and receiving medical attention, the break in play allows the players to have a drink and a regroup
71' A good delivery from McCabe, but the height of the LCL defence proves a challenge and the ball is cleared
70' Arsenal with another corner, McCabe to take
65' Arsenal corner, Mariona to take
63' Kelly brings down Nikita Parris and is shown a yellow card. The two players laugh it off, but LCL now have a free kick at the edge of the final third.
61' Subs: Pelova makes way for Maanum, and Smith comes off for Foord
59' McCabe is down injured again, the Arsenal medics are back on the pitch, the number 11 has spent a lot of time on the ground today
58' Mariona sends the ball in, but it is dealt with by LCL who then send it back to Arsenal's number 8. No joy fro Arsenal here
58' Arsenal free kick to the left of the box, McCabe and Mariona standing over it
53' Smith gets a head on the end of Pelova's ball in, but it is off target and she ends up on the ground, LCL goal kick
52' Corner, on the other side
51' Kelly tries to score her second, but it is deflected wide and out for an Arsenal corner
51' LCL try to counter, but Fox's pace is too much for Parris, flag goes up anyway
50' A seamless movement from Arsenal sees Pelova in the shooting position, she sends the ball over the bar
49' LCL on the counter attack, Katie Reid with a good recovery as Goodwin tried to run down
45' Second half underway
First half: A slow start from Arsenal saw LCL running the show as they pressed well and brought it to the Arsenal defence. Katie Reid's late tackle on Asllani saw Arsenal concede a penalty, which was scored despite van Domselaar diving the right way. Going a goal down seemed to wake the Gunners up a bit, and sensing what they needed to do, they were able to find their forwards more often. Olivia Smith shone on the right wing, linking up well with Emily Fox and Alessia Russo. Smith showed her pedigree when she hit an absolute screamer from outside the box and found the back of the net, bringing Arsenal level and marking her debut in the best way possible. Arsenal continued to dominate London City's box, with Smith and Kelly both attempting shots on the volley. London City struggled to create much at their end, their set pieces didn't bring them any joy. Just before the half, Russo's ball across found Chloe Kelly, who slotted it home to give Arsenal the lead at the break.
2-1
HALF TIME
46' Russo's ball across finds Chloe Kelly who slots it home across the goal, past Lete, making it 2-1 to Arsenal just before the break
46' GOOAALLLLLL! KELLYYYYYYY
45' Smith sends a ball in, finds Kelly, who finds McCabe. McCabe's ball back in finds Russo who heads the ball on target, saved by Lete
45' 3 minutes added time onto this first half, can Arsenal take the lead before the break?
43' Asllani to take this free kick, LCL are in close range here. She sends it to the top of the box and finds Zelem who sends her shot over the bar. (1-1)
42' LCL free kick on the edge of the box as Fox fouls Imuran, the last roll of the dice before half-time for the visitors
41' Fox deals with the LCL counter attack as Nikita Parris tries to break through
40' Kelly again, attempts to volley the ball into the back of the net, but like Smith earlier, it goes slightly wide, some strong warning sides for Arsenal
40' Kelly tries to shoot after Arsenal find themselves forward on the counter attack, but her shot is blocked quickly by the LCL defence
38' Russo's ball in the box finds Smith who tries to score on the volley, sends it slightly wide but gets Lete moving. A close one for Arsenal, (1-1)
37' Mariona to take the free kick, sends it in, ends up with Smith who shows her skills once again, but isn't able to keep the ball in at the byline. LCL goalkick
36' Arsenal free kick after Russo is fouled
35' Russo puts a ball across the front of the goal, all it needed was someone to head it in, sadly no one there, LCL clear the ball
34' Arsenal have another corner, McCabe takes it, but it is sent back due to an issue in the box
32' Smith shows off her excellent footwork, trying to make something happen at the egde of the box, play continues and the ball ends up out for a corner
31' Smith fine to continue, the ball is with Fox by the halfway line
31' McCabe's corner delivery is quite long, the ball bounces around, and Olivia Smith goes down with what looks like a head injury
30' Pelova almost makes it 2, but Kumagai gets the ball out for an Arsenal corner
28' Olivia Smith fires one in from outside the box, an incredible goal to mark her debut
28' GOOOOAALLLLL
27' Asllani delivers the ball to the hands of van Domselaar who clears it
26' London City have a corner after Isobel Goodwin's ball is tackled out. Asllani the goalscorer to take it
21' Olivia Smith shows her skills and takes the ball to the byline, tries to send in a cross but puts it into the hands of Elene Tete
21' Fox dribbles down the right hand side with pace, the ball is tackled out for an Arsenal throw in
20' McCabe is back on her feet, players preparing to restart the game
19' Katie McCabe is down with an injury, the Arsenal medical staff are on the pitch. LCL gather at their water bottles for a team talk
17' London City have the lead after scoring a penalty, (0-1), hopefully Katie Reid doesn't let it affect her game
16' Asllani sends it past van Domselaar who did dive the right way and get a hand to it, but couldn't keep it out. (0-1)
15' London City penalty to be taken by the fouled player herself, captain Asllani
14' Katie Reid tackles Asllani in the box, sending her rolling over, London City have a penalty
13' LCL have a free kick on the left of the box, Aslani sends it in, but Arsenal deal with it
9' rare to see Katie Reid's height matched by her opposite number, but Isobel Goodwin stands just as tall. So far so good for Reid though
8' Emily Fox finds herself with the ball at the edge of the box and attempts a shot, but sends it wide
8' Smith feeds a ball to Fox just outside the box, but nothing is created, Arsenal now passing round the box
7' Some fantastic footwork from young-Gun Katie Reid is met with a huge applause as she finds her way out of a tight area
7' Olivia Smith demonstrating her speed early on here, so far always first to the 50/50s
5' Olivia Smith draws a foul
4' The ball hasn't moved away from the area of the previous throw in, and LCL have another
2' Kim Little overshoots a pass, LCL throw in at the Arsenal end
2' a poor delivery finds a LCL block, the ball bounces around in the box and is out for a goal kick
1' Arsenal corner
1' Kick off!