Arsenal Women v Manchester City Women - The Opposition

Manchester City Women look to continue their fine start to the season as they face Arsenal at Meadow Park. The blues currently top the table having won three and drawn one of their opening four games and lead Chelsea on goal difference.

City finished fourth behind the Gunners last season and have set their stall out early, and blues fans will be hoping Gareth Taylor’s side will be able to stay the course this season and claim silverware again.

They face an Arsenal side that have looked a bit out of sorts but still pose a danger to the blues. Here, we take a look at the Gunners, their form, key players and the current boss.

Form

After winning neither of their opening two WSL games, Arsenal won the following two and are steadily climbing the table. A surprise opening day defeat at home to Liverpool was followed by a 2-2 draw at United. Added to that, the Gunners were beaten in the Champions League qualifying by PSG on penalties made it a miserable start to the season.

Two injury-time goals by Katie McCabe and Alessio Russo saw the Gunners overturn a 1-0 deficit at home to Aston Villa and a brace by McCabe saw Arsenal scrape past Bristol City in their last WSL outing.

Ones To Watch

McCabe is the clear and obvious danger in the Arsenal side right now. Usually playing as left-back, the Republic of Ireland international can also operate on the left side of midfield and it shows, with three goals already to her name this season. She has attempted seven shots at goal and has a shot accuracy rate of 86%,

But Arsenal are packed with stars, with England captain Leah Williamson, former United striker Russo, Caitlin Foord, Stina Blackstenius and Beth Mead, who has returned to action following 11 months out injured.

While they have struggled so far this season, it would be unwise to write the Gunners off at any point.

The Boss

Jonas Eidevall has been in charge at Meadow Park since 2021 and led Arsenal to Conti Cup success last season, beating City in the semi-final and Chelsea in the final. It was their sixth League Cup title and ninth appearance in the final.

Eidevall’s previous managerial role was with Swedish side FC Rosengard, where he had a similar record as his current one with a win ratio of 64%. Under Eidevall’s leadership, Arsenal have played 83 matches, won 54 and lost 17, which gives him a slightly improved win ratio of 65%.

Last Time at Meadow Park

The blues visited the home of the Gunners in April and started so well, with a goal from Bunny Shaw after just five minutes. Despite this, the blues allowed Arsenal to come back into the game and Frida Maanum levelled in the 67th minute, before Lia Walti put the Gunners in front 8 minutes later. The blues couldn’t find a way back into the game and Arsenal took the points.