A point at Liverpool should now be enough to secure direct Champions League qualification after Arsenal finally cleared their fixture backlog.
Photo by Justin Setterfield/Getty Images
Arsenal defeated Everton 1-0 thanks to an injury-time goal from Stina Blackstenius, finally moving above Chelsea after months spent chasing them because of the three postponed games from January.
Had the WSL scheduled those rearranged fixtures more sensibly, the race for second place could have been concluded in Arsenal’s favour much earlier.
Arsenal are now two points clear of Chelsea with a goal difference of +37, while Chelsea are on +23.
That means Arsenal need only a point away at Liverpool to finish second, unless Chelsea beat Manchester United by 14 goals, which would not happen in any normal circumstances.
Unlike in previous seasons, second place in the WSL now brings direct qualification for the league phase of teh Champions League, avoiding the qualifying rounds where Arsenal failed to make it through a few seasons ago in Linkoping.
For the final home game, which ended with an emotional goodbye to the departing players, Renee Slegers made three changes from the Aston Villa match, with Beth Mead, Victoria Pelova and Katie McCabe coming into the starting XI. The team was Anneke Borbe; Emily Fox, Lotte Wubben-Moy, Laia Codina, McCabe; Pelova, Mariona Caldentey; Mead, Frida Maanum, Alessia Russo, Olivia Smith.
Photo by Justin Setterfield/Getty Images
Overall, it was a strange game.
Arsenal hit the woodwork three times and also made defensive errors that allowed Everton in too often.
It felt like an end-of-season match, lacking intensity at times and carrying the sense that Arsenal had another gear available.
The substitutions did inject energy, however, and were involved in the winning goal.
Blackstenius scored the decisive goal, with Leah Williamson’s challenge on Courtney Brosnan leaving the Everton goalkeeper incapacitated when the striker shot and scored.
It was a deserved win because Arsenal tried to create multiple chances, even if they were not efficient enough in the final third.
After the game, the departing players were honoured and their families were invited on to the pitch. They were queueing in the tunnel next to the mixed zone, which allowed me to catch up with some of them.
What can definitely be taken from the game is that the players are starting to look tired.
It has been a long season, with 42 games across five different competitions.
Arsenal have won one trophy, the FIFA Women’s Champions Cup, effectively confirming them as the best team in the world, and a changing of the guard this summer should hopefully leave Renee Slegers with a refreshed squad capable of competing in the three tournaments they will enter next season, the Champions League, the league and the FA Cup
