Three goals in a fine first-half display laid the foundations for a thumping win over Liverpool at Emirates Stadium.
After a dominant first half-hour, we scored twice in as many minutes to take control of the game. First Caitlin Foord netted from close range after the visitors failed to clear a corner, before Kim Little forced an own goal off Jasmine Matthews barely 90 seconds later.
Mariona Caldentey curled home a stunner from just inside the area to make it 3-0, in a half in which Frida Maanum also hit both posts.
Substitute Beth Mead was instrumental in our fourth after the break, the ball finally going in off Matthews for her second own goal of the evening.
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Just four days after the disappointment of losing the first leg of our Champions League quarter final in Madrid, we were back in front of the Emirates Stadium faithful, switching our attentions once again to the WSL. And we came racing out of the blocks from the first whistle.
Chloe Kelly was the first to have a sight of goal, she did well to fashion a chance on her right foot but got too much elevation on her shot. It was all one-way traffic in the opening 20 minutes – Maanum also tried her luck but the angle was always against her.
Then a wonderful move, starting with a Maanum backheel to Kelly on the right, ended with Alessia Russo seeing her shot deflected just the wrong side of the upright.
Midway through the half we came within a whisker of breaking the deadlock. A deft flick from Russo on the edge of the area released Maanum, one-on-one with Rachael Laws, but her shot struck the post and bounced to safety.
The chances were beginning to pile up, and eventually the pressure told. A corner from the right caused panic in the Liverpool defence, the ball fell to Maanum who helped it to Foord to stab home from close range. It was the Australian’s 50th goal for us in her 157th appearance.
No sooner had we taken the lead than we doubled our advantage. We turned the ball over inside the Liverpool half and Little raced into the penalty box. The captain’s low cross was intended for Foord, but the unfortunate Matthews steered it into her own net. Our dominance in the opening half hour had at last been rewarded.
Maanum nearly made it three. Having already hit the post once, she struck the other when a Foord pull back fell nicely to her inside the area.
We were looking dangerous every time we attacked. Foord had a long-range effort deflected over before a moment of class from Mariona increased our lead. Again Liverpool were desperately trying to soak up the pressure before our Spanish midfielder took control just inside the area, and planted her left-footed shot beautifully into the top corner.
The only blot on a fantastic first-half was Katie McCabe picking up a booking that rules her out of our next league game at Crystal Palace.
The second-half began how the first finished – with Renee Slegers’ side dictating the play. Mead and Lia Walti came on for the final 25 minutes or so and within moments Mead had a huge hand in the fourth goal. The winger’s low cross from the right was diverted past Laws by Matthews as Russo put her under pressure.
Emirates Stadium then rose to welcome back Victoria Pelova – back in competitive action 308 days after suffering an ACL injury last summer. Kelly came close to netting a late fifth, but by then the game had long been comfortably wrapped up, with the returning Daphne van Domselaar rarely called upon all evening.
The win consolidates our second position in the WSL, now five points behind Chelsea ahead of their trip to third-placed Manchester City tomorrow.
Arsenal: Van Domselaar, Fox (Mead 66), Williamson (Reid 87), Catley, Mariona (Pelova 74), Little (C) (Walti 66), McCabe (Nighswonger 46), Maanum, Kelly, Foord, Russo
Subs not used: Zinsberger, Cooney-Cross, Hurtig, Blackstenius
Liverpool: Laws, Fisk (Bernabe 83), Matthews, Clark, Kapocs, Nagano (Bartel 74), Hinds, Holland (Hobinger 64), Kerr, Roman Haug, Smith (Kiernan 74)
Subs not used: Micah, Evans, Enderby, Bonner, Shaw
Attendance: 35,628
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