Man City 3-2 Arsenal (Oct 4, 2025) Game Analysis

Iman Beney’s late strike secured a fourth straight WSL victory for Manchester City with a thrilling 3-2 win over Arsenal.

Khadija Shaw put City ahead before Mariona Caldentey levelled and, in an end-to-end encounter, Kerstin Casparij sent the hosts back in front.

Chloe Kelly returned to haunt her former club with a stunning equaliser which looked to have earnt Arsenal a point seven minutes from time but 19-year-old Beney had the final say with a cool strike in the 88th minute.

Victory means second-placed City have four wins from five league games, while Arsenal slipped to their first defeat of the season following back-to-back draws.

“We’re very disappointed,” Arsenal head coach Renee Slegers said. “I think it’s two top teams going against each other, so you’re prepared that momentum will shift. We’re disappointed, conceding three goals. I think the two goals that we score today are high quality goals.

“It’s about those momentum shifts. When we have momentum, capitalise, be ruthless and protect yourself really well for when the momentum shifts again. And I think that’s definitely something we’ll look at and that we want to do better.”

The hosts went close early as Aoba Fujino scuffed an effort wide and Arsenal threatened when Olivia Smith broke down the right before hitting a low pass into the box, but Ayaka Yamashita latched onto the ball and Caitlin Foord had a shot blocked.

Steph Catley did well to turn Fujino’s effort behind before Shaw nodded wide from the resulting corner and Daphne van Domselaar was called into action twice in quick succession to save Hasegawa’s menacing corner before palming away Vivianne Miedema’s close-range header.

City then opened the scoring in the 36th minute when Fujino quickly passed into Casparij on the right and she chipped the ball in for Shaw to nod into the bottom corner.

They found the net again four minutes later when Shaw and Casparij linked up again, but the full-back’s strike was chalked off for offside.

Iman Beney’s late strike earned Manchester City all three points.

Charlotte Tattersall/Getty Images

Arsenal responded only 43 seconds after the restart when Emily Fox found Caldentey in the centre of the area and the midfielder hit a cool finish into the top corner.

Alessia Russo smashed an effort wide as the Gunners looked to capitalise on their positive start but City quickly retook the lead in the 61st minute from a corner when Van Domselaar’s save from Shaw’s header fell into a packed six-yard area for Casparij to hack home.

They nearly had a third just moments later when Van Domselaar made an excellent stop from Shaw’s powerful header.

Substitute Beth Mead forced a low save from Ayaka Yamashita before the City goalkeeper denied Blackstenius and Van Domselaar saved from Shaw again at the opposite end.

Former City forward Kelly equalised in the 83rd minute with a thumping finish from the edge of the area, which took a slight deflection before landing in the top corner.

A frenetic finale saw City claw back the lead again when Shaw picked out Beney and she hit a low strike into the bottom corner to seal victory.

Source link