Arsenal delivered a resounding statement to league leaders Manchester City on Saturday, demonstrating that the Women's Super League championship remains wide open after a dominant 7-0 victory over relegation‑bound Leicester City at the Emirates Stadium. The Gunners’ attacking display was highlighted by a brace from Swedish forward Stina Blackstenius and another from Danish midfielder Smilla Holmberg, while Spanish winger Mariona Caldentey and England captain Leah Williamson also found the net. The opening goal came from a header by Norway’s Frida Maanum, who was celebrating her 100th appearance in the WSL. The win propelled Arsenal past Manchester United into third place, narrowing the gap to second‑placed Chelsea to two points and leaving them eight points shy of City’s lead.
However, Arsenal still have two matches in hand and four fixtures remaining in total, meaning the race is far from settled. Their next challenge arrives on Wednesday, May 6, when they travel to Brighton for a 7:45 p.m. kickoff that will be broadcast live on Sky Sports Football. Leicester’s 15th defeat of the campaign confirms they will finish at the bottom of the table.
Consequently, they will be drawn into a promotion/relegation playoff against the team that finishes third in the WSL 2 division – a spot likely to be claimed by Charlton Athletic, Birmingham City or Crystal Palace – with their place in the top flight hanging in the balance. While Arsenal manager Renee Slegers opted to rest several key players, including Williamson and forward Alessia Russo, in preparation for the upcoming Champions League semi‑final second leg against Lyon, the match still took a while to gain momentum.
The Gunners controlled possession from the outset, but it was not until the 25th minute that they began to translate that dominance into clear chances. Once the breakthrough arrived, Arsenal never relented. Maanum, on the occasion of her centennial WSL appearance, played a pivotal role in the opening trio of goals. After she opened the scoring herself, she supplied a perfectly timed pass to Holmberg, who netted her first goal for Arsenal just two minutes later, shortly after her January transfer from Hammarby.
A subsequent effort from Emily Fox struck the crossbar as Arsenal pressed for a fourth, but the scoreline was already 3-0 with 41 minutes elapsed when Maanum delivered a delicate chip to Blackstenius, who finished with a deft touch. In first‑half stoppage time, Blackstenius added a second, capitalising on a pass from Victoria Pelova that found her unmarked in the box.
That goal marked Arsenal’s 100th strike of the Slegers era, and the tally quickly rose to 101 only two minutes after the restart when Holmberg tapped in a pass from Olivia Smith. Leah Williamson later added her own contribution, powering a ball into the near post for a comfortable finish. At that point, it appeared the record for the biggest margin of victory in the WSL – Arsenal’s 11‑1 demolition of Bristol City in December 2019 – might be under threat, with almost half an hour still to play. Nonetheless, the Gunners chose to temper their celebrations, ultimately settling for what becomes their joint‑third largest win in league history.
Speaking to Sky Sports after the match, head coach Renee Slegers praised her side’s performance: "It’s the Arsenal way you saw today. With these short turnarounds and being active in different competitions, it’s really important to be in the here and now and focused on the task, and we were. We did so many things so well in the game, so I’m really happy with how we stayed disciplined throughout with different players playing in different positions. It was a really good team performance.
I’m really happy with the clean sheet." She continued, "I’ve said it so many times, but the readiness of the players is so good and we trust every single player to play. We know they can play different roles for the team as well. Everyone knows the role they can play and everyone is bringing their strengths.
There are such high levels of communication and trust within the team on the pitch and off the pitch. But we have nothing yet, so we have to keep on pushing.
I don’t know if we can catch Man City. We go step by step. Today was one game and we did what we needed to do.
That’s really good, but we have to recover straight after and, in three days, we have the next game coming up against Lyon." Leicester manager Rick Passmoor, also interviewed by Sky Sports, expressed disappointment but remained focused on the future: "Disappointing performance, disappointing result. We know we are in the play‑off game so our focus now is these next two games to put us in a position ready for the play‑off game.
As we know, WSL 2 is full of talent, very organised and very well coached. We have to accept it and be responsible for our preparations across the board." He added, "It’s all to do with confidence.
Also in terms of morale, being together. There’s a lot of deflated bodies out there now. We’ve got to look at that side and our mentality. Up until the first goal, we defended well and played well.
We looked after the ball really well at times. We’ve got to make sure that when the tide turns, we are staying in the games.
It’s going to be a challenge. Everyone has got to be united. We have to bring our specialist areas into the training ground every day to make sure the girls are ready for the play‑off game. We’ve got to remain together in the trenches.
It might just take one scruffy goal to change the mindset of the group. We control the controllable.
The play‑off is a one‑off." Arsenal’s emphatic victory not only boosts their confidence but also serves as a reminder to Manchester City that the title race is far from decided. With several weeks left in the season, both the Gunners and the Citizens will need to maintain consistency, manage squad rotation, and navigate the demanding schedule of domestic and European fixtures if they hope to finish the campaign on top.