Key events
22 min Smith beats Linari in the area and screws a cross from the byline that is well held by Lete. Arsenal are starting to up the tempo.
21 min “Money is ruining this game,” writes Charles Antaki.
I’d love to reply, Charles, but there’s no time: Olivia Smith is on the ball and looking dangerous.
20 min Parris is booked for a studs-showing lunge at McCabe, who rolls around in pain. While she receives treatment, the London City manager Jocelyn Precheur conducts a quick mid-match interview with the BBC. Heaven help us all.
GOAL! Arsenal 0-1 London City Lionesses (Asllani 17 pen)
Kosovare Asllani slips a precise penalty into the bottom-right corner. Van Domselaar went the right way but couldn’t quite reach it.
Well, well. London City Lionesses, the unashamed upstarts of the WSL, lead at the Emirates.
15 min: Penalty to London City!
A bad moment for the teenager Katie Reid, who trips Asllani to concede a clear penalty. Reid did well originally to make a challenge on Goodwin but then lunged for the loose ball and was beaten to it by Asllani. From that moment, a penalty was inevitable.
14 min Asllani, on the left wing, clips a dangerous free-kick into the Arsenal area. Van Domselaar comes through the crowd to make a decisive and important punch.
10 min At the other end, a loose pass goes straight to Parris 30 yards out. She takes the shot early, with Van Domselaar well off her line, but doesn’t get any elevation on it.
9 min There’s the first chance. After a patient move from Arsenal, the right-back Emily Fox drags a left-foot shot well wide from the edge of the area.
8 min Arsenal are starting to settle, with their record signing Smith producing a couple of nice touches. No chances for either side yet.
5 min London City have made an assured start, with most of the early play taking places in the Arsenal half.
2 min Chloe Kelly, supersub for England and starter for Arsenal, wins the first corner of the game on the left. Caldentey’s inswinger is chested away at the near post.
1 min Peep peep! Alessia Russo gets the match under way, with Arsenal kick from left to right as we watch. It’s a lovely day in north London. Sun is shining, weather is sweet, yeah.
A reminder of the teams, who are about to take the field
Arsenal (poss 4-2-3-1) Van Domselaar; Fox, Reid, Catley, McCabe; Little, Pelova; Smith, Caldentey, Kelly; Russo.
Subs: Zinsberger, Wubben-Moy, Codina, Mead, Maanum, Foord, Hinds, Blackstenius, Cooney-Cross.
London City Lionesses (poss 3-5-1-1) Lete; Fernandez, Linari, Kennedy; Parris, Imuran, Zelem, Perez, Kumagai; Asllani; Goodwin.
Subs: Orman, Goldie, Corrales, Jakobsson, Franssi, Roddar, Lindstrom, Sangare, Henson.
A limping Leah Williamson, her right leg in a brace, is parading the Champions League trophy at the Emirates. Yep, it really did happen.
Here’s more on London City Lionesses’ remarkable signing of Grace Geyoro from PSG
Team news
Arsenal’s record signing Olivia Smith goes straight into the starting XI. With Leah Williamson injured, the teenager Katie Reid starts in defence.
LCL have a number of debutants, including Katie Zelem and Nikita Parris – but not the injured Danielle van de Donk or Grace Geyoro, whose signing was not registered in time for this weekend’s fixtures.
Arsenal (poss 4-2-3-1) Van Domselaar; Fox, Reid, Catley, McCabe; Little, Pelova; Kelly, Caldentey, Smith; Russo.
Subs: Zinsberger, Wubben-Moy, Codina, Mead, Maanum, Foord, Hinds, Blackstenius, Cooney-Cross.
London City Lionesses (poss 3-5-1-1) Lete; Fernandez, Linari, Kennedy; Parris, Imuran, Zelem, Perez, Kumagai; Asllani; Goodwin.
Subs: Orman, Goldie, Corrales, Jakobsson, Franssi, Roddar, Lindstrom, Sangare, Henson.
Suzanne Wrack is chatting all things WSL on our sibling blog, Matchday Live. Here’s her take on London City Lionesses’ dramatic rise.
Given Michele Kang’s ongoing commitment and deep pockets I think we can say with a decent degree of certainty that London City Lionesses will be a serious force within the next few years. Top four this season is probably a stretch, but anything’s possible. The squad is stacked with top level experience and upcoming talent but it could take some time for them to gel and settle. That’s where teams bidding to break into the top four have fallen short before. Each team that has finished fifth in the last few years, has bought the following summer with ambitions of breaking into the top four but have struggled with the high turnover of players and fallen way short.
Preamble
The European champions start their season today. And they’re not even the talk of the town. London City Lionesses, who were only founded in 2019, have made a splash by signing a host of stars ahead of their first season in the WSL. Yesterday they signed Grace Geyoro for a reported world-record fee, and it’s hard to recall any team in English football history who have started their first top-flight season with such an eye-catching squad.
There’s no I in team, though, and at this stage we have no idea how LCL’s revamped squad will gel. The best-case scenario is that they smash the glass ceiling and break into the top four; it’s also possible that reality bites and fifth place becomes their short-term ambition. Today will provide some clues. If they can hold their own away to the European champions, there will be little to fear.
Arsenal broke the world record earlier in the summer to sign Olivia Smith from Liverpool. Chloe Kelly has also returned to the club on a permanent deal, with the addition of Taylor Hinds and Anneke Borbe completing a good window’s work. All told, the air at the Emirates Stadium is thick with optimism and hope.
Kick off 1.30pm.
