Kim Little spearheaded a 2-0 victory for Arsenal over Aston Villa to kick off their FA Cup campaign at Meadow Park on Sunday afternoon.
A goal and an assist for the Gunners captain was needed to overcome a strong performance from the visitors, with plenty of new faces on show for both sides.
Much has been made of Arsenal‘s 10-year trophy drought in the Adobe Women’s FA Cup so it was no surprise to see Renée Slegers go full strength for a tricky tie against Aston Villa. That same Aston Villa side had held Arsenal to a 1-1 draw at the Emirates Stadium earlier this season. Lotte Wubben-Moy came in for the injured Leah Williamson. Stina Blackstenius started and Alessia Russo was preferred to Frida Maanum in the 10, but these were the only changes from last week’s 0-0 draw against Manchester United.
Aston Villa were missing forward Rachel Daly from the squad through injury, so Missy Bo Kearns started in her place to face Arsenal. Elle Roebuck and Lucy Staniforth were the only other changes from their victory over Brighton last weekend.
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The Lineups
ARS: Borbe; McCabe, Catley, Wubben-Moy, Fox; Caldentey, Little; Smith, Mead, Russo, Blackstenius
AST: Roebuck; Wilms, Maritz, Parker, Patten, Maltby; Kearns, Taylor, Staniforth; Hanson, Hijikata
The Action
It was all Arsenal early on as they looked to take advantage of Aston Villa’s positive approach, peppering the visitors with balls in behind their high backline. It was the duo of Beth Mead and Emily Fox on the right-hand side that were controlling the early exchanges. However that progress was tempered by an unfortunate injury to the US international that saw new signing Smillia Holmberg subbed on.
The home side’s strongest chance of the opening 25 minutes would come from that right-hand side. Substitute Holmberg made an immediate impact, bursting down the line she whipped a ball across but Russo couldn’t manoeuvre the ball to either side of Ellie Roebuck, who comfortably collected.
The visitors weren’t deterred by Arsenal’s early in-roads however and responded straight away with a counterattack. The move saw Wubben-Moy dragged out of position, leaving Maya Hijikata unmarked, but her header went just over.
Mead was consistently lively on the wing as a wayward cross from the Lioness ended up hitting the bar. However the Gunners were being made to rue their missed early chances as Villa grew into the half, playing with no fear while Anna Patten, playing against her former club, emboldened a defiant defence.
Roebuck continued her strong performance, denying Russo again from another perfect Holmberg cross. This time, Russo managed to steer it to the bottom corner but Roebuck got down quickly and cleared the danger. Arsenal were beginning to look visibly frustrated at their many missed chances.
The first half closed out with both sides missing huge chances to go a goal to the good. Mead fired one into the side netting from the edge of the box after some quick build-up between Caldentey and Little. As for Villa, they nearly silenced the Meadow Park faithful. Youngster Rachel Maltby was only denied at the back post by a heroic last-ditch tackle from, once again, Beth Mead.
Roebuck’s excellence continued into the second half. After taking a worrying boot to the face just before the break, she came back out and denied Wubben-Moy from close range with a spectacular save.
Arsenal would finally break the deadlock after a defiant defensive display, and it was captain Kim Little who changed things for Slegers side. A bursting run through the lines saw the Scottish international suddenly in an acre of space, allowing her to cut the ball across for Blackstenius to bury it in the bottom corner to lead 1-0.
Then, soon after, it was 2-0 and this time it was Little putting the ball in the net herself. The Scot found herself in the right place at the right time, pouncing on a loose ball from a corner, doubling Arsenal’s lead and calming any nerves from the home fans with her reliable quality.
From this point, it was a case of killing the game and controllingthings for the European champions as they looked to deal with Aston Villa’s quick transitions better than in the first 45. That was done successfully with a solid performance from Wubben-Moy, the standout in the Arsenal defence as she deputised for the injured Leah Williamson.
As the game fizzled out, Caitlin Foord looked to put it to bed but saw her chance flash past the post, but it didn’t matter to the result as it ended 2-0 at Meadow Park.
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Kim Little’s Captain’s Performance for Arsenal against Aston Villa
There’s very little that Arsenal legend Kim Little hasn’t done during her tenure in North London but one thing missing from her illustrious career is lifting the FA Cup as captain at Wembley. However with more performances like this, she’ll be ticking that off come May.
You could say this every week, but she absolutely ran the game from the middle of the park; dictating tempo and giving the home side a sense of calm that was desperately needed after a frustrating first half that saw Villa deal with them well. Her burst of pace for the first goal caught her marker sleeping and allowed her to create a chance out of nothing. When she’s in those positions, it looks like she has all the time in the world to pick out a pass.
No one on the pitch deserved to get the winning goal more than her, and the fans at Meadow Park weren’t shy in singing her praises. There’s been a lot of anxiety around what Arsenal do once she retires. But when you have such a world class operator still playing at the highest level, you have to put that to one side and simply appreciate just how good she is.
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Aston Villa’s Roebuck’s bravery a highlight against Arsenal
While it ended in disappointment, Natalia Arroyo’s side can leave Meadow Park with pride after putting in a strong performance away from home. It was Ellie Roebuck who was the standout, as she showed her class throughout and kept Aston Villa in the game, frustrating Arsenal especially in the first half.
Alessia Russo would’ve been sick of the sight of her as she repeatedly pulled out fantastic saves to prevent Russo from giving Arsenal the lead. Near the end of the first half, Roebuck bravely dove at a loose ball and ended up connecting with the boot of Stina Blackstenius and was down for some time. She stayed on and continued her excellent performance in the second half with a black eye to show for it.
Roebuck hasn’t had much gametime since returning to England last summer but after everything she has been through in the last few seasons, it is a joy to see her back at her best, and the English game is all the better for having her in it.