City’s 13-game Barclays Women’s Super League winning streak came to end following a narrow 1-0 loss to Arsenal.
Andrée Jeglertz’s side arrived in north London chasing a 14th victory in succession which would match the competition’s best-ever.
But an Olivia Smith goal on 17 minutes was enough to see the league leaders beaten in the top-flight for the first time since the opening day of the campaign.
Regardless of the disappointing day in the capital, the Blues still possess an eight-point lead at the division’s summit ahead of the final seven WSL games of the term.
WHAT HAPPENED
A breathless start opened the latest edition of the most played WSL fixture of all time with end-to-end action.
But the first goal would go Arsenal’s way on 17 minutes when Mariona Caldentey played a precise ball into Smith who then rounded Ayaka Yamashita to tap into an empty net.
The hosts were then ascendency and dictating play from the engine room with player-to-player marking, but City beat the press with Lauren Hemp sliding the ball to Bunny who then under-hit her effort into Daphne van Domselaar’s grateful gloves.
Jeglertz’s team, the league’s top scorers, were being limited to half chances on the break by a gritty Gunners display and Yamashita was called into action twice on the cusp of half-time when she turned Alessia Russo’s strike wide before tipping a Beth Mead header over the bar.
City were still in the game heading into the second half, though, and just after the hour mark, Hemp raced behind the hosts’ defence before going down under a challenge from Caldentey with the goal at her mercy – but the referee was unmoved.
That, though, gave us fresh life and Vivianne Miedema found the back of the net but was adjudged to have fouled Katie McCabe when rounding Van Domselaar and prodding home.
In search of a precious equaliser, the league leaders continued to push and applied pressure to Arsenal deep into six added but it proved not to be our day in north London as we fell to the narrow defeat.
NOT OUR DAY
Only a second league defeat so far in 2025/26 for City, it just wasn’t to be our day in north London despite Jegerltz’s side’s committed display.
After entering the second half a goal down, we continued to ask the Gunners questions and on another day would have perhaps found that precious equaliser.
But we’re still in the box seat heading into the final seven league matches and as we’ve already shown this year we can respond well to setbacks.
SHOT STOPPER
Yamashita delivered a strong display, especially in the first half, against Arsenal with a string of impressive saves.
She did brilliantly to deny both Katie McCabe and Russo with reactive stops and commanded her area fantastically against a team looking to benefit from set-plays and balls behind our defence.
COMBATIVE COFFEY
In what was only her third appearance for City since her January arrival, USA international Sam Coffey looked at home again in the WSL.
She delivered a battling performance from the engine room which extinguished much of the threat from an area where the hosts orchestrated many of their attacks from.
That meant we could grab a hold of proceedings and start to push the hosts towards their defensive third. There’s certainly more to come from Coffey in sky blue.
HOW WE LINED UP
City XI: Yamashita, Rose, Knaak, Greenwood (C), Casparij, Hasegawa, Blindkilde Brown (Coffey 46’), Hemp, Kerolin (Beney 73’), Miedema (Clinton 90’+5’), Shaw.
Unused substitutes: Keating, Coombs, Ouahabi, Lohmann, Prior, Murphy.
Arsenal XI: Van Domselaar, Fox, Wubben-Moy, Catley (Williamson 84’), Caldentey (Codina 89’), Mead, Little (C), McCabe (Holmberg 84’), Smith (Kelly 84’), Foord, Russo
Unused substitutes: Votikova, Williams, Maanum, Pelova, Harwood
WHAT IT MEANS
The loss at the Emirates means we remain on 39 points, eight points clear of second place with seven WSL matches to play this season.
Last updated: 8 February 2026
WHAT’S NEXT
City’s next assignment is a WSL meeting with Leicester at the Joie Stadium on Friday 13 February, with kick-off scheduled for 19:00 (UK).
Fri 13 Feb
Barclays WSL
Man City
Manchester City
Leicester
Leicester City FC
News about Arsenal v Man City
Arsenal 1-0 City - Barclays WSL Stats and Reaction
Read more