Arsenal Women suffered a 3-2 pre-season defeat against AC Milan in La Manga as Selina Cerci scored her first goal for the club before a dramatic late winner.
Renée Slegers’ side were completing their warm-weather training camp in Spain, having already beaten Crystal Palace 2-1 in their opening pre-season fixture.
Milan went ahead after 25 minutes through Thea Kyvag, capitalising on confusion in the Arsenal defence. The Gunners still created several openings before half-time, with Alessia Russo and Stina Blackstenius both hitting the woodwork. Arsenal’s official match report described the opener as coming against the run of play.
Valuable minutes in the tank 🔋
Read the report from our friendly against AC Milan, as we conclude our pre-season camp in La Manga 🗞️
— Arsenal Women (@ArsenalWFC) August 13, 2026
Arsenal Women hit back twice before late Milan winner
Arsenal responded after the break through Leah Williamson, who met Olivia Smith’s corner with a powerful header to level the game.
Sara Stokic restored Milan’s advantage around the 70-minute mark, although young goalkeeper Isabella Damm later produced an impressive double save to prevent the Italian side extending their lead.
Cerci then provided one of the biggest positives of the afternoon.
After first heading Chloe Kelly’s corner against the crossbar, the summer signing produced a superb strike from outside the penalty area to score her first Arsenal goal and make it 2-2.
There was still one final twist.
Monica Renzotti struck seconds from time to give Milan a 3-2 victory and deny Arsenal after they had fought back from behind twice.
The result concludes Arsenal’s La Manga camp, where Slegers has been integrating several summer arrivals into her squad. ReadArsenal highlighted earlier this week how the new-look group had stepped up preparations in Spainahead of the new WSL campaign.
Arsenal next face Paris FC at Meadow Park on 23 August as preparations continue for their league opener away at Brighton.
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