Lauren Hemp says when we are playing our best football, City are an unstoppable force.
That definitely rung true throughout 2025/26 as Andrée Jeglertz’s side secured a historic double as we lifted the Barclays Women’s Super League and FA Cup trophy.
In our 22-game league season, City won 18, drew one and lost three en route to the trophy, totalling 55 points in an incredible campaign.
Second-placed Arsenal were the closest contenders, finishing the season with 51 points.
The Gunners proved they were one of our more difficult foes, with a 1-0 defeat at the Emirates in February a reminder of how hard we would have to work to be named the best in England.
But looking back now, ahead of our clash with the London outfit at the Etihad on Sunday 4 October, Hemp feels the team have learnt a lot from that loss.
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“I think as a group we’ve grown a lot since that game [1-0 defeat at Arsenal],” said the England international.
“We’ve spent the whole of pre-season working hard on things that we maybe thought we could have done better last season.
“Every game’s different so I expect the same at the Etihad coming up but we know what their strengths are and we also know ways to exploit them.
“And we know what our strengths are so we’re going to try and utilise that and make sure that we bring our best selves to that game because if we have an off game then we know they can play better than us but if we’re on it then I feel like we’re unstoppable as a team.”
Andrée Jeglertz’s team welcome Arsenal to the Etihad for a 16:30 (UK) kick-off, with tickets for the game available here.
Both teams are undefeated, with City having won three games from three compared to Arsenal’s one win and two draws.
It means both will be determined to continue the form, but there can only be one winner.
And with the game seeing two of the best teams in Europe going toe-to-toe, it’s a fixture Hemp is always excited to play in and can’t wait to see our fans at the Etihad.
“I think as soon as I go to walk out for the game it’s mainly just excitement,” said Hemp when asked how much she is looking forward to the fixture.
“I think the longer I wait for the game, that’s why I get nervous. But as soon as I get in that turn on and get ready to go, I feel like there’s massive confidence.
“I think us as a group, we should be confident, we’re reigning champions. So for me, it’s just pure excitement.
“I love playing football and I already can’t wait for the next match. So yeah, I’m definitely looking forward to that one. That’s one that I’ve sort of looked out for in the calendar.
“I feel like we’ve got an incredible team, it’s an incredible club.
“I think we play great football and for us as players it really helps when we get as many fans there as possible, pushing us on, especially in the last few minutes of games, it’s the fans that we look to in them tough moments to keep us going and try and grind out results.
“So hopefully we’ll get as many people there as possible.”
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