For many years, the women’s North London derby has been a question of proximity rather than serious sporting rivalry. Arsenal have run roughshod over their local rivals in all but a handful of games, so to come into a game where Tottenham were above them in the league and looking like worthy sporting adversaries was something of a novelty.
The pressure on Renée Slegers has become a feature of this season, with seemingly no end to her ability to stay in her job as head coach of Arsenal. When asked before the game if she was surprised to still be in the job, she said it wasn’t something she had thought about.
Her pre-match demeanour was of someone aware that even though she had lasted through a run of only two wins in eight games this season, she would not survive leaving Tottenham without three points. Her mantra before the game was that her team needed to go “game by game, and the next one is the North London derby”.
This win was vital for an Arsenal team on their longest-ever run in the WSL without a victory, having dropped points in their past five league matches. The performance, however, will have done little to quell fears that this is not a head coach who can lead them to sustained success.
Slegers dropped Ona Batlle to the bench, brought in Taylor Hinds and Caitlin Foord for their first WSL starts of the season and used Olivia Smith as a No 9. The constant tinkering among players has been a feature of Slegers’ spin-the-wheel approach to finding a team that clicks. Hinds has regularly been left out of matchday squads this season – an indication of just how highly thought of she has been by her coach.
Arsenal’s inability to do what they intend to do this season was summed up in Tottenham’s goal. Leah Williamson desperately tried to handle the ball on the line but failed to do so, leading to Tinka Tandberg giving them the lead, although given it was only 13 minutes in, it might have been preferable for Tottenham to see the Arsenal centre-back sent off. With [Georgia Stanway](https://observer.co.uk/news/sport/article/old-guard-do-the-business-for-england-while-young-talent-stake-their-claim) equalising four minutes later, the advantage they gained was not maintained for long.
Arsenal continued to look sloppy though, with misplaced passes and a lack of synchronicity a familiar feature of their play this season. In the end, the winner was an Alessia Russo penalty that should not have been given. The ball hit Ella Morris’s hand, but it had been played by a team-mate, with the rules stating that should not lead to a penalty being given.
Martin Ho, the Tottenham head coach, confirmed after the game that in their referees briefing before the start of the season they were told situations like this would not result in a penalty. He also confirmed that he had asked the refereeing team to explain the decision after the match but they had been unable to give him one. “I want to understand what they’re seeing so I can accept the decision,” Ho said in his press conference.
The call by referee Phoebe Cross will once again ignite questions about why the league is still waiting for full-time referees, currently scheduled to happen in the 2029-30 season.
Despite feeling hard done by, the reality was that Tottenham struggled to create even against a subpar Arsenal team, with their goal being their only shot on target in the game. That’s three losses in a row for a side who had started the season so brightly, with the one positive being that they did not collapse as they did against [London City Lionesses](https://observer.co.uk/news/sport/article/kangs-stars-start-with-a-bang-to-signal-changing-of-guard) and Chelsea, both of whom scored six against them.
For Arsenal, it was a case of result meaning far more than performance, but aside from a good chance for Russo, there was little evidence of a team improving. The bizarre situation in which the club has found itself means expectations have fallen low enough that all anyone cares about is picking up points, yet what Arsenal can actually achieve from this point of the season feels circumscribed given how far behind their rivals they have already fallen.
“We’ve had a run of games where the results haven’t been good enough – that’s been frustrating for everyone,” Slegers said. “Everything we were asking for was intensity, fight and playing for the fans.”
At full-time, Williamson sprinted across to the away fans, celebrating while Slegers decided not to do a huddle on the pitch with her team, as is usual. Instead they all went to celebrate in front of their travelling supporters, with almost 4,000 at the game. “Actions speak louder than words,” said Slegers. “There was not much more talking to do.”
The Arsenal players linked arms and ran towards them, the celebration resembling a title-winning one. But a glance at the table shows them sitting a point below their beaten rivals.
Photograph by Alex Burstow/Arsenal FC via Getty Images