Aston Villa were beaten by Arsenal in the team’s final Villa Park outing of the Women’s Super League campaign.
The hosts fell behind after four minutes when Alessia Russo headed in at the back post.
Scorer turned provider when Russo teed up Frida Maanum to score later in the half, with the Gunners taking a two-goal lead into the break.
Russo struck again in the 52nd minute to complete the scoring in front of a bumper crowd of 7,944 in B6.
Villa will now look to end the season on a high in their final game away to London City Lionesses next weekend.
Aston Villa v Arsenal, Lucy Staniforth.
Lucy Staniforth was given a guard of honour before kick-off as she emerged for her final home game before retirement, with the midfielder starting on the bench as Natalia Arroyo made two changes from their last outing versus West Ham, bringing in Rachel Maltby and Rachel Daly.
However, the home side were under pressure from the off in front of a big crowd in B6, falling behind in the fourth minute when Russo squeezed a header over the line after Sabrina D’Angelo failed to hold Smilla Holmberg’s cross.
The Gunners continued to boss proceedings before Villa carved out a chance after 20 minutes, Ebony Salmon heading at Anneke Borbe following good play from Kirsty Hanson on the left.
Arroyo’s team grew in confidence and had begun to control the tempo when Arsenal produced a slick move to score a second.
Russo dropped in to collect a forward pass, losing her marker with a clever turn before splitting the defence with a through ball that Maanum latched onto, beating D’Angelo with her finish.
Aston Villa v Arsenal
Villa’s goalkeeper produced a stunning one-handed save from a Maanum header in stoppage time to keep it at 2-0 heading into half-time.
The hosts came out of the blocks with intent at the start of the second half, seeing Salmon strike a post with a mishit cross five minutes after the restart.
A third goal of the game went to the visitors, however, when Russo rounded D’Angelo and slotted the ball past a despairing slide from Océane Deslandes.
Aston Villa v Arsenal
Arsenal continued to restrict Villa’s attacking efforts as they set about finding a fourth, with Victoria Pelova calling D’Angelo into a save with a long-range effort.
Fellow substitute Stina Blackstenius spurned a glorious chance to extend the Gunners’ lead, curling over the crossbar after scampering in behind the defence.
There were huge cheers when Staniforth came on with 12 minutes to play, making her 183rd WSL appearance, but it wasn't to be for Villa on a tough afternoon at Villa Park.
A Villa Women: D'Angelo, Maritz, Taylor, Deslandes, Maltby, Salmon, Kendall, Jean-François (Gabi Nunes 85'), Daly (Staniforth 78'), Hijikata, Hanson (Mullett 68')
Subs: Staniforth, Gabi Nunes, Mullett, Roebuck, Lea, Johnson, Calder
Arsenal: Borbe, Holmberg (Mead 60'), Fox, Wubben-Moy, Codina, Hinds, Little (Pelova 68'), Caldentey (Foord 85'), Smith (Kelly 69'), Russo (Blackstenius 60'), Maanum
Subs: Mead, Votíková, van Domselaar, Kelly, Foord, Pelova, Blackstenius
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