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photo taken from @bhafcwomen on X

On Sunday the 6th, Arsenal travelled south to Broadfield Stadium to take on the Seagulls in what was a cagey and frustrating fixture. Brighton pushed for an equaliser but ultimately the Gunners did enough to secure a crucial 3 points.

The game kicked off with high intensity and both sides quickly matched the oppositions energy. The first real chance came early on with a great piece of vision from Chiamaka Nnadozie who spotted Kiko Seike charging forward and released the ball, which opened up a positive spell of play for Brighton.

Shortly after, Arsenal WSL debutant Lisa Baum, received the ball down the left wing and thundered an incredible strike off the crossbar and into the back of the net; 1-0 to the Gunners. This goal advantage ignited the travelling side and their loyal fans, who thrived off this momentum and continued to force pressure up front.

Brighton soon responded and were awarded a few free kicks from promising positions, however the players struggled to connect with these crosses into the box. Instead, they found most success through Japanese forward, Kiko Seike, who was causing trouble on the wing for Ona Battle in their 1v1 moments.

Equally, Arsenal also had opportunities to add to the scoreboard. Olivia Smith’s swinging corner in the 27th minute was met by Steph Catley who headed the ball into the hands of Nnadowzie. Mariona Caldentey also had a go herself, releasing a long-range shot, again saved by the strong hands of Brighton’s keeper.

The first half drew to a close with some scrappy moments and fouls for both teams. It was interesting to see the battlesforming all over the field, which were starting to shape the game.

The home side came out the tunnel looking fired up for the second half, creating a set-piece opportunity in the final third early on, looking in much more control all over the field, offering increased crosses in the box and pressing high.

In the opening 45, although Arsenal wasn’t able to capitalise on their advantage, they looked to have more of a grasp of the game. In comparison, after half-time the Gunners were more vulnerable and unable to hold on to possession. However, on the counter, they looked dangerous at times especially through new signings Lisa Baum and Georgia Stanway- standouts from the match. The Brighton backline, specifically Manuela Vanegas did a great job of keeping the relentless Alessia Russo out of the game as well as their other attacking threats.

Lacking creativity up front, Renee Slegers substituted onto the field Chloe Kelly and Caitlin Foord. The duo had their bright moments but similarly couldn’t efficiently break down the Albion’s defence, which summed up Arsenal’s attacking performance of the game.

In turn, Brighton utilised the valuable playmaker of Fran Kirby who intelligently picked up the ball centrally on several occasions, then drilled the ball out wide to Seike. Much to the frustration of the players and fans, they weren’t able tosignificantly challenge goalkeeper Misa Rodríguez and find the back of the net.

After a break in momentum (due to substitutions and Lia Walti going down with an injury) the game did pick up in the closing moments with both teams pushing at either end, but the scoreline remained 1-0.

Brighton: Chiamaka Nnadozie, Manuela Vanegas, Moeka Minami, Maisie Symonds, Madison Haley, Kiko Seike, Lia Walti, Fran Kirby, Caitlin Hayes, Marisa Olislagers, Charlie Rule

Substitutions Used: Emilie Joramo, Olivia Garcia, Emily Murphy, Olaug Tvedten, Sophie Peskett

Arsenal: Misa, Emily Fox, Georgia Stanway, Leah Williamson, Steph Catley, Mariona Caldentey, Kim Little, Olivia Smith, Lisa Baum, Ona Battle, Alessia Russo

Substitutions Used: Chloe Kelly, Cailtin Foord, Stina Blackstenius, Smilla Holmberg, Frida Maanum

Goal Scorer: Lisa Baum

Sonia Bompastor speaks to the press off the back of a 3-1 victory at Aston Villa, and ahead of an exciting home fixture against Leicester.

“It’s your first league game back at Kingsmeadow this Sunday, how much do you enjoy playing there and being in front of the fans?”

“Yeah I love playing at both stadiums, Stamford bridge and Kingsmeadow, I think the fans have been incredible for us last season and the beginning of this season already, the Man City game was incredible, we played Milan fc during preseason at Kingsmeadow and the crowd was fantastic again, so we love to play at Kingsmeadow and the fans are really close to us on the pitch and they are the 12^th man so that’s a really nice feeling and again, we can’t wait to be there on Sunday and meet them again for the game.

“What would you like to see from your team’s performance on Sunday?

“A strong performance again, strong start in the game” “In possession out of possession we want to look strong we want to make sure we, in terms of performance, bring everything possible for us to have a big chance to win the game. We have been working hard in different things in the game model this week and hopefully I see that on the game on Sunday. “

“We saw Alyssa Thompson make her debut on Sunday, how has she been settling into this side and what is she bringing to the team?”

“I had a really good conversation again with Alyssa yesterday and she’s settling in really well and she loves being here in London, coming from LA, that’s a good thing, but again I think she feels already part of the family and I think for me as a manager that’s important we create an environment where people feel part of the family. So, I think she feels good being around the players and being on the pitch. I think she understands what we want to achieve as a team and what we expect from her on the pitch and individually for the team, so everything is clear for her and she’s settling in really well and when I look at her, she’s smiling, so it means she’s happy.”

When asked about Sam Kerr’s reaction to scoring and how she’s been since scoring her return goal after being out for so long- if she has sensed a pressure relief?

‘I think she’s been smiling since last Sunday which is really nice to see” “ It was a relief moment for her and everyone in the club’ “People pay to come to the stadium to watch her on the pitch…so to be able to watch her, its great and positive news for her and the club’ “Lots of positives and that’s really nice after everything she’s been through”

When asked about the congratulations Sam has received realising, she may be able to hit the same heights as before her operation

“So important for her confidence” “It was a long time for her… all these months, all these weeks worked off” “ She is now officially back and got her 100^th goal, she has a lot of things to achieve with the club, with the team, but we still need to stay patient” “She’s working really hard in training sessions with us with the group, she has the support of everyone in the club and I think that’s a really nice feeling for her.”

When asked about how she manages Sam, if she needs a few more bench games before she is ready to start or if she is in a position to start on Sunday

“To be fair, I think she’s probably not 100% yet and probably not ready to start a game” ”From her experience and her quality, even if she has to start a game, maybe she’s not fully fit to play 90 minutes” “She’s been working hard and she’s someone you need to tell to go slowly and stop her a little bit because she’s so excited and wants to be on the pitch as much as possible, which we understand.” “We have to be careful with her still”

When asked about how she has seen Hannah Hampton mature and how she gives them the foundations to do what they are able to do

“Really important for a team like Chelsea to have, one of the best goalkeepers in the world if not the best at the moment” “Great goalkeeper for many reasons, she’s a complete goalkeeper, she makes some great saves for the team but also in possession of the ball she brings a lot” “ She’s really confident right now after last season with Chelsea but also after summer in the Euros with England and I think we can see that on the pitch and that is always really positive for the team to have a strong goalkeeper and to have someone who brings confidence into the team.

When asked about her squad and how it sets Chelsea aside from the other sides in the league

“This league is probably the most competitive league in the world for that reason because every weekend you have a different challenge to face and the other teams are first of all really motivated to play against us, they want to stop our run” “But also they offer different challenges” “It’s nice to have in my bench, players that can come in and change the game and make an impact for many reasons so it’s good to have diversity in the squad’ “players who are able to bring physicality, players who are able to bring technicality or tactical knowledge” “Nice to have that diversity in the squad” “Having these different types of players and profiles in the squad make us a little bit more unpredictable”

When asked about what she has seen from Leicester so far and said to her players about facing them

“Didn’t really talk about Leicester yet, we will in the next days, but I’m sure everyone knows we drop our first two points last season against them away so I think it’s enough for us to be alert going into that game” “The mental aspects for them, resilience and toughness, they have these two qualities and more than that so again going into the game on Sunday, we expect that, facing a team that is very well organised defensively and they will take any chance in the game to try to win so we are prepared for that but it’s about finding the balance of focusing on Leicester and also focussing on our strengths to make sure we are able to win the game.

When asked about being worried to face Leicester after Liverpool struggled to beat them

“We expect to face a tough opposition as they were able to win 1-0 with having one player down so it just shows their resilience and the fact they are brave’ “they are really comfortable out of possession and we expect that” “we need to find a way to just make them in trouble and if we focus on that I think we have quality enough to bring it to the game” “I think its important to find the right balance between focussing about the opposition but also focusing on your team and making sure your bringing to the game what you need”