Arsenal will play five Women’s Super League games at the Emirates Stadium next season and are committed to hosting all Champions League fixtures there should they qualify for the group stage.
Jonas Eidevall’s side have played three WSL fixtures at the stadium this season, setting a new league attendance record when they beat neighbours Tottenham 4-0 before selling over 86,000 tickets across matches against Manchester United and Chelsea.
Five of their Women’s Champions League games were also staged at the Emirates, including the semi-final second-leg sell-out against Wolfsburg, which saw the German side win in extra-time.
Arsenal are in a tussle to qualify for next season’s Champions League but, if they do progress, every fixture from the group stage onwards will be hosted in N5 rather than at Meadow Park.
The successes of this season have built on a groundswell of support for women’s football following on from England’s Women’s Euro victory last summer.
Now, Arsenal are keen to continue the trend of hosting more games at the Emirates, with Eidevall saying recently he believes it would be possible to host all women’s fixtures there at some point in the future.
“We’re delighted to confirm that our women’s first team will play five WSL games at Emirates Stadium next season,” Arsenal chief executive Vinai Venkatesham said when the announcement was made on Wednesday morning.
“We’ve received fantastic support at Emirates Stadium this year, setting a new record attendance in the WSL and achieving a memorable sell-out for our recent UEFA Women’s Champions League semi-final against Wolfsburg earlier this month.
“This latest announcement ensures that as many supporters as possible can enjoy the matchday experience with us, as we continue to support the sustainable growth of women’s football.”
Emma Hayes feels her Chelsea side must be perfect in the title run-in to be crowned Women’s Super League champions again.
Chelsea trail leaders Manchester United by four points but have two games in hand, the first of which is at home to lowly Leicester on Wednesday.
The Blues – who play United in the FA Cup final on Sunday – complete their league programme with trips to West Ham and Reading and a visit from Arsenal in between.
“We have to win all four games,” Chelsea boss Hayes said unequivocally at her pre-match press conference. “We’re in a good rhythm, we like the games.
“It’s tiring in one element because it’s a quick turnaround, but the dressing room would always prefer back-to-back games over lots of training.”
Chelsea are seeking a fourth successive WSL title and have scored 26 goals in four games against Leicester, including an 8-0 away win this season.
But Hayes, who has top scorer Sam Kerr available after the Australia striker came off as a precaution in Sunday’s 7-0 thrashing of Everton, is taking nothing for granted.
“Leicester in their form are indicative of top five, top six,” said Hayes, who refused to be drawn on speculation linking Magdalena Eriksson and Pernille Harder with end of season moves to Bayern Munich.
“They are the most aggressive team in the league and the most improved side in the whole of the WSL.
“They are going to be wounded from that (losing 8-0 at home) and they’ve learned a lot since then.
“They have a point to prove and I made that clear to the players. I do not underestimate Leicester in any shape or form, and I think this will be a game that will go the distance.”
Chelsea face an 11th-placed Leicester outfit who are two points clear of bottom side Reading with three more matches remaining, one more than the Royals.
Since Willie Kirk took charge in November with the Foxes bottom on zero points, they have collected 13 from as many matches, winning four times.
The Scot’s side were edged 1-0 at Arsenal last Friday and he said: “I’ve no doubt we’ll be more competitive than that (8-0) game.
“It was a bad day at the office, but those early games were a little bit of finding out for me in terms of who’s going to continue the journey, what we need to improve on. I feel we’ve ticked a lot of those boxes now and you’re seeing a much different Leicester.
“We might be able to capitalise on them having a cup final four days later. But what it comes down to is how we go about it.”
Wednesday’s other game sees fourth-placed Arsenal play at Brighton.
With two games in hand, the Gunners are three points behind third-placed Manchester City, who suffered a shock 2-1 loss at Liverpool on Sunday.
Asked about that result and for his thoughts on the table, Arsenal boss Jonas Eidevall said: “I don’t care.
“We have four more games, we need to take one at a time, do our very best and if we do, we can finish as high as possible in the table. That’s the only thing we can influence.”
The fixture was originally scheduled for January but postponed due to a frozen pitch. Brighton have since changed manager, Jens Scheuer being replaced by Melissa Phillips, and secured seven points from four games under the American, moving up to ninth.
Eidevall said: “We would have liked to play them in January, of course, but now it is what it is, you never know where someone is going to put these games, with late broadcast pick and everything.
“I put that aside for now – I definitely think that’s a conversation for the future, to make this league more professional and fair.”
Chelsea kept the pressure on Manchester United at the top of the Women’s Super League table after a thumping 7-0 win over Everton.
United had earlier moved six points clear at the summit with a 3-0 success over Tottenham, but Emma Hayes’ side reeled that lead back to four points, with two games in hand, following their demolition of the Toffees.
They took control of the game early on with goals from Guro Reiten, Sam Kerr, Pernille Harder, Sophie Ingle and Jessie Fleming putting them 5-0 up at half-time.
Everton showed some resistance after the break but Harder grabbed her second in the final 10 minutes and Erin Cuthbert finished things off in added time.
United and Chelsea will take a break from the title race as they face each other in the FA Cup final next weekend.
Marc Skinner’s side racked up a fifth successive win as first-half goals from Leah Galton and Alessia Russo and a second-half Nikita Parris strike downed Spurs.
Defeat did little to help Spurs’ relegation worries and they remain just three points above rock-bottom Reading.
Manchester City lost ground in the title race after they were beaten 2-1 at Liverpool on Sunday, which was their second defeat in four games.
Mid-table Liverpool went ahead through Natasha Dowie’s 16th-minute strike, but Lauren Hemp levelled matters 12 minutes later.
Missy Bo Kearns restored the hosts’ lead shortly after the restart and despite a strong City response, where they racked up 17 shots during the game, Liverpool held on for a surprise win.
Rachel Daly scored a hat-trick as Aston Villa sent Reading closer to relegation with 5-0 thrashing.
The England international opened the scoring in the 14th minute and then added further strikes in the 55th and 63rd to claim the match ball, with Alisha Lehmann and Kirsty Hanson also netting before the break.
Brighton beat West Ham 1-0 thanks to Kayleigh Green’s second-half goal.
Manchester United moved a step closer to winning a maiden Women’s Super League title with a 3-0 victory over Tottenham.
United are now six points clear of Manchester City at the summit thanks to first-half goals from Leah Galton and Alessia Russo and a second-half Nikita Parris strike.
Chelsea, who have three games in hand, could cut the gap to four points later on Sunday as they play Everton in the evening kick-off.
It was a fifth successive win for Marc Skinner’s United, who now take a break from WSL action to play Chelsea in next weekend’s Women’s FA Cup final.
Defeat did little to help Spurs’ relegation worries and they remain just three points above rock-bottom Reading.
United were able to extend their lead at the top after City were beaten 2-1 at Liverpool on Sunday, which was their second defeat in four games.
Mid-table Liverpool went ahead through Natasha Dowie’s 16th-minute strike, but Lauren Hemp levelled matters 12 minutes later.
Missy Bo Kearns restored the hosts’ lead shortly after the restart and despite a strong City response, where they racked up 17 shots during the game, Liverpool held on for a surprise win.
Rachel Daly scored a hat-trick as Aston Villa sent Reading closer to relegation with 5-0 thrashing.
The England international opened the scoring in the 14th minute and then added further strikes in the 55th and 63rd to claim the match ball, with Alisha Lehmann and Kirsty Hanson also netting before the break.
Brighton beat West Ham 1-0 thanks to Kayleigh Green’s second-half goal.
Marc Skinner wants his Manchester United side to enjoy the finale to the season rather than feel the pressure of two trophies being on the line.
United lead the Women’s Super League with three games to go, but defending champions Chelsea, who will also take on Skinner’s side in the Women’s FA Cup final, are only four points behind with two games in hand.
Whether they pip Chelsea or not, this has been a hugely impressive season for United, who were only founded in 2018.
“We’ve equalled our best ever points tally with three games to go, we’re in an FA Cup final making history, we’ve had the best clean sheet record, joint best defensive record, best goalscoring record,” Skinner told reporters.
“For me, this team should go into these last games and enjoy every minute and I’m going to remind them of that.”
The first of their final trio of league matches comes against struggling Tottenham, who need points to try to avoid relegation, on Sunday.
United will be without suspended captain Katie Zelem, while Norwegian duo Maria Thorisdottir and Lisa Naalsund are injured.
Chelsea needed a late winner from Sam Kerr against Liverpool on Wednesday to keep matters in their hands, and they will again be playing catch-up when they take on sixth-placed Everton on Sunday evening.
Boss Emma Hayes believes her side are ready for a final push, saying on chelseafc.com: “The first challenge on Sunday is to make sure we’re wide awake from the first minute.
“We weren’t against Liverpool, and they punished us for that, which meant we were then chasing the game from that moment. So we need to be better prepared mentally.
“This part of a season is always really tough – even more so with a World Cup on the horizon – but we’ve got a gutsy group that loves winning trophies.
“Wins like Wednesday night’s will give us the confidence that we can keep going and picking up the results we need to achieve our goals.”
Key defender Millie Bright may not play again this season, but her centre-back partner Kadeisha Buchanan is close to a return.
Kerr, meanwhile, missed training on Saturday to lead Australia’s delegation at the King’s coronation.
Second-placed Manchester City, who are still just about in the title hunt, take on Liverpool, while bottom side Reading host Aston Villa and fellow strugglers Brighton meet West Ham.
Tottenham will host a double-header featuring their men’s and women’s teams later this month.
Spurs announced on Friday morning that their Women’s Super League clash at home to Reading had been moved forward a day and would now take place at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on May 20.
The WSL fixture will kick off at 4.15pm and be part of a first-ever double-header for the club, with the men’s team in Premier League action against Brentford in a 12.30pm kick-off earlier in the day.
All supporters with tickets for Tottenham versus Brentford will be able to stay in the stadium to watch the women’s team later on the Saturday.
It will be a pivotal fixture in the bid to beat the drop for Vicky Jepson’s side with bottom-of-the-table Reading only three points off ninth-placed Spurs.
Sam Kerr’s late winner kept Chelsea in control of their Women’s Super League title destiny as they saw off Liverpool 2-1.
The Australia international struck four minutes from time at Kingsmeadow to complete a laboured comeback win after Niamh Charles had cancelled out Emma Koivisto’s early opener.
Victory left Emma Hayes’ side, playing for the first time since their Champions League semi-final exit at the hands of Barcelona, four points behind leaders Manchester United and a point adrift of Manchester City with two games in hand on both teams.
The visitors, who won the reverse fixture 2-1 in September, stunned their hosts when they took a second-minute lead, full-back Koivisto smashing home a volley after Natasha Dowie had crossed to the back post.
Debutant goalkeeper Faye Kirby denied Guro Reiten at her near post after 14 minutes and then palmed away Kerr’s 22nd-minute header as the Blues responded.
They finally got their reward four minutes before the break when Charles glanced Eve Perisset’s corner past 19-year-old Kirby, although it took a fine stoppage-time save by Ann-Katrin Berger to keep out Shanice van de Sanden before Perisset blocked Dowie’s follow-up to ensure their side went in level.
Hayes made her move within nine minutes of the restart, sending on Pernille Harder and Jelena Cankovic for Lauren James and Erin Cuthbert, and the two newcomers almost made a swift impact with Harder only just failing to connect with Cankovic’s whipped 63rd-minute cross.
Frustration mounted among the Chelsea ranks as the breakthrough remained stubbornly beyond them with Reiten seeing an 82nd-minute strike ruled out for offside.
A point would have left the reigning champions six points behind United with a worse goal difference.
But they regained control of the title race with four minutes left when Kerr stabbed home the winner after Jessie Fleming’s attempt had crashed back off the crossbar and dropped to her.
Khadija ‘Bunny’ Shaw scored her 19th league goal of the season as Manchester City Women drubbed Reading 4-1 to go second in the Women’s Super League on Sunday.
Manchester City are now just three points behind Manchester City with three games to go before the season ends. However, Chelsea, with 40 points are third, four points behind Manchester City but with three games in hand.
In what was yet another dominating performance from City, it was Reading who took the early lead when Sanne Troelsgaard’s strike on the turn put the visitors ahead in the very first minute of play.
Chloe Kelly would level the score, bundling the ball over in the 15th minute.
Shaw’s header from a corner put City ahead in the 24th minute, a lead they took into the half-time break.
Manchester City would extend their lead shortly after the resumption when Lauren Hemp tapped in from a sizzling cross from Kelly to the far post in the 47th.
City’s fourth and final goal came from a Steph Houghton free kick into the bottom corner of the Reading goal to secure all three points.
Leicester’s hopes of Women’s Super League survival were handed a big boost as they beat Liverpool 4-0.
A second straight league win sees the Foxes move off the foot of the table and into 10th, two points clear of Reading who now drop into the relegation zone.
Leicester went in front in the 15th minute when Josie Green’s effort from just inside the area took a deflection into the bottom left of the net.
They benefitted from another deflection just six minutes later as Carrie Jones picked the ball up outside the box and her audacious effort hit a defender to loop over goalkeeper Rachel Laws.
Ashleigh Plumptre extended Leicester’s lead just three minutes into the second half with a strong header from a corner before Missy Goodwin wrapped the game up with a stoppage-time header.
Millie Turner scored a last-gasp header to boost Manchester United’s title charge as they came from behind to claim a narrow 3-2 Super League victory at Aston Villa.
Rachel Daly’s double was cancelled out by Leah Galton and Nikita Parris before Turner sealed three points for the table-topping visitors with a late goal in stoppage-time.
The win hands United a huge boost in the title race and they are now six points clear at the summit.
Alessia Russo and Katie Zelem both tested Hannah Hampton, but despite United’s early pressure, Villa took the lead in the ninth minute from a corner after Daly made a good run across the box to nod a brilliant looping header into the top-left corner.
Their lead was short-lived as six minutes later Ona Batlle hit a fantastic cross to pick out Galton at the back post and the forward stuck her leg out to turn the ball home for the equaliser.
Anna Patten nearly restored Villa’s lead but her header smashed off the crossbar before Hampton made a great save to deny Galton.
Mayumi Pacheco teed up Daly in the 37th minute as the England international completed her brace with a first-time effort from Pacheco’s cross, finding the far corner for the hosts to retake the lead going into the break.
Russo had a couple of chances for United at the start of the second half but a great move from Villa came incredibly close to extending their lead as Daly almost earned her hat-trick smashing the ball off the crossbar.
The visitors then capitalised to level in the 62nd minute when Hannah Blundell picked out Parris at the far post and she was able to head home from close range.
United kept pressing as Martha Thomas’ effort went well wide of the post before Hampton made an excellent dive to hold onto Ella Toone’s cross, but Turner then found a dramatic winner three minutes into stoppage-time with a great header into the bottom-right corner from a free-kick.
Khadija ‘Bunny’ Shaw has been named Barclays Women’s Super League Player of the Month for March.
The Jamaican grabbed five goals in three appearances as Manchester City finished the month with a 100% record in the league.
The WSL top scorer with 16 goals, Shaw grabbed a hat-trick in City’s 3-1 comeback win over Tottenham and followed that up with a brace in a 2-1 triumph away to Brighton the following week.
It is the second time she has claimed the prize, having also been named Player of the Month for November.
Her goals in that victory over Brighton brought about another impressive milestone for the forward, as she became Manchester City’s highest-scoring women’s player across a single campaign, surpassing the record previously held by Nikita Parris.
Liverpool defender and Women's Super League (WSL) record appearance maker Gilly Flaherty has announced her retirement from playing at the age of 31 for family reasons.
Flaherty made 177 WSL appearances with Arsenal, Chelsea, West Ham and Liverpool, whom she joined last July.
She brings down the curtain on a career that saw her win four WSL titles, seven Women's FA Cups and the Women's Champions League in 2007.
London-born Flaherty, who also won nine caps for England, took the decision to hang up her boots following the recent death of her father.
"It isn't a decision I've taken lightly but one I've reached after speaking with those closest to me," she said in a statement published on Liverpool's official website on Thursday.
"Losing my dad just before Christmas has left me heartbroken – for 22 years we shared our love of football and playing-wise I don't want to carry on without him by my side.
"Playing-wise, I know the right decision is for me to call it a day. The time is right for me to be around my family and to be nearest to those closest to me."
Former West Ham captain Flaherty's final WSL appearance came against the Hammers in a 2-0 win for Liverpool last month.
The Jamaica Football Federation (JFF) released a statement on Saturday congratulating Khadija Shaw on her stellar year for Manchester City in the FA Women’s Super League (WSL) season.
Shaw scored 15 goals for City in the calendar year and is currently joint top of the goal-scoring charts for the 2022-23 season with eight.
“The JFF heartily congratulates national captain Khadija Shaw for ending the calendar year 2022 as the second highest scorer in the Barclays Women's Premier League with 15 goals. You are indeed fabulous! Our hope is that you will remain healthy and be even more lethal in the new year. We wish you all the success in your endeavors in 2023!”
Shaw’s season will resume on January 15 when Manchester City takes on West Ham United.
England's Euro 2022-winning striker Ellen White has revealed she is expecting her first child.
White retired from football on a high note in August after featuring for the first England women's team to lift a major trophy during this year's home European Championships.
White scored 52 goals in 113 international caps, a record for a Lionesses player and a tally only bettered by Wayne Rooney and Harry Kane (both 53) across England's men's and women's teams.
On Wednesday, the former Manchester City striker posted an image of herself and husband Callum Convery on Twitter alongside the caption "Mum and Dad", revealing their child is due next April.
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