Statement win puts Man City in WSL title race

Chloe Kelly (right) has scored twice in the WSL and registered five assists for Manchester City this season after scoring the winning goal for England in the Euro 2022 final in the summer

"We could have been five or six up."

Goals at either end of the first half from Lionesses Lauren Hemp and Chloe Kelly gave City a deserved 2-0 lead and only a number of saves from Manuela Zinsberger kept the match competitive.

Arsenal got one back through Rafaelle Souza's header but never threatened an equaliser as City won to move above the Gunners into third place.

"I was so proud of the performance and how gutsy we were in the second half," said Taylor.

"We should've been out of sight at half-time, we could've been five or six up with the chances we created.

"I'm super proud of the girls, they really deserved that.

"Sometimes you feel miles away [in the table] and sometimes you feel a bit closer. After beating Leicester there was a big shift, especially with two teams [Manchester United and Arsenal] drawing.

"We've got ourselves into a good position, but we're not getting carried away."

Winger Lauren Hemp has scored three times for Manchester City in the WSL this season

'I really believe this squad can win the league'

City have won the WSL once in 2016, but came third, nine points behind Chelsea, last season and began this campaign with back-to-back defeats.

But they have not lost a league game since and are only two points behind Emma Hayes' side, although the leaders have a game in hand.

"I really do believe this squad can win the league," said Hemp after scoring her 50th City goal.

"The squad is fantastic and such a family-feel - we all fight for each other.

"Obviously we want to win the league. It has opened now. We can face the best, we showed that, it's about being consistent."

Arsenal had kept 16 clean sheets in their previous 21 away WSL matches but struggled to cope with Hemp on the left wing, Kelly on the right flank and Khadija Shaw, the league's top scorer, through the middle.

Zinsberger made a couple of saves to deny Shaw as well as Filippa Angeldahl and Kelly, with Yui Hasegawa also hitting the crossbar.

"We know we're creating a lot of chances and we're not stupid, we need to score more goals - it needs to improve," added Hemp.

City have not lost at home in the WSL in 14 games, a run stretching back to November 2021, and were cheered on by a crowd of 4,542 at Academy Stadium.

"It was a brilliant day and we knew when we play at home that nobody can play against us," said Kelly, named player of the match after a goal and an assist.

"Gaz [Taylor] just gives me confidence at the moment, he's letting me play free and I'm enjoying myself on the pitch.

"When I'm enjoying myself, that's when I'm at my best and just having fun really.

"It's like I'm a little girl just playing football and I'm having fun. Playing with such a great group of girls is brilliant, we showed lots of fight and it's about the team."

Eidevall takes responsibility for defeat

Arsenal missed out on the title last season by just one point, but have now drawn twice and lost once in their past three league matches.

They continue to miss forwards Beth Mead and Vivianne Miedema, both long-term absentees with serious knee injuries, and sit five points off the lead.

Arsenal only had two attempts on target and scored through one of them - Rafaelle Souza's header

"We lost possession way too many times in the game, especially in very dangerous areas," said boss Jonas Eidevall.

"When you lose possession in those dangerous areas so many times, it's going to be very difficult to win football matches.

"We tried to implement changes during the game but it's 100% my responsibility we didn't win. We needed to make them do more after scoring.

"The attitude and the effort isn't a problem, we need to control the games better."

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