Renee Slegers' side were in real trouble of losing ground in the race for Champions League football until a remarkable second half turnaround
Arsenal scored three goals in six second half minutes to come from 3-1 down and beat West Ham on Sunday, cancelling out some concerning frailties in defence with real fight and desire in attack to be on the right end of a 4-3 thriller. It looked like the Hammers were going to pick up three unexpected points when Shekiera Martinez raced clear and restored their two-goal cushion shortly after half time but the Gunners never gave up and produced an incredible flurry of goals to put themselves into the lead for the first time just before the hour, a lead they never let slip.
Renee Slegers' side went into the match outside the Champions League places, after Manchester City's win over Tottenham earlier in the day, and their chances of staying there increased dramatically when Amber Tysiak scored from two corners inside the first 12 minutes. Chloe Kelly's strike just before the break, her first for Arsenal in 2,829 days after returning to the club in January, seemed to give the Gunners the momentum they needed to turn things around, only for Martinez to catch the hosts on the break and make the scoreline more comfortable for West Ham again.
However, that goal only served to spark Arsenal into life. Five minutes later, Katie McCabe punished Kinga Szemik's poor positioning and beat the goalkeeper from a wide position, then Leah Williamson made up for some poor defending with a brilliant header and Mariona Caldentey's penalty, awarded due to Kirsty Smith's handball, had the Gunners in front just 11 minutes after West Ham had made it 3-1. The home side still had to survive an extremely late goal-mouth scramble in which Daphne van Domselaar came up with a match-winning save, allowing them to leapfrog Man City back into the Women's Super League's top three.
GOAL rates Arsenal's players from Meadow Park…
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Daphne van Domselaar (6/10):
Needed to do better with the second goal, after parrying the ball right into Tysiak's path, but came up with a match-winning save in the dying moments.
Emily Fox (5/10):
While good going forward, she and Williamson seemed to lack understanding at times at the back when West Ham caught them on the break.
Leah Williamson (6/10):
Decision to step in to try and intervene in the build-up to both West Ham's first and third goals left space in behind which was exploited, though she did make amends with a huge goal at the other end and a fantastic tackle to deny Martinez later on.
Steph Catley (5/10):
Was beaten far too easily for West Ham's third goal and often found herself too far away from Williamson, but that did at least change for the better in the second half.
Katie McCabe (7/10):
Was consistently good at both ends of the pitch, despite it being a tough game for the Gunners.
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Kim Little (6/10):
Worked hard in the middle of the park and made some big defensive contributions. One of few decent performers while Arsenal were losing.
Lia Walti (5/10):
Was marking Tysiak for her opening goal and did very little to thwart her. Was not the only time she failed to track a runner effectively, though she can feel hard done by not to have won a foul to disallow the Hammers' second goal.
Frida Maanum (6/10):
Showed good movement off the ball and kept possession well while also regularly testing goalkeeper Szemik. A surprise to see her subbed off at the break but was more about Slegers getting Blackstenius on than getting Maanum off.
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Chloe Kelly (7/10):
Looked lively from the start and caused problems when she got on the ball, with it little surprise that she scored Arsenal's first goal as a result.
Alessia Russo (6/10):
On it from the first whistle, pouncing onto loose balls to cause West Ham problems in behind, but spurned her chances – including a huge one-v-one.
Mariona Caldentey (7/10):
Always seemed likely to provide the moment of magic to get Arsenal back into the game and it was her superb cross that Kelly converted to make it 2-1, as well as her clinical penalty which won the game.
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Stina Blackstenius (6/10):
On at the break and almost made an immediate impact, only to be offside when she found the back of the net. Gave West Ham something else to think about and created space for others as a result, even if she didn't get on the scoresheet.
Caitlin Foord (7/10):
An early second half sub, her desire to run at defenders consistently put West Ham on the back foot and helped Arsenal pile on the pressure that led to their comeback.
Kyra Cooney-Cross (7/10):
Brought great composure and tidy passing to the middle of the park.
Amanda Ilestedt (N/A):
Helped Arsenal see the win out as a late sub.
Beth Mead (N/A):
Made her return from a slight injury in the closing stages.
Renee Slegers (8/10):
Decisions to bring Little and Kelly into the line-up paid off as the pair were among Arsenal's best performers, even when the score wasn't going their way. Was proactive with her subs, too, and seemed to address at least some of the issues in defence at the break.
