Arsenal failed to capitalise on Chelsea’s slip-up at Liverpool after being held to a flat 0-0 draw with Tottenham in the north London derby.
The Gunners had the chance to gain ground on rivals at the top of the Women’s Super League after Sonia Bompastor’s side earlier dropped two points to bottom club Liverpool, but managed to pass up the opportunity, unable to convert 13 efforts at goal into anything meaningful.
The real winners of the weekend, therefore, are Manchester City, who extended their lead at the top to three points from Chelsea – their biggest margin of difference so far this season. Belief in the City camp of a prolonged title charge is steadily growing.
Arsenal’s hopes, meanwhile, are dwindling. They were far the superior side at Spurs – who offered close to nothing in the attacking third – and yet Lize Kop was never at full stretch. The goalkeeper twice denied Stina Blackstenius and latterly thwarted substitute Olivia Smith, with each stop routine. Never before has this fixture ended goalless.
Tottenham battled to a well-deserved draw against north London rivals
Renee Slegers’ side have scored more goals than any other in 2025 (60 from 21 games) but have found creativity hard to come by in recent weeks. They were undone by Bayern Munich in the Champions League midweek and have now dropped 11 points in WSL competition. No previous champion has ever gone on to lift the title having conceded that number of points across a 22-game campaign.
“Tottenham were set up to draw,” reflected Sky Sports’ Izzy Christiansen. “They didn’t show any intent to win the game, they were quite reserved. I say that in a positive sense. From Arsenal’s perspective they were completely nullified – they need to improve in the final third.”
Why are Arsenal stalling?
Analysis by Sky Sports’ Laura Hunter:
“Arsenal don’t move into the final third quickly enough,” Sky Sports’ Rachel Corsie said of Arsenal’s recent creativity problem. “Alessia Russo and Stina Blackstenius are doing the same thing. That’s easy to defend.
“The deliveries aren’t dangerous or dynamic enough. We aren’t seeing the best of Arsenal’s attacking players,” she added. Intensity is perhaps a problem, too. Arsenal failed to compete with Spurs’ physicality in midfield, making eight fewer tackles.
Mariona Caldentey is challenged by Drew Spence
Arsenal have been used to getting their own way under Slegers but this year have been found out in certain games. Olivia Smith made impact with “forward intent”, Slegers noted, and was the player to finish the game with the most touches in the opposition box (nine) despite only playing a half. You have to question the freshness of those around her.
“We need clearer and bigger chances,” the Arsenal boss concluded. Can’t argue with that. Arsenal’s one second-half shot on target is simply not enough if efficiency is also lacking.
Foord airs frustrations
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Arsenal head coach Renee Slegers and Caitlin Foord were left disappointed after their goalless draw with fierce rivals Tottenham in the WSL.
Arsenal forward Caitlin Foord:
“Frustrating. We came here to get three points. Credit to Spurs because they made it tough to play.
“They got numbers back and really made it difficult for us in the box. They went out to do that and succeeded. We ultimately need a better end product.”
Ho reveals tactic to ‘remove emotion’
Tottenham boss Martin Ho:
“What I said to the players all week was ‘we can either be reckless and play with emotion, or we can take the emotion out and play with performance. I thought the players adapted to the game well. We played through Arsenal well.
“It takes courage and bravery [to attack Arsenal], we’ve got young players in the frontline and maybe we need to risk the ball a bit more. I’ve asked us to be more fluid with our movement.
“We work a lot on that in training but it’s a confidence thing to take on the responsibility.”
