The other results in the WSL
Liverpool 4-1 Aston Villa
London City Lionesses 0-1 Everton
West Ham 3-2 Brighton
Full time: Arsenal 1-0 Manchester City
That’s it. Arsenal have beaten Manchester City comfortably thanks to a first half goal from Olivia Smith. The home side dominated the midfield, with Mariona Caldentey and Kim Little nullifying any Manchester City threat. Andrée Jeglertz’s side didn’t really get going. They still have an eight point cushion at the top after only their second loss of the season.
90+5 min: Grace Clinton is on for Miedema.
90+4 min: Manchester City have only managed one shot on target all game. Arsenal boast the best defence in the league for a reason.
90+1 min: Beney loops a ball into the box. Shaw attacks it but she glances her effort well wide and Arsenal clear it.
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90 min: There will be six minutes of additional time.
87 min: Miedema does brilliantly to take the ball down in the box but Leah Williamson, on for only her third WSL game all season, defends expertly to thwart her former teammate.
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84 min: Yamashita has gone down holding her knee. Jeglertz has a moment to give his team a quick pep talk.
82 min: A triple substitution for Arsenal: Smilla Holmberg, Leah Williamson and Chloe Kellyare on for Steph Catley, McCabe and Smith.
78 min: Finally, Manchester City find that final ball. Yui Hasegawa plays a ball through to Miedema. The Manchester City forward loses her footing as she tries to round the keeper before fouling one of the Arsenal defenders as he puts the ball into the back of the net.
77 min: Manchester City are sensing that it’s now or never. They’re probing but haven’t been able to play the final ball to unlock the Arsenal defence.
72 min: Iman Beney is on for Kerolin. Can Beney repeat the magic of her late winner in the reverse fixture?
70 min: What a challenge from Kim Little! She slides in to take the ball off Miedema’s feet. Little has been excellent alongside Caldentey.
68 min: Manchester City have just over 20 minutes to get back in this game. Surely they’re going to apply some more pressure soon?
67 min: Frida Maanum is on for Beth Mead.
65 min: Vivianne Miedema goes down with a head injury. Play continued for about 20 seconds before the referee’s whistle.
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61 min: How is that not a foul? Bunny Shaw plays a through ball through to Lauren Hemp. The England winger takes a touch and is brought down by Mariona Caldentey on the edge of the box. It looked like a foul in real time.
60 min: Arsenal almost lose the ball on the edge of their box after a loose touch from Lotte Wubben-Moy. They manage to play the ball out though and quickly transition from defence to attack. Foord receives the ball in the box and tries to deceive Yamashita with a near post shot. It hits the side netting.
56 min: Excellent strength from Olivia Smith. She gets her body between Rebecca Knaak and the ball before driving at the heart of the Manchester City defence. She chops back onto her left foot and her shot is blocked. Arsenal have a corner.
55 min: Manchester City are slowly working the ball up the pitch. Hemp receives it on the wing and looks to pick out a teammate. Her cross is blocked and it’s out for a corner.
50 min: Manchester City are demonstrating better build up play this half. After a string of nice passes, Greenwood launches the ball into the box. Shaw heads it with two Arsenal players going down as a result.
48 min: Arsenal almost catch Manchester City out. They play a ball through to Smith but Yamashita is quick off her line and cuts the ball out.
Second half
Manchester City get us going again, kicking from left to right.
The players are back on the pitch after the break. Sam Coffey replaces Laura Blindkilde Brown.
Take a look at the opening goal.
"It's Olivia Smith" 🔥
— Sky Sports WSL (@SkySportsWSL) February 8, 2026
A stunning pass from Mariona Caldentey 👏 pic.twitter.com/1ig9HQp6Sw
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Half time: Arsenal 1-0 Manchester City
A great 45 minutes for Arsenal who are on course to maintain their unbeaten run at home. They’ve looked comfortable on the ball and have caused Manchester City problems with their incisive passes, most notably Caldentey’s through ball to Smith for the opening goal. Manchester have shown glimpses of themselves at their counter attacking best but they’ve struggled to get a real foothold in this game. Andrée Jeglertz needs to deliver an inspirational team talk.
45 min: There will be four minutes of additional time.
44 min: Russo heads towards goal from the resulting corner. Yamashita is equal to it again and tips the ball over the bar.
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42 min: It’s chaos in the box as Manchester City fail to clear it. Russo somehow manages to get a shot away in the melee. Yamashita is alert and tips it round the post.
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39 min: Arsenal win the ball in another turnover of play. Foord takes Casparij on again before taking a shot. The Manchester City defender blocks Foord’s effort and it balloons to Caldentey who fires a volley well wide.
37 min: Hemp plays a lovely ball through to Shaw. The Jamaican striker twists and turns before firing a shot straight into the arms of Daphne van Domselaar.
35 min: Arsenal are causing Manchester City problems on the left. Just as it looks like Foord is going to get the better of Casparij again, the Manchester City defender makes a last ditch tackle and the ball goes out for a corner.
34 min: Russo tries to play Smith in on goal. Her through ball is slightly overcooked though and Yamashita clears the ball as the perfect sweeper keeper.
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32 min: What a strike! Miedema gives the ball away as Manchester City try to play out from the back. Katie McCabe latches onto it and smashes her shot just wide of the near post.
29 min: Brilliant distribution from Yamashita. The Manchester City keeper almost plays in Kerolin but the flag is up for offside.
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27 min: Kerolin, who has been in-form recently, drives at the Arsenal defence. She accelerates past her defender and plays in Bunny Shaw. It’s a tight angle and Shaw can’t successfully pick out a pass.
26 min: Foord runs through the middle of the Manchester City defence. She decides to shoot from 30 yards out but it’s straight at Yamashita.
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24 min: Arsenal seem relaxed in possession. They’re strolling around the pitch and spraying passes.
21 min: Olivia Smith has to leave the field of play momentarily after a knock to the head. She rushes onto a pass and lands awkwardly after clashing with Ayaka Yamashita. It doesn’t look like anything too serious.
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20 min: Arsenal are pressing high. Manchester City have been able to beat the press so far but all it takes is one mistake.
18 min: The crowd have responded accordingly after that goal. The Arsenal fans are roaring their team on whenever they get the ball.
GOAL! Arsenal 1-0 Manchester City (Smith, 16)
What a goal! Caldentey does excellently, playing a one-two with her fellow midfielder Kim Little. The Spanish international continues to drive with the ball and plays a perfectly weighted through ball to Smith. The Arsenal forward keeps her composure and rounds the keeper before passing into an empty net.
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13 min: The midfield battle may be where this game is won or lost. Lauren Hemp picks it up and drives forward towards the Arsenal defence. Sensing that there aren’t many options going forward, she retreats and Manchester City keep the ball.
10 min: Smith does excellently to hold the ball up on the edge of the box. She works it to Alessia Russo who has a shot. It’s blocked and then Smith goes down under a challenge in the area … no penalty.
8 min: Mariona Caldentey pokes a ball through to Olivia Smith. The Canadian runs onto it but she’s ushered out of play her compatriot Jade Rose.
6 min: Manchester Cit win a free kick on the left after a clash between Beth Mead and Alex Greenwood. The set piece leads to nothing.
4 min: Manchester City win the ball back and quickly turn defence into attack. Suddenly, Bunny Shaw is through on goal but she can’t get the ball out of her feet. Arsenal manage to clear it.
3 min: Caitlin Foord turns Kerstin Casparij inside out on the left. She drives towards the byline before crossing the ball across the box. Nobody’s there to tap the ball in though.
1 min: Former Arsenal player Vivianne Miedema has an early opportunity. Manchester City win the ball off Arsenal shortly after kick off and Miedema strikes from about 25 yards out. It travels comfortably past the post.
Kick off
Here we go! Arsenal get us under way, kicking from left to right.
The teams have made their way onto the pitch. We’re a couple of minutes away from kick off.
Email in your predictions for today’s game.
Meanwhile, the Arsenal head coach Renée Slegers emphasised the importance of the fans in their win over Corinthians. She said:
But the fans had to be resilient as well and they were with us. They were just as mentally strong as the players on the pitch and I think they fuelled the players. I’m so happy that we won the game and could give them the goal and the win and then celebrate in the rain afterwards where everyone was staying and we had that special moment with the fans again.
Over 40,000 fans are expected to watch today’s game at the Emirates. Slegers added:
It’s so special and it’s so important for us, so let’s bring all that energy again on Sunday together.
Manchester City head coach Andrée Jeglertz has been a revelation since joining the club in the summer. He’s been nominated for the manager of the month award for January after already winning it in October, November and December. Speaking before today’s game, Jeglertz said:
Of course, I didn’t expect that we should be in this situation after six or seven months. But you go in, and in every game that I have played, or that we have played since I started coaching, we try to win and have a strong belief that we can and we have been successful in that and hopefully it continues.
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Chloe Kelly starts as a substitute against her former club. The England winger came off the bench to score an equaliser in the reverse fixture in October but it wasn’t enough to stop Manchester City going on to win the game through a late Iman Beney winner.
The teams
Arsenal: van Domselaar, Fox, Wubben-Moy, Catley, McCabe, Little, Mariona, Russo, Mead, Foord, Smith
Subs: Votikova, Williams, Codina, Williamson, Holmberg, Harwood, Pelova, Maanum, Kelly
Manchester City: Yamashita, Rose, Knaak, Greenwood, Casparij, Blindkilde Brown, Hasegawa, Hemp, Kerolin, Miedema, Shaw
Subs: Keating, Clinton, Coombs, Ouahabi, Coffey, Lohmann, Beney, Prior, Murphy
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Preamble
Hello and welcome to minute-by-minute coverage of Arsenal v Manchester City in the Women’s Super League. It’s the most played fixture in the league’s history and so far there’s been nothing to separate the two teams – they’ve both won 11 out of the 24 games between them.
Arsenal sit fourth in the table and will be confident after winning the inaugural Women’s Champions Cup by beating Corinthians 3-2 last week. Despite being champions of the world, they’re 13 points behind league leaders Manchester City, but they’ll be buoyed by their unbeaten run at home this season. Their only WSL loss altogether came against Manchester City in the reverse fixture.
Manchester City will also feel on top of the world after their resounding 5-1 victory over reigning champions Chelsea last week. Vivianne Miedema and Kerolin were excellent in a game that marked the end of Chelsea’s last six years of dominance. Manchester City will be keen to set a record of their own as a win today would see them equal the longest winning run in WSL history (14).
Kick off is at 12pm. Email me your thoughts.