Arsenal 1-0 Tottenham: Alessia Russo earns Gunners narrow North London Derby win at a sold-out Emirates Stadium… as Jonas Eidevall’s side bid to keep pace in the WSL title race

Arsenal signed Alessia Russo in the hope she would make a difference in their bid for a first league title in five years.

The forward may not have scored as many goals as she would have liked in her first season in north London – seven from 15 games – but her 49th-minute goal to seal victory over Tottenham could prove incredibly valuable.

Every game feels like a must for the Gunners, who are three points behind leaders Manchester City. Arsenal were starting to get frustrated in yet another sellout crowd at the Emirates, but in a match with few chances Russo was in the right place at the right time to make the difference.

Arsenal faced an injury crisis ahead of this match, but manager Jonas Eidevall was boosted with Victoria Pelova, Caitlin Foord and Katie McCabe, who were all doubtful, fit to start, with Leah Williamson returning for a place. on the bench after missing the win over Manchester United. However, Vivianne Miedema was not there, who will undergo minor knee surgery next week.

Miedema’s creativity was apparently missed in the first half. Arsenal’s biggest problem this season has been their inability to break low blocks despite dominating possession. That was largely the story of the first 45 minutes. The Gunners saw a lot more of the ball, but it was Tottenham who came closest to breaking the deadlock, with Manuela Zinsberger making a fine save to tip Jessica Naz’s shot onto the crossbar.

Arsenal struggled to get their creative midfielder Kim Little into the game before half-time, but it took the Gunners captain just four minutes into the second half to find the pass that unlocked the Spurs defense. Her diagonal ball picked out Beth Mead, who touched briefly before hitting back for Russo to finish.

Spurs rarely seemed to get back into the game and caused Zinsberger few problems in the second half. In reality, there were more wild tackles than chances for both teams in the final twenty minutes.

One of the biggest cheers of the day came when Williamson came on for Laia Codina in the 74th minute. The England captain returned from an anterior cruciate ligament injury in January but missed Arsenal’s final match and the Lionesses’ friendlies against Austria and Italy with a hamstring problem. This was her first match back in the Emirates and she helped her side get through the closing stages.

Chelsea are next in the competition ahead of Arsenal, who play Aston Villa in the League Cup on Wednesday before a weekend off due to FA Cup elimination. That trip to Stamford Bridge will undoubtedly be key in the title race. Arsenal will have to be better than this to beat Emma Hayes’ side on home turf, but they are still in the mix there and still fighting.