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LONDON –United States international Emily Fox scored her first goal for Arsenal in a runaway 4-1 win over Valerenga in the Women’s Champions League on Wednesday.
It was only Arsenal’s second win of the season and a much-needed boost of positivity just a day after the resignation of Jonas Eidevall. The Swede left his post on Tuesday after a disappointing string of results that included a 5-2 thrashing to Bayern Munich and a home loss to title-rivals Chelsea.
Renée Slegers has been appointed interim manager and she has Mariona Caldentey to thank for a winning start to her tenure. The Spain international sparkled in midfield and joined Fox on the scoresheet along with Caitlin Foord and Alessia Russo.
“It’s been a lot of emotions. I’ve always respected Jonas a lot and I’ve enjoyed working with him,” Slegers said. “I think he has done a lot of good things for the club for three or four years. So I was sad and many others as well. So, it’s been about managing emotions and trying to stay to the task, what’s ahead of us and what do we need to do now to be able to perform tonight. But yeah, it’s been a couple of hectic days.”
Whatever nerves Slegers may have had going into the game were allayed in the 2nd minute, when Foord’s cutback from the left fell kindly for Fox to tap in from close range.
Arsenal didn’t let up their intensity and minutes later looked to have doubled their lead through Russo, only for it to be chalked off for offside. Leah Williamson too went close for the hosts, hitting the post from a corner.
Caldentey, deployed in a more central role than usual, set the tempo for Arsenal in midfield. Her dexterity and directness saw her routinely pick apart the Valarenga defence, who were reprieved on more than one occasion by Russo’s off-target finishing.
But Caldentey couldn’t be contained and sparked the move for Arsenal’s second in the 29th minute. She played in Beth Mead on the left, whose deflated shot was fired into the roof of the net by Foord.
It appeared to be game, set and match for Valerenga, but hardly five minutes later they were handed an unlikely lifeline. Laia Codina was harried off the ball near the box by Katrina Savik, who played in Olaug Tvedten for a simple finish. The goal sparked hysteria in the small pocket of Valerenga fans at the Emirates, who didn’t relent in their singing through the game.
In a half that saw Arsenal have nearly 80% possession and 10 shots, it was Valerenga that went into the break with greater momentum.
Savik targeted Codina from the get-go in the second half and nearly punished the Spain international for further sloppiness. She brushed off the center-back and darted into the back before unleashing a shot that went inches above the bar.
Valerenga showed greater solidity in the second half, but their legs eventually gave away. Caldentey got on the scoresheet herself with a sharp finish from the box in the 85th minute and in added time, setup Russo to add further gloss to the win.
“I’m happy for them and, and credit to them because they also got together yesterday and felt that they need to step up and I think that’s what you see today on the pitch,” Slegers added. “So all credit to the team and obviously you don’t want this drastic thing to happen for them to get into this self-reflection moment. But I think it was good they did it and, and now it’s about maintaining that.”
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