Friday night saw the first big match up of the season as Arsenal traveled to Leigh to face Manchester United. Arsenal were looking to bounce back from an opening day defeat to Liverpool and United were looking to continue on from their opening day victory at Aston Villa. This was a very big game so early on in the season as we all know any points the big 4 teams drop are crucial in the Champions League spot fight so any result so early in the season could see either side ahead in the race for Europe next season. 

The game got underway at a fast speed with the majority of the opening ten minutes being end to end however, Arsenal took an early lead through Blackstenius in the 14th minute. Arsenal had been testing the United back line in the run up to this but for the goal they just could match the pace of the Arsenal forward and she found the back of net from a great piece of attacking play. United didn't let going a goal down get to them though and they soon picked up pace and begun to attack the Arsenal back line with some fantastic through balls and balls over the top. In the 27th minute the pushing finally paid off and a fantastic press from Galton saw a miss kick from Arsenal's 'keeper D'Angelo and Galton got in behind to slot the ball home bringing the scores level and this is how it would stay for the first half with the teams going into the break with the scoreline being 1-1.

Refereeing has been under the spotlight this weekend and it was no different in the United Arsenal match with some very questionable decisions called in the first half especially when it came to challenges on United's summer signing Geyse, she was constantly put under very strong challenges which any other day may have been considered a foul. The first half also saw the United faithful booing ex-player Russo after her summer switch to North London, in fact the boos didn't stop all game with the noise levels rising every time she touched the ball.

United came out for the second half with a fire in their belly and a point to prove, a strong start and lots of pressure really caused issues for Arsenal but united were just struggling to get that final ball through even though Garcia & Geyse were making some fantastic runs down the right. Arsenal were the first team to make some changes and they were definitely needed as United were putting them under a lot of pressure. We saw Codina, goal scorer Blackstenius and Pelova exit the pitch and McCabe, Foord and Maanum enter in the hopes of taking some pressure off themselves and putting pressure back on United. Once the subs were made Catley stepped up to a close range free kick which didn't put any pressure on Earps. 

Up until this point there had been no cards dished out for Arsenal but after just 3 minutes on the pitch McCabe stayed true to form and picked up a yellow card for a silly challenge, this yellow was closely followed by one for Foord which was yet another silly challenge and manager Eidevall soon found himself in the book alongside his players. It is safe to say these substitutions helped the game heat up a bit with challenges being put in and they also helped with the attacking essence for Arsenal too as Earps was call into action in the 66th & 67th minutes to pull off some brilliant saves to keep United in the game.

The sudden pressure from Arsenal may have been a factor in United making their substitutions not long after or it could possibly have been Skinner considering their upcoming PSG clash either way we saw Williams come on to replace Geyse who was definitely tiring after some great runs. Not long after Williams introduction we saw Miyazawa & Marad come onto the pitch in place of Toone & Garcia, again could Tuesday have been on Skinner's mind. 

As the game continued Arsenal took advantage of United settling into a rhythm after making the changes and they piled on the pressure which saw Russo fire a shot which rattled the cross bar and quite honestly we still aren't sure how it didn't go in. United didn't let the pressure get to them though and not long after Russo's shot a fantastic build up of play from United saw Miyazawa nod the ball through to Malard who opened her United goal scoring account to get Untied a 2-1 lead.

After the goal Arsenal made a few more substitutions which saw Beattie replaced by Wubben-Moy and then Maritz replaced by Lacasse. The substitutions definitely helped Arsenal push for an equalizer with some great build up play through to Maanum who slotted the ball home however, she had luckily for United just mistimed her run and found herself in an offside position meaning the score stayed 2-1 to United. Blundell then made a fantastic run down the right for United and Malard was unlucky not to get a touch on the ball in the box as any connection would have surely wrapped the game up for United. Arsenal kept on applying though and the away fans definitely got behind them as the 4th official put up the board to signal a questionable 6 minutes added time. It felt like United had done just enough to secure all 3 points but in the 93rd minute Lacasse brought the goals level with a fantastic strike right into the top corner which Earps had no chance of ever getting to.

The game ended 2-2 and the United fans could very easily feel hard done by due to conceding in the questionable added time but one point against one of the top 4 teams is certainly better than none. The 96 minutes played definitely showed us that Arsenal have room for improvement and the best is yet to come for them once the team is settled and those injured players start to filter back into the first team set up. It also showed us that yet again United are a team who can challenge for that top spot and that even with Russo gone they can find a way to pick up the points, it didn't look like the team missed her at all and Garcia really filled the void with some brilliant runs whilst Geyse also looks like a great replacement, she looks like she could be a key player in the squad and really help get results once she is fully settled. 

Off the pitch this was our first game witnessing the dedicated away end and we can 100% agree that this is a fantastic addition to the WSL as the atmosphere was a whole lot better than it has been in the past with chants heard from both sides. There was also the very vocal and visual protests from the United fans to get rid of the Glazer's something we think we will see more of as the season progresses. It was also great to see a record attendance of 8,312 to say the game was originally scheduled for a Sunday lunch time but then was changed to a Friday evening to suit the TV cameras. With the atmosphere being as good as it was and the team putting in a brilliant performance it has made us all the more excited to be heading back to the LSV to watch United in their first ever Champions League game against PSG which is bound to be fantastic.

Our player of the match from Friday though has to go to Lucia Garcia, she had an absolutely brilliant game right up until the moment she was substituted. I think there is a possibility she was only replaced with the Champions League game in mind as she could play a key part in troubling that PSG defence just like she did the Arsenal one on Friday. Her pace is going to be a real asset for the team this season and I am sure we will see her on the score sheet plenty of times too.

We have certainly got that football bug back and we are really looking forward to seeing what the rest of the season holds for United as they definitely have a lot of potential. As for Arsenal once the team has gelled there could be some redeeming performances from them throughout the rest of the season.