Last night Arsenal took on AS FAR in their first game of the inaugural FIFA Women's Champions Cup which just so happened to be the semi-final of the competition, with the winner going on to play Corinthians in the final on Sunday after their earlier 1-0 win over Gotham FC.
This game was one we didn't really know what to expect as we didn't know much about AS FAR but it is safe to say Arsenal showed us just what they were capable of running away with the game finishing 6-0 winners to book their place in Sunday's final.
It took Arsenal just 8 minutes to get their first goal of the night, a brilliantly worked corner found its way back to Blackstenius who headed the ball towards goal. At first it looked like AS FAR managed to defend the header well and clear the ball off the line however, thanks to the technology used in the game it was found that the ball had crossed the line and Arsenal were in the lead.
Just 4 minutes later Maanum doubled the lead with a brilliant strike on the turn from close range. This came from yet another great cross into the box and Smith setting the ball up nicely for Maanum to take the strike with some real power. In the 19th minute it looked like Arsenal were going to get their first however, a deflection left the 'keeper clearing it behind for a corner. This run of play saw VAR in action for the first time though as the corner was then changed to a penalty due to the deflection coming off the AS FAR players arm, this should certainly have been picked up by the referee on the field however, luckily thanks to the addition of VAR it was given correctly as a penalty which Caldentey stepped up to take in the 21st minute and converted nicely to extend Arsenal's lead to 3.
Arsenal didn't sit back even when 3 up and had some great chance which just didn't find the back of the net, AS FAR kept pushing through and created a few chances of their own too however, there were no real threats and Arsenal were on the front foot still. All the pressure paid off in the 41st minute though when Smith extended the lead to 4-0 a great run saw her break through the defence with ease before a low drilled strike shook the back of the net. This rounded off a great first half which saw Arsenal head in to the break with a 4-0 lead through 4 different scorers.
It was very much more of the same in the second half for Arsenal, they came out hunting for more goals not looking like they were just going to just sit back and hold their lead. In the 66th minute just 6 minutes after entering the game Russo put Arsenal 5 goals ahead. Again though they didn't sit back and 10 minutes later in the 76th minute Russo doubled her tally for the evening scoring Arsenal's last goal of the night giving them a huge 6-0 win to reach the finals on Sunday. In the second half the game seemed to flow more in the favour of it being all Arsenal as they showed everyone just what they were capable of.
Whilst this was a great win for Arsenal it also feels like it highlighted the gap in the leagues around the work and how growth is still needed for the game in some places as with it being a Champions Cup you would really have liked to see a bit of a closer contest. AS FAR did look good though when passing the ball around in some passages of play and in the first half they continued to hunt for a goal even when 4-0 down, it just seemed like they sat back a bit in the second half.
The game really did highlight the depth in the squad for Arsenal though as they made some changes going into the game but still had a positive first half and game overall even after making changes which can sometimes disrupt the flow of the game whereas these changes just took them from strength to strength. Arsenal really used this game though to show just what they were capable of as they didn't sit back once and kept pushing to get themselves more goals rather than just defending their lead which we have seen from them in the past.
Arsenal will face Corinthians on Sunday after their win over Gotham, who is going to win the inaugural competition? We don't have long to wait.
