Arsenal 1-1 Manchester United: Marc Skinner ‘disappointed’ to drop points

Stina Blackstenius celebrated her 26^th birthday in style with the equaliser in Arsenal’s 1-1 draw at home to Manchester United.

Alessia Russo’s early header for the Red Devils gave the visitors the edge at half-time before Swedish forward Blackstenius scored her first Arsenal goal 10 minutes from time.

It marked an unlucky comeback after Katie McCabe was sent off for the Gunners with 15 minutes remaining for two yellow cards.

United seized the lead from Katie Zelem’s ninth-minute corner. The ball was delivered deep to Russo, and the forward’s powerful header beat the defender on the line.

Arsenal’s Vivianne Miedema came close to an equaliser after a quarter of an hour; the Dutch striker’s effort was tipped onto the bar by England international Mary Earps, before bouncing away.

The home side started the second half strongest. A breakaway attack in the 57^th minute was crossed in by captain Kim Little, but Earps was equal to substitute Caitlin Foord’s volley.

Ella Toone should have made it two with 20 minutes to play as she got one-on-one with goalkeeper Manuela Zinsberger, but pulled her shot wide at the crucial moment.

Five minutes later, McCabe was sent off – a second booking for two strong tackles in midfield.

Arsenal equalised with 10 minutes to play, a rapid attacking move with the ball played down the middle for January signing Blackstenius to dribble and shoot past the advancing Earps.

Both sides squandered late corners in an effort to find a winner, and the point is a dent in both teams’ push for the title.

Arsenal move five points clear at the top of the Barclays FA Women’s Super League table, but second-placed Chelsea have two games in hand.

‘We come away from this disappointed’

Marc Skinner, Manchester United manager, said after the game: “We’ve been away to Bridgwater, a difficult pitch to play on. We came to Chelsea, that intense game, and lost, and had to take that psychological knock. We came to Arsenal, away again, and deserved three points, I think.

“I’m disappointed with the goal, but we’ve been defensively sound, structured, organised, and we gave Arsenal very little on their own patch. It was a moment of concentration which we’ll learn. I’ve seen the growth of the team, and the psychological resilience I’ve asked from them since the start of the season.

“I talk heavily about the psychology of the performance we put out. We come away from this disappointed. We know how difficult these teams are to play, but we want to win these games. They’re growing every day, their belief in each other. I have no doubt we’ll end up where we want to be.”

On Toone's miss, Skinner said: "They’re big moments, we have to take them. We know Ella Toone, she’ll do 100 of those in training and score everyone. She’ll be upset for not taking that moment. For us, it’s part of the game. We’ll be in the position where we want to be fighting in and amongst these top three.”

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