WSL Highlights: Arsenal draw against Man City
Vivianne Miedema scored on her return to Emirates Stadium as Manchester City drew with former club Arsenal in their Women's Super League opener.
A brilliant long-range effort from England international Jess Park looked to have given City the victory before Arsenal substitute Beth Mead volleyed in a late equaliser.
Netherlands international Miedema, who was allowed to leave Arsenal when her contract expired this summer, was fortunate her strike took a heavy deflection off defender Laia Codina and she did not celebrate her goal.
"I'm not really a big celebration person anyway," Miedema told Sky Sports after the game. "You saw a bit of emotion but that's normal. Besides that, be respectful to the [Arsenal] fans that supported me for the last seven years as well.
"Me coming back here today was a big thing. I'm really happy with the reception I got from the Arsenal fans," she added. "The most important thing today was to start the season well with the new team. It's always nice to get off that zero again and get a goal."
Frida Maanum had earlier struck powerfully past City's new goalkeeper Ayaka Yamashita from inside the box as Arsenal got off to the perfect start in London.
Jonas Eidevall's side dominated large spells and created the better chances - they should have been 2-0 up when striker Stina Blackstenius raced through one-on-one with debutant Yamashita, but the City goalkeeper did well to block her effort.
Further chances came and went for Arsenal and they were almost punished by City before Mead reacted quickly when Rosa Kafaji's effort struck the post.
City top-scorer Khadija Shaw, who missed their 5-0 thrashing of Paris FC this week due to a visa issue, returned and forced goalkeeper Manuela Zinsberger into a smart save in the second half, while Miedema also had efforts parried away late on.
In the end, they had to settle for a draw after a pulsating encounter between two sides who hope to have their hands on the WSL trophy at the end of the season.
Arsenal impress as City get off to solid start
Manchester City arrived in London on Sunday knowing what was at stake and the significance of the match, despite it being their first of the season.
They missed out on the title by scoring seven goals fewer than Chelsea last season and a defeat by Arsenal on the penultimate weekend ultimately cost them heavily.
Buoyed by an impressive victory over Paris FC earlier in the week, City started off on the front foot, pressing Arsenal's backline and getting Lauren Hemp into dangerous positions.
But Arsenal quickly settled and soon found space to exploit, with Maanum taking advantage after smart work down the right-hand side by Caitlin Foord and Emily Fox.
The hosts were a constant threat and they were largely the better side but failed to capitalise when they were on top, with substitute Alessia Russo also wasting a chance when faced only with Yamashita in the second half.
City, on the other hand, grew stronger as the match wore on and thought they had sealed all three points through Park's stunning strike, which bounced off the underside of the crossbar and over the line.
But just as Arsenal looked to have come under pressure, the introductions of Mead and Russo began to stretch City's defence and they capitalised when Kafaji's strike hit the post and bounced back out to Mead to volley home.
It was an important goal which prevented a second defeat in four days for Arsenal after their loss to BK Hacken in Women’s Champions League qualifying.
More importantly, it ensures they can match the level required to compete with title challengers Manchester City this season.
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