Arsenal women’s player ratings vs Brighton: The WSL title race is over! Gunners’ week goes from bad to worse as Frida Maanum’s goal not enough to earn victory and keep Man City from the trophy

Less than two weeks ago, it was Brighton who opened the door ever so slightly for Arsenal by beating Man City 3-2 in a result that left the league leaders with no margin for error. It looked like City would slip up again at the weekend, when Liverpool frustrated them plenty, but a stoppage-time winner from Rebecca Knaak left the Gunners needing to win all of their three games in hand to stand any chance of becoming champions of England.

However, after being the team to open that door for Arsenal, Brighton slammed it shut again. The Seagulls, who were unlucky not to beat Manchester United last time outstarted fast and really should’ve taken the lead with just two minutes on the clock, only for Olaug Tvedten to fire a great chance right at Daphne van Domselaar from close range. It was a warning that the Gunners didn’t heed, with them unable to carve out anything of real note in a rather flat first half.

Instead, it was Brighton who broke the deadlock just before the break as Fuka Tsunoda, the game’s stand-out player to that point, pounced on some unconvincing defending and fired a shot at goal that was deflected beyond the unfortunate Van Domselaar. This was just Tsunoda’s second start of the WSL season but, as was the case for many of the players given an opportunity by head coach Dario Vidosic, who rotated ahead of Sunday’s FA Cup semi-final against Liverpool, she took her chance.

Arsenal boss Renee Slegers turned to her bench at half-time, looking to inject improvement into an underwhelming display, and the introduction of Mariona Caldentey did help, with the 2025 Ballon d’Or runner-up one of those to test Brighton goalkeeper Chiamaka Nnadozie after the restart. Caitlin Foord did so most significantly but couldn’t beat the Nigeria international, while Alessia Russo spurned a great chance to level the scores after good work down the right by Smilla Holmberg.

Frida Maanum gave Arsenal a lifeline just past the hour, combining brilliantly with Russo to race through on goal and finish well to level the scores. But nothing less than a win would keep the title race alive and despite more changes, with Stina Blackstenius, Katie McCabe, Beth Mead and Chloe Kelly all introduced, the Gunners just could not find that second goal.

While the full-time whistle produced scenes of disappointment for those in red and white here, just days after they also endured the end of their European title defence with defeat in Lyonthose watching from the blue corner of Manchester will have been celebrating wildly as it signalled the crowning of Man City as the new champions of England.

GOAL rates Arsenal’s players from the Broadfield Stadium…