Gunners edged north London derby while new United manager put the brakes on Manchester City’s winning start

The penalty that allowed Arsenal to come from a goal behind to take the lead may have come with a healthy helping of luck, with the ball having come off Ella Morris’s raised arm as her teammate attempted to clear it, but it could prove to be the turning point Arsenal needed. “It’s been tough. We haven’t got the results we wanted,” penalty scorer Alessia Russo told the BBC afterwards. “This was an important win as far as north London derbies goes. It was really important and this was a great opportunity to try and turn it around.” It has taken seven games for the Gunners to secure their second league win of the season despite high hopes ahead of the new campaign and, while the result was a significant one, there is still a long way to go if Arsenal are to salvage anything from the most disappointing of starts. The performance against Tottenham was far from perfect and, in the first half in particular, sloppy and lacking fight. Tightening up their passing and harnessing the grit they found as they clung onto their lead towards the end of the match will be critical if they are to really kick on from this result. Suzanne Wrack

Another round of games and another disappointing draw for Arsenal while Manchester City sit top of the table with a 100% record

There would have been hope that the international break could offer the Arsenal players and staff a reset but the same problems reared their head at the Emirates on Sunday in a 1-1 draw with Birmingham. As they have done so often this season, the Gunners dominated most attacking and possession-based metrics – they registered 76% possession, a 2.73 xG and 43 touches in the opposition box – but their profligacy in front of goal and lack of urgency in their play once again came to the fore. Of their 27 chances, they managed just four on target as they toiled against a resilient opposition who understood the playbook. Birmingham set up in a strong defensive structure, protecting their box admirably with numbers to frustrate Renée Slegers’s side, who famously struggle to break down low blocks. In contrast, Birmingham scored with their one shot on target as Océane Hurtré took her impressive tally to six in six. Sophie Downey

Match report: Arsenal 1-1 Birmingham

Gunners lacked cutting edge again at Stamford Bridge while the former Barcelona star dominated against Brighton

How to solve the problem of an inability to take your chances? That is the question that will haunt the Arsenal head coach, Renée Slegers, over the coming days. In their 1-0 defeat by Chelsea, Arsenal applied more than enough pressure to make a difference, but in registering two of their 18 shots on target, a fundamental lack of ruthlessness remains. They dominated the opening stages at Stamford Bridge, but, as has often been the case this season, they were made to pay for their wastefulness. None of their nine first-half attempts troubled the goalkeeper, Hannah Hampton. Chelsea, however, had five of eight on target and scored just before half-time through Alyssa Thompson. “I wanted to keep it away from the players because they can score goals and they can finish and they will get the rewards for their work,” Slegers said. Solutions need to be found quickly. Sophie Downey

WSL roundup: Putellas scores first London City goal, Man City maintain perfect start

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England host Spain at Wembley this evening. Thomas Tuchel was asked yesterday if he thought that Spain’s possession-based style of play gives them an advantage.

In response, the England head coach said: “I think it is an advantage in general. Not only against us, but against everyone. This is how they play. I think they rely on that. This is how they train and they were brought up. This is clearly part of them.

Slovenia v Scotland

Faroe Islands v Kazakhstan

San Marino v Finland

Iceland v Estonia

Bulgaria v Luxembourg

Czech Republic v Croatia

North Macedonia v Switzerland

England v Spain

Slovakia v Moldova

Albania v Belarus

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The teams are out. Kick-off is just a few moments away!

Ahead of today’s match, Chelsea head coach Sonia Bompastor said: “We need to keep the confidence and keep working hard. I spoke after the Villa game about the mentality, the mindset. It’s a huge part of being ruthless in the box. That game could have been easily 3-0 half-time, and we need to have that mentality when we have the opportunities to kill the game after 45 minutes to do that.

Chelsea announced the signing of Emiliano Martínez ahead of their Premier League match against Brighton, while Roberto De Zerbi reacted to Tottenham’s 2-0 loss to Newcastle

How the table looks after yesterday’s results…

Elsewhere in the Premier League, Hull continued their winning start against Coventry and Everton clinched a last-minute equaliser against Bournemouth.

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More on City’s move for Ayyoub Bouaddi here:

Marco Rose spoke positively before his first competitive match in charge of Bournemouth, at Manchester City on Sunday. The German head coach was unveiled in May after Andoni Iraola made the decision to leave the south coast club.

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How Group D stands after the opening games…

Group D also continued today, with Australia earning a 2-0 win over Turkey in Vancouver. You can recap the action below.

⚽ Your welcome to an ultra-busy footballing weekend
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So, what’s on today?

FA Cup final:

Chelsea v Manchester City (3pm BST)

Celtic v Hearts (12:30pm BST)

Falkirk v Rangers (12:30pm BST)

Hibernian v Motherwell (12:30pm BST)

Brighton v Tottenham (1pm BST)

West Ham v Manchester City (1pm BST)

Liverpool v Arsenal (1pm BST)

Chelsea v Manchester United (1pm BST)

London City Lionesses v Aston Villa (1pm BST)

Everton v Leicester City (1pm BST)

St. Pauli v Wolfsburg (2:30pm BST)

Heidenheim v Mainz (2:30pm BST)

Eintracht Frankfurt v Stuttgart (2:30pm BST)

Werder Bremen v Borussia Dortmund (2:30pm BST)

Bayer Leverkusen v Hamburg (2:30pm BST)

Borussia Monchengladbach v Hoffenheim (2:30pm BST)

Bayern Munich v Köln (2:30pm BST)

Union Berlin v Augsburg (2:30pm BST)

Freiburg v RB Leipzig (2:30pm BST)

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Elsewhere yesterday, Sunderland held Manchester United to a 0-0 draw at the Stadium of Light.

Arne Slot’s decision to bring off Rio Ngumoha for Alexander Isak against Chelsea was not well-received by fans, but the head coach insisted that he only did it because the 17-year-old winger had been suffering from cramp.

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As always, feel free to email in with any thoughts, feelings, predictions, observations and all that jazz. What are your plans for the weekend? Where will you be watching the football? Let me know!

How the Premier League table looks as things stand…

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A huge performance is needed from Spurs today. They need to capitalise on that West Ham stumble.

At the other end of the table, West Ham lost ground in the race for survival following a 3-0 loss to Brentford. The Hammers will find themselves in the relegation zone by the end of the day if Tottenham beat Aston Villa this evening.

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At the other end of the table, Arsenal host Newcastle as they look to leapfrog Manchester City and move back to first in the Premier League. The Gunners slipped to second earlier this week after City clinched a 1-0 win over Burnley.

They need a win today to keep some control in the title race.

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Mikel Arteta urged Arsenal fans to bring the noise at the Emirates Stadium this afternoon as the Gunners look to go 12 points clear at the top of the table.

He said: “We know the meaning of every match here and the opportunity that we have, especially when we play at home. We need to maximise every result. It’s about each individual and how we turn up there. It’s actually impacting the game, the atmosphere and energy in the stadium. Whoever comes tomorrow, I ask them to be with that mindset, energy and commitment, because the team is going to respond beautifully to that.”

Chelsea put seven past Port Vale in a dominant display at Stamford Bridge to book a place in the FA Cup semi-finals

Port Vale last reached the quarter-finals of the FA Cup 72 years ago. They faced Leyton Orient in the 1953-54 quarter-finals and clinched a 1-0 win to reach the semis.

Could that be a good omen for today?

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And for a roundup of yesterday’s Championship action, click below.

Yesterday’s results

Brighton 2-1 Liverpool

Fulham 3-1 Burnley

Everton 3-0 Chelsea

Leeds United 0-0 Brentford

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Here we go!

The teams are out across the grounds and we’re about to get under way!

Sonia Bompastor ‘a bit sad’ at League Cup changes while Andrée Jeglertz steels Manchester City for season’s climax

Sonia Bompastor said losing the opportunity to play in the League Cup was a “bit sad,” but she understood the reason for excluding teams that qualify for the Champions League next season. With Chelsea rarely outside the European places the Blues’ 2-0 League Cup final victory over Manchester United on Sunday may well be their last foray in the competition for some time. “I think I understand the reason why the decision is made,” she said after goals from Lauren James and Aggie Beever-Jones secured the win. “For a club like Chelsea, we are playing a lot of games, our schedule is busy, so I understand the reason behind the decision. As much as we want to be competing in every competition and going as far as possible and grabbing as many titles and trophies as possible, I understand. Of course, when you have one competition that is probably going away from you it’s a bit sad.” Suzanne Wrack

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Wrexham’s last five results:

Charlton 0-1 Wrexham

Wrexham 2-1 Portsmouth

Wrexham 5-3 Ipswich

Bristol City 2-2 Wrexham

Wrexham 1-0 Ipswich (FA Cup)

On a dramatic afternoon in the Premier League, Burnley suffered a heartbreaking 4-3 defeat to Brentford, Everton clinched a 3-2 win over Newcastle and Liverpool scored five against West Ham

It’s full-time across the grounds in the lunchtime games. Let’s take a look at the results…

Premier League:

Bournemouth 1-1 Sunderland

Leicester City 0-2 Norwich City

Derby County 3-1 Blackburn Rovers

Portsmouth 0-1 Hull City

Leyton Orient 1-3 Barnsley

Northampton Town 1-1 Peterborough United

Shrewsbury Town 1-2 Walsall

Swindon Town 1-1 Bristol Rovers

Cambridge United 1-1 MK Dons

Shrewsbury Town 1-2 Walsall (live)

Swindon Town 1-1 Bristol Rovers (live)

Cambridge United 1-0 MK Dons (live)

Fleetwood Town v Newport County

Crewe Alexandra v Tranmere Rovers

Barnet v Chesterfield

Notts County v Grimsby Town

Oldham Athletic v Crawley Town

Colchester United v Salford City

Barrow v Gillingham

Bromley v Accrington Stanley