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

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

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