Arsenal make perfect WSL start as Beth Mead punishes early Brighton red card

Curtain up. As the Women’s Super League season began on a freezing Friday on the fringes of London, the hazy sunlit pastures of Wembley felt a long way away. Perhaps this was for the best. There are new battles to be fought, new rivalries to nourish, and for Arsenal a new campaign that brings with it the familiar hope of finally deposing Chelsea from their throne. Time to get to work.

There was a capacity crowd of 3,238 and a sparkling welcome for the conquering heroes Beth Mead and Leah Williamson. There was Gunnersaurus posing for photos in his black armband, because after all dinosaurs can feel sadness too. Most importantly there was a routine win for last season’s runners-up, an outcome that felt inexorable from the moment Emma Kullberg was sent off in the sixth minute to reduce Brighton to 10 players.

Arsenal occasionally made hard work of it, particularly in the opening half-hour. But as they settled into the game, grooving the old patterns and movements, the luxury of a relatively settled summer was in full evidence. Caitlin Foord had a good game on the left wing, Kim Little was pivotal in the middle, Stine Blackstenius looks in fine nick and Mead’s restless hunger earned her two second-half goals.

The press was strong and new signing Lisa Hurtig made a strong debut, a constant menacing presence on the shoulder of the last defender. Thirty-fourshots suggests a certain inefficiency in front of goal. But it was also testament to some fine goalkeeping, and a Brighton defence that wore its numerical deficit with a proud, wounded resolve.

In a way, the red card hindered rather than helped Arsenal in the short term: breaking their early momentum, forcing Brighton into a defensive crouch, narrowing the terms of