Hemp double lifts Manchester City past Arsenal to preserve perfect WSL start

Lauren Hemp scored twice as Manchester City beat Arsenal 4-2 at the Etihad Stadium on Sunday, October 4, maintaining their perfect start to the Women's Super League season. The defending champions recovered from two deficits to record a fifth successive league victory, according to City's official match report.

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Lisa Baum opened the scoring for Arsenal in the 43rd minute before Hemp equalised in first-half stoppage time. The visitors regained the advantage through Alessia Russo in the 49th minute, leaving City needing another response after the interval. Andree Jeglertz turned to his substitutes shortly after the hour.

Kerstin Casparij supplied that response, scoring in the 63rd minute after coming off the bench. Hemp then struck again in the 72nd minute to put City ahead for the first time, and Bunny Shaw added the fourth in the 84th. City enter the international break with 15 points, two ahead of Chelsea.

For Arsenal, the defeat leaves a markedly different picture. BBC Sport reported that they sit 10th, already 10 points behind City after five league games. Their four-match winless WSL sequence is their longest since October 2023, and this is their second-lowest points total after five fixtures in the competition. They had fewer points at the same stage only in 2014.

The BBC also reported that sources at Arsenal continued to back head coach Renee Slegers despite acknowledging that results were below expectations. Slegers said the club and team remained aligned and that she still had the energy to lead them. She plans a review of the opening part of the season during the international break, when players will temporarily leave for national-team duty.

Arsenal have won two of their first seven matches across all competitions, according to the BBC. Before Sunday's game, they had scored only twice in the league; Russo's finish was her first WSL goal of the campaign. Slegers said the break could give players a change of environment before they return, while maintaining that the squad could find solutions to its difficulties.