Football Features

    Six key stats from Arsenal’s record WSL title triumph

    By William Eldridge

    Published: 19:59, 28 April 2019

    Arsenal Women ended a seven-year wait to win the Women’s Super League by beating Brighton & Hove Albion Women 4-0 at the Amex Stadium.

    Joe Montemurro’s side scored two goals in each half to claim the 15th top-flight title in the Gunners’ history, with the last coming in 2012.

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    Women’s Super League top scorer Vivianne Miedema gave Arsenal the perfect start, scoring inside the opening six minutes before turning provider for Katie McCabe, who doubled the lead.

    Second-half strikes from Beth Mead and Danielle van de Donk put the icing on the cake for Arsenal, who sealed the title with one league game to spare.

    In what has been a truly exceptional season for Arsenal in the WSL, the Gunners have pipped title-rivals Manchester City to the summit, turning their final fixture again the Citizens into a celebration rather than a potential concern.

    Along the way, Arsenal have produced some fantastic results, excellent goals and inspirational individual performances to secure top spot. Here are six key stats from Arsenal Women’s Super League title triumph:

    Miedema can’t stop scoring

    One woman who has been a key component to Arsenal’s success this campaign is centre-forward Miedema, who has fired home the goals far too regularly for the opposition’s liking.

    Signed in 2017, Miedema had a slow season last time around but has more than made up for that this campaign, scoring a highly impressive 31 goals in all competitions.

    Miedema started the season off in perfect style, netting a hat-trick on the opening day of the season against Liverpool and her season only got better and better from there.

    She has scored 22 of those goals in 19 league matches, with the Dutch international hardly believing her luck this season with the north Londoners, telling reporters: “I came to Arsenal to win the league but I don’t think I’ve realised what we’ve done yet.”

    Most WSL titles

    As stated above, Arsenal had gone seven years without getting their hands on the title but that wait is well and truly over now.

    The league itself – which was founded in 2010 – has been won by just four clubs in the past eight seasons, including the Gunners, Liverpool, Chelsea and Manchester City.

    However, Arsenal’s success this season means they have now won more WSL titles than any other their rivals, courtesy of three triumphs. The Blues and the Reds are both currently on two.

    The Gunners have finished third in four seasons but will be delighted with their improvement this time around.

    The latest victory represents the 15th time Arsenal have lifted a top-flight crown – including their FA Women’s Premier League National Division’s titles – since 1993.

    Record crowd 

    Women’s football has grown substantially across the past decade with further enhancements in the pipeline.

    Last month, a multi-million sponsorship deal was agreed with Barclays from the start of next season, which will bring more money, access and investment to the sport.

    The developments have also seen more fans watching the action live, with Arsenal’s win at the Amex watched by a Women’s Super League record attendance of 5,265.

    The match attendance is shown on the big screen during the FA Women’s Super League match at the AMEX Stadium, Brighton.

    The previous record was also held by Arsenal when 5,052 watched the Gunners play Chelsea at Emirates Stadium in 2012. To further put it into perspective, today’s crowd was about 10 times larger than Brighton’s average gate at Crawley Town’s stadium this campaign.

    These are fantastic numbers – especially in comparison to when the league began (Arsenal’s usual attendance at home is roughly 1000) – and these are only going to rise as the game continues to evolve in mainstream sporting viewership.

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    Goals, goals, goals 

    The only way to win any title in football is to ensure that you know how to put the ball in the back of the net.

    Arsenal have had no problems doing that this season, with the Gunners netting a mighty 69 goals in 19 games, with a game still left to play.

    It means they have averaged 3.63 goals per game throughout the league campaign, the highest average since the league’s founding in 2010. Although this year’s season has been opened up to 11 football teams, there is no denying the sheer ferocity of Arsenal’s attack.

    Arsenal’s biggest victory came in a 7-0 away win against bottom of the table Yeovil Town.

    Keeping it tight

    At the other end of the pitch, if your defence is too lackadaisical then the chances are that the title won’t be yours.

    It’s a good job for Arsenal then that they have been equally as talented across the backline, conceding just 13 goals in their 19 outings.

    They have kept 11 clean sheets, with Arsenal conceding more than one goal in just four games. With one game remaining, only Chelsea have conceded less goals than Arsenal, currently sitting on 12.

    Start as you mean to go on

    Things looked positive from the off for Arsenal at the start of the season, with their 5-0 win over Liverpool directing them towards the title from the very first whistle.

    In fact, Arsenal have managed to sit at the top of the Women’s Super League from day one with that victory.

    Sensationally, the Gunners won their opening nine league matches – putting together 27 points – solidifying their title bid early on in the season.

    Montemurro’s side – who finished third last season, seven points behind champions Chelsea – proved their credentials at the first time of asking and have won 14 more points this time around compared to last year.

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