Arsenal striker Vivianne Miedema scored in the Gunners’ 4-2 home win against Birmingham to become the first player to reach 100 Women’s Super League goal contributions.
Miedema, the WSL’s all-time leading scorer, increased Arsenal’s lead at Meadow Park with a crisp first-half finish. Rafaelle Souza had opened the scoring, and Beth Mead made it 3-0 to Arsenal.
Birmingham was given hope by Libby Smith and Lucy Quinn, but Caitlin Foord’s late goal put Arsenal eight points clear at the top of the table.
Following Arsenal’s triumph, Tottenham missed out on a chance to move into second place behind their north London rivals with a goalless draw at Reading.
The Spurs came within a whisker of breaking the deadlock as Ashleigh Neville’s looping shot rebounded off the inside of the post.
Spurs remain in fourth place, tied on points with Manchester United, one point behind Chelsea in second place, and nine points behind Arsenal.
Arsenal last won the WSL in 2019, and this performance gives them a comfortable lead over incumbent champions Chelsea, although the Blues have three games in hand.
Arsenal boss Jonas Eidevall said:
“We were in total control, playing well, then we conceded a goal and then another out of nothing. It looked like we just wanted the game to end.
“But you can’t play football with fear and I’m happy we scored the fourth goal.”
Arsenal has the league’s best player in Miedema, and she exuded quality throughout. Since her entrance in 2017, she has contributed 70 goals and 30 assists for a total of 100 goals.
While she called her 10th goal of the season “ugly,” it was more than Birmingham had scored in the WSL this season before the game.
The record which consists of 70 goals and 30 assists in the WSL to date, and if she keeps up her current pace, the record will be so far out of reach that it will be difficult for anybody to overtake, at least for a long time.
Miedema is certainly on the rise, as she is now the division’s leading goal scorer by a long shot.
Her contract at Arsenal expires in the summer, and it may be difficult to tie her down if her impressive record-breaking form continues, and if Arsenal does not do everything they can to keep her for at least another few seasons, despite a number of different goal scorers in the team, she will undoubtedly be a huge loss to both Arsenal and the WSL.
She undoubtedly wants to win the Champions League, and with the likes of Barcelona and Lyon in the equation, it may be difficult for her to stay with the Gunners.
Irrespective of where she goes, the 25-year-old has a bright, bright future lying in front of her, and she has many more goals to score!
