West Ham Women 0 – 0 Arsenal Women

Arsenal have been made to pay for failing to land any of the strikers they identified as January transfer targets after being held to a goalless draw by resolute West Ham – the first time the Hammers have taken WSL points off their London counterparts.

Jonas Eidevall’s side caused a stir before the transfer window closed with their pursuit of Manchester United’s Alessia Russo. Both bids were reported to be world-record fees, the second of them around £500,000.

But they could not prize United’s star striker away from Manchester, before then drawing a blank in their first WSL encounter since the window slammed shut – the first time they have failed to score in the league in over 12 months.

Goalkeeper Mackenzie Arnold was the hero for Paul Konchesky’s side, who were also denied a first-half penalty when Rafaelle clumsily upended Dagny Brynjarsdottir, which was missed by all the officials.

The visitors came on strong in the second period, registering a total of nine shots on target, but couldn’t create anything clear-cut with quality in front of goal at a premium.

Arnold denied Stina Blackstenius on multiple occasions, while Frida Maanum also squandered a plethora of chances, as Arsenal lost more ground on frontrunners Chelsea in the WSL title race – they are now five points adrift, but hold a game in hand.

What’s next?

Saturday 11th February 12:00pm


Kick off 12:30pm

It’s a mega weekend of WSL action up next! Manchester City host Arsenal on Saturday February 11, live on Sky Sports Football, kick-off 12.30pm. West Ham, meanwhile, have a free weekend.

But if you’re interested in more live action you can delve into Manchester United‘s trip to Spurs, live on Sky Sports Football, on Sunday February 12 from 11.30am, kick-off 12pm.