April 17, 2022, Vitality FA Cup Semi-Final, Arsenal vs Chelsea at Meadow Park
Arsenal’s recent spate of poor results against Chelsea continued as the FA Cup holders comfortably saw their way past a lacklustre Arsenal at Meadow Park.
Though in truth, it was Arsenal who seemed to start the brightest. Vivianne Miedema smashed a fine effort over the bar while Beth Mead caused absolute mayhem on Chelsea’s right, forcing Niamh Charles into some early defending.
It didn’t look like corners would be an avenue for Arsenal to exploit, as the first half saw several Arsenal corners go short before being either cleared or the ball going back to the defence. One opportunity did almost arise as the ball found its way to Leah Williamson on the edge of the box, but her attempt to ping the ball into the box only found the face of Bethany England, resulting in a brief pause in play.
Chelsea did carve out some opportunities, England driving through the middle but putting a tame curled effort into Manuela Zinsberger’s hands. Guro Reiten frequently threatened Arsenal’s right-hand side, but no attempted pass seemed to trouble Arsenal.
Towards the end of the first half, Arsenal seemed to run out of steam, as their passes often went backwards or sideways with no intent to put the ball forward, as Chelsea continued to force mistake after mistake. Erin Cuthbert could have placed Chelsea ahead before halftime but for a sublime sliding tackle from Miedema. Remarkably, Arsenal recorded zero shots on target in the first half.
Chelsea’s dominance, and Arsenal’s profligacy, eventually paid off early in the second half as Reiten found herself on the edge of the box with minimal pressure and was allowed to dribble towards the edge of the box to curl a beautiful effort into the top right corner of the goal.
The Blues added a second 11-minutes later. Millie Bright’s free-kick was lofted towards the Arsenal penalty area, and Sam Kerr got her head to it, which was eventually cleared by Lotte Wubben-Moy, but the clearance went only as far as the waiting Ji So-Yun. The South Korean international skipped past challenges and slammed in a shot off the bar. The Blues were eutrophic. The Gunners were misfiring.
It could easily have been as bad as the 2021 FA Cup final but for Manuela Zinsberger, who produced a string of necessary and fine saves.
In the end, Chelsea was sublime while Arsenal struggled as Chelsea recorded yet another positive result against the Gunners.
Full Time at Meadow Park
Arsenal 0-2 Chelsea
Reiten 50′, Ji 61′
Photos from the fixture by James Whitehead
Vitality Women’s FA Cup semi-final match between Arsenal Women and Chelsea FC Women at Meadow Park. Picture date: Wednesday April 17, 2022. Photo by James Whitehead
Vitality Women’s FA Cup semi-final match between Arsenal Women and Chelsea FC Women at Meadow Park. Picture date: Wednesday April 17, 2022. Photo by James Whitehead
Vitality Women’s FA Cup semi-final match between Arsenal Women and Chelsea FC Women at Meadow Park. Picture date: Wednesday April 17, 2022. Photo by James Whitehead
Vitality Women’s FA Cup semi-final match between Arsenal Women and Chelsea FC Women at Meadow Park. Picture date: Wednesday April 17, 2022. Photo by James Whitehead
Vitality Women’s FA Cup semi-final match between Arsenal Women and Chelsea FC Women at Meadow Park. Picture date: Wednesday April 17, 2022. Photo by James Whitehead
Vitality Women’s FA Cup semi-final match between Arsenal Women and Chelsea FC Women at Meadow Park. Picture date: Wednesday April 17, 2022. Photo by James Whitehead
Vitality Women’s FA Cup semi-final match between Arsenal Women and Chelsea FC Women at Meadow Park. Picture date: Wednesday April 17, 2022. Photo by James Whitehead
Vitality Women’s FA Cup semi-final match between Arsenal Women and Chelsea FC Women at Meadow Park. Picture date: Wednesday April 17, 2022. Photo by James Whitehead
Vitality Women’s FA Cup semi-final match between Arsenal Women and Chelsea FC Women at Meadow Park. Picture date: Wednesday April 17, 2022. Photo by James Whitehead
Vitality Women’s FA Cup semi-final match between Arsenal Women and Chelsea FC Women at Meadow Park. Picture date: Wednesday April 17, 2022. Photo by James Whitehead
Vitality Women’s FA Cup semi-final match between Arsenal Women and Chelsea FC Women at Meadow Park. Picture date: Wednesday April 17, 2022. Photo by James Whitehead
Vitality Women’s FA Cup semi-final match between Arsenal Women and Chelsea FC Women at Meadow Park. Picture date: Wednesday April 17, 2022. Photo by James Whitehead
Vitality Women’s FA Cup semi-final match between Arsenal Women and Chelsea FC Women at Meadow Park. Picture date: Wednesday April 17, 2022. Photo by James Whitehead
Vitality Women’s FA Cup semi-final match between Arsenal Women and Chelsea FC Women at Meadow Park. Picture date: Wednesday April 17, 2022. Photo by James Whitehead
Vitality Women’s FA Cup semi-final match between Arsenal Women and Chelsea FC Women at Meadow Park. Picture date: Wednesday April 17, 2022. Photo by James Whitehead
Vitality Women’s FA Cup semi-final match between Arsenal Women and Chelsea FC Women at Meadow Park. Picture date: Wednesday April 17, 2022. Photo by James Whitehead
Vitality Women’s FA Cup semi-final match between Arsenal Women and Chelsea FC Women at Meadow Park. Picture date: Wednesday April 17, 2022. Photo by James Whitehead
Vitality Women’s FA Cup semi-final match between Arsenal Women and Chelsea FC Women at Meadow Park. Picture date: Wednesday April 17, 2022. Photo by James Whitehead
Vitality Women’s FA Cup semi-final match between Arsenal Women and Chelsea FC Women at Meadow Park. Picture date: Wednesday April 17, 2022. Photo by James Whitehead
Vitality Women’s FA Cup semi-final match between Arsenal Women and Chelsea FC Women at Meadow Park. Picture date: Wednesday April 17, 2022. Photo by James Whitehead
Vitality Women’s FA Cup semi-final match between Arsenal Women and Chelsea FC Women at Meadow Park. Picture date: Wednesday April 17, 2022. Photo by James Whitehead
