Beth Mead shows Alessia Russo how it's done! Winners and losers as Arsenal's Lionessess endure mixed afternoon against Vivianne Miedema-inspired Man City in Women's Super League opener

It's been a rough couple of years for Miedema. After rupturing her ACL back in December 2022, the forward went through 10 months of rehab and recovery in order to finally get back on the pitch, then needed to have a second surgery on the same knee earlier this year. As a result, when her move to Man City this summer has been discussed, it has come with caveats surrounding her fitness and whether she can get back to her brilliant best.

Anyone who doubted either of those things was proven wrong on Sunday, then. Deployed in a deeper role when compared to the centre-forward position she predominantly thrived in for so many years in Arsenal's colours, Miedema was City's liveliest player throughout this huge game and her confidence was evident when she almost scored from 30 yards out in the opening minutes.

She'd have to wait a little bit longer to get her goal, and it wasn't as good as that would have been given it took a hefty deflection, but she made her mark and with the lovely footwork she showed to set up the shot, the intelligent pressing she executed throughout the game and the regular applause-worthy passes she produced, she reminded everyone just what she is about.

When Alessia Russo was called upon by Jonas Eidevall in the 63rd minute, she would have entered the fray desperate to prove a point to her manager. The Swede has been reluctant to field his two strikers - Russo and Stina Blackstenius - up front together since the former’s blockbuster arrival from Manchester United last summer. And on this occasion, it was the Swede who got the nod, with Eidevall pointing to her ability to exploit City’s weakness in transition during his pre-match broadcast interview.

In the first half, it became clear that this selection had been an inspired one, with Blackstenius getting plenty of service in behind whenever Arsenal forced a turnover. But despite having at least two golden chances to score, her finishing left an awful lot to be desired.

This set the scene perfectly for Russo to come on, grab an equaliser and show Eidevall what he’d been missing. And not long after she was introduced, she was handed the opportunity to do exactly that. Set free by a pinpoint long ball, Russo had all the time in the world to pick her spot past City goalkeeper Ayaka Yamashita. But her eventual finish was, quite frankly, pitiful - a venom-less pea-roller which was easily collected by the Japan international. As a result, it was her Lionesses team-mate, Mead, who stole the headlines instead.

Much like Russo, Beth Mead will have been aiming to remind Eidevall of her talents off the bench on Sunday. Following a frustrating display in her side’s Champions League defeat to Hacken in midweek, Caitlin Foord and summer-signing Mariona Caldentey were selected ahead of her out wide against City.

But shortly after Jess Park had beaten Zinsberger from range, she came on to try and dig her side out of a hole. It’s a role she has previously excelled in, particularly at the Emirates, coming on to devastating effect and setting up a 94th-minute winner against Aston Villa back in October 2023.

And she rose to the occasion again against City, reacting quickest to Rosa Kafaji’s rebounded shot and bundling the ball home at the back post. It was a big goal, sparing her side’s blushes after some disappointing finishing and Mead will be hoping it’s the start of a strong season.

With competition for places at club and international level getting tougher and tougher, the Lionesses star needs to have another goal-filled campaign to retain her position as a guaranteed start for England and Arsenal.

While it was little surprise to see City start with both Miedema and Park in midfield in their midweek Champions League qualifier, in which they battered Paris FC 5-0, it was a bit of a shock for Gareth Taylor to stick with that for a big game like Sunday's. That's because both are essentially forwards and operate as playmakers in the middle, thus offering little defensive nous and steel.

That was evident throughout the afternoon at the Emirates. When Arsenal broke away on the counter, there was a ridiculous gap between the defence and Miedema and Park, giving the Gunners an incredible amount of space to attack. Hasegawa, as the sitting midfielder, was always there trying to help out her defence, but she was given very little help in tracking runners or stopping breakaways.

Hasegawa wasn't perfect herself on Sunday by any means - she should've tracked Frida Maanum for Arsenal's opener - but she did relatively well considering how imbalanced City's midfield was. While it's a trio that will work fine when Taylor's side play teams they aren't expected to be challenged as much by in a defensive sense, it leaves them - and especially Hasegawa - far too exposed in big games.

It took only a few minutes for the first of many “We’ve got McCabe” chants to start echoing around the Emirates on Sunday. Few players are as beloved as the Ireland international in north London - and her performance against Manchester City reminded us why she’s such a popular figure.

In both directions, the Arsenal left-back was simply sublime in a display that reeked of her trademark intensity. In the first half alone she made two vital, goal-saving interventions and gave Aoba Fujino a baptism fire in the WSL, not giving the City right winger an inch all afternoon. She finished proceedings with a game-high 12 defensive actions (four clearances, two blocks, two interceptions and four tackles).

McCabe was equally effective going forward, too. Finding her forwards with a string of pinpoint long passes and setting substitute Kafaji free with a clever piece of skill in the build up to the winner. No wonder Eidevall praised her for another “big shift” at full-time.

It was only a few months ago that Khiara Keating was celebrating an historic achievement, that of becoming the youngest-ever Golden Glove winner in WSL history. But as the season after her big breakthrough kicked off, the 20-year-old surprisingly found herself watching on from the bench.

Yamashita is an excellent goalkeeper. She's an experienced Japan international who is not only a strong shot-stopper but also superb with the ball at her feet. Her signing this summer strengthened a goalkeeper department weakened by injury to Sandy MacIver and the departure to Barcelona of Ellie Roebuck. Still, it felt unlikely that she would unseat Keating from her starting role.

However, after Yamashita was selected for both City's Champions League qualifier and then this WSL opener, it appears the England youngster has some work to do to get her place in the starting XI back.