Embarrassment for Arsenal women as historic Martha Thomas goal secures Tottenham's first ever WSL north London derby win

Arsenal dominated the first hour at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium but couldn't find a way past Barbora Votikova in the Spurs goal. Caitlin Foord went the closest early on with a powerful shot across goal that hit the post, while Alessia Russo spurned a golden opportunity after the break, placing a header wide when unmarked in the penalty area. Spurs then shocked the visitors by opening the scoring just before the hour. A well-worked move that started from goalkeeper Votikova, ended with Martha Thomas slotting home Celin Bizet's cross.

Arsenal threw on Kyra Cooney-Cross and Vivianne Miedema, making her 100th WSL appearance, in search of an equaliser but had few clear sights of goal as Tottenham dug deep in front of the watching Ange Postecoglou. The Gunners have made a habit of scoring late goals this season but couldn't conjure up an equaliser despite 11 minutes of stoppage time - with there having been a medical emergency in the crowd - and slip to just a second WSL defeat of the season.

After scoring one goal in 20 appearances last season in the Barclays WSL for Manchester United, Thomas is the joint top scorer in the competition this season with seven goals from 10 games.

Tottenham didn't have many chances against Arsenal but when they did Thomas made absolutely no mistake to seal all three points for the hosts. The Tottenham forward now has seven goals in 10 games for Spurs and, most importantly, Saturday's strike secured an historic win for Tottenham and also saw Arsenal miss the chance to move top of the table.

The game had been billed as a clash between Thomas and Alessia Russo but it was an afternoon to forget for the Arsenal attacker. Russo came into the match in great form with three goals and two assists in her last four matches but barely had a sniff of goal due to a superb display by the Tottenham defence. Russo could, and probably should, have scored but put a poor effort wide early in the second half which really summed up her afternoon.

Saturday's game was the last for both teams before the winter break. Both teams return to action in the FA Cup on January 14. Arsenal take on Watford in the fourth round of the competition, while Tottenham play host to Sheffield United.