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Ameé Ruszkai5 Apr 2026
Player ratings
Arsenal Women
FA Cup
Arsenal Women vs Brighton & Hove Albion Women
C. Kelly
R. Slegers
L. Codina
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Arsenal women's player ratings vs Brighton: The FA Cup drought continues! Renee Slegers' rotated Gunners pay the price with shock quarter-final defeat

Arsenal crashed out of the Women's FA Cup on Sunday, suffering a shock 2-0 defeat at home to Brighton. The Gunners came into the game in flying form, winning 11 of their last 12 games, with that defeat coming last time out in a Champions League quarter-final second leg at Chelsea in midweek that didn't stop them progressing into the last four. But the Seagulls showed no fear, starting fast against the reigning European champions before making their chances count after the break, as goals from Madison Haley and Caitlin Hayes put them into the FA Cup semi-finals.

Brighton deserved to take the lead much earlier than they eventually did. With just two minutes on the clock, Daphne van Domselaar had to produce a great save to deny Jelena Cankovic and the Seagulls nearly scored twice from the resulting corner, only for Laia Codina to come up with two big goalline blocks. When Arsenal started to gain control of the game more after that, it looked like the visitors could have missed their opportunity, but the Gunners couldn't take theirs either. Mariona Caldentey tested Chiamaka Nnadozie and Smilla Holmberg brought the best out of her not long after, with Stina Blackstenius also firing a shot wide from an admittedly tight angle.

Blackstenius thought she'd continued that momentum for Arsenal after the break and broke the deadlock, only for a soft foul to be called against her on Moeka Minami. Two minutes later, Brighton took advantage of that call, with the Gunners' poor defending and the Seagulls' incisive attacking play resulting in Haley thundering a great effort into Van Domselaar's top corner. They kept their foot down, too, with Carla Camacho going close twice either side of Caitlin Hayes doubling the lead with a terrific header.

Renee Slegers turned to her bench, throwing on Alessia Russo, Olivia Smith, Katie McCabe and more as she tried to rescue a fixture for which she had chosen to rotate, but it was far too late. No team has won the Women's FA Cup more often than Arsenal but it's 10 years since their last triumph in this competition, a drought that will go on after this unlikely and frustrating cupset.

GOAL rates Arsenal's players from Meadow Park...

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    Goalkeeper & Defence

    Daphne van Domselaar (6/10):

    Made a few good saves, though didn't cover herself in glory for the second goal.

    Smilla Holmberg (6/10):

    One of Arsenal's better players on a tough day. Had a good chance early but was denied by a great save.

    Lotte Wubben-Moy (5/10):

    Came into this game in great form but this was not her best day.

    Laia Codina (4/10):

    Made a couple of great blocks early on but otherwise struggled. Poor for the second goal and could've done more to put off Haley for the first.

    Taylor Hinds (5/10):

    Left the space in behind for the first goal by darting infield and not making the impact she aimed to.

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    Midfield

    Mariona Caldentey (6/10):

    Tried to make things happen and was one of Arsenal's better players, things just didn't quite come off.

    Kim Little (6/10):

    Like Caldentey, she got on the ball plenty to try reverse Arsenal's fortunes, it just didn't happen.

    Frida Maanum (4/10):

    Struggled to make much of an impact at all before going off before the hour.

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    Attack

    Beth Mead (6/10):

    Arsenal's best player before going off with a knock before the hour.

    Stina Blackstenius (5/10):

    Unlucky to have a goal disallowed for a soft foul. Needed to stay onside more, though, as those calls against her broke down several Arsenal attacks.

    Chloe Kelly (4/10):

    Delivered a couple of great crosses in the first half but was otherwise extremely quiet.

  • Subs & Manager

    Alessia Russo (4/10):

    Had half an hour to make an impact but couldn't do so. Struggled to get on the ball at all.

    Caitlin Foord (4/10):

    So often brings directness and positivity to the attack but couldn't really do so here.

    Olivia Smith (4/10):

    Like the other subs on around the hour, she couldn't make the impact desired. Too loose in possession.

    Katie McCabe (N/A):

    On with only 15 minutes to go.

    Emily Fox (N/A):

    A late sub.

    Renee Slegers (4/10):

    Used this game as an opportunity to rotate and it backfired massively. Subs couldn't make the impact the team needed, either.