By Tony Attwood
I’m sorry to say I don’t have a preview of the match at the moment to publish, but Arsenal Ladies are playing Manchester United today at 5.30pm at Arsenal Stadium. It is on Sky TV.
Apparently, 10,000 tickets have been sold so far for the game, although Arsenal’s website says, “Over 35,000 supporters are set to descend on Emirates Stadium on Saturday evening to watch us take on Manchester United in the Women’s Super League”.
I’m not at all sure if you can pay at the gate – Arsenal’s ability to put out clear news and ensure that all the search engines have, is not quite 100%. Well actually not quite 10%. However that statement above seems to suggest you can. And there is some information here.
What I can offer is the relevant league table which, rather like the men’s league table, makes pleasant reading…
| # | Team | P | W | D | L | F | A | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Arsenal Women | 6 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 18 | 1 | 17 | 18 |
| 2 | Chelsea Women | 7 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 17 | 6 | 11 | 18 |
| 3 | Manchester United Women | 6 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 15 | 3 | 12 | 15 |
| 4 | Manchester City Women | 6 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 15 | 7 | 8 | 12 |
| 5 | Tottenham Hotspur Women | 5 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 11 | 8 | 3 | 9 |
| 6 | Aston Villa Women | 6 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 9 | 9 | 0 | 9 |
| 7 | Everton Women | 6 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 6 | 7 | -1 | 9 |
| 8 | West Ham United Women | 7 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 12 | 16 | -4 | 9 |
| 9 | Brighton and Hove Albion Women | 6 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 7 | 23 | -16 | 6 |
| 10 | Liverpool Women | 6 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 3 | 10 | -7 | 3 |
| 11 | Reading Women | 6 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 5 | 14 | -9 | 3 |
| 12 | Leicester City Women | 7 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 2 | 16 | -14 | 0 |
What I can also add is that recent results have been encouraging and enjoyable
| Date | Home Team | Score | Away Team | Competition |
| 19/10/22 | Olympique Lyonnais | 1 – 5 | Arsenal | Champions League |
| 23/10/22 | Liverpool | 0 – 2 | Arsenal | Super League |
| 27/10/22 | Arsenal | 3 – 1 | Zürich | Champions League |
| 30/10/22 | Arsenal | 3 – 1 | West Ham United | Super League |
| 06/11/22 | Leicester City WFC | 0 – 4 | Arsenal | Super League |
I would love to go to this match but unfortunately at my age (79) it is a bit too much for me given the journey from Crawley involved. I will definitely watch on TV as I always do. I must say I enjoy the ladies matches as much as the mens, the standard has gone up in leaps and bounds since I used to watch my youngest daughter playing (she was at the Fulham academy) eighteen years ago.
The quality of football both in the UK and worldwide has raised the standard to such a high level that any football fan who doesn’t watch and appreciate our ladies games is missing out big time.