The Sweden international has become a slightly-forgotten figure in recent weeks, but she was the hero against the Cityzens on Sunday
Alessia Russo might've been Arsenal's star signing this summer but it was Stina Blackstenius, the centre forward whose place the England star has taken, who was the Gunners' timely match-winner in a huge clash with title rivals Manchester City on Sunday. Introduced at the expense of Russo with 75 minutes on the clock, there were just three minutes of normal time remaining when Blackstenius capitalised on a costly defensive error to roll the ball into an empty net, securing a 2-1 win that will be a massive confidence boost for a team whose start to the new season has bordered on disaster.
Elimination in the first round of Women's Champions League qualifying was followed up by a shock opening weekend defeat to Liverpool, with Arsenal six points off table-topping Chelsea coming into this fixture. It proved to be a topsy-turvy afternoon. The Gunners started poorly but City didn't punish them, with Steph Catley instead giving the hosts an early lead through a wonderful strike. That could've been doubled with only 20 minutes on the clock but Khiara Keating stepped up to save Kim Little's penalty brilliantly instead.
City continued to look the side more in control of affairs and it meant that the only surprising thing about their equaliser in the second half, through in-form England winger Chloe Kelly, was that it didn't come sooner. They looked to have the bit between their teeth from then on, until Keating made a devastating mistake. The teenager misjudged Katie McCabe's long ball forward and her headed clearance had plenty of height but no distance, allowing Blackstenius to pick it up with ease and put it into the back of the net.
It was a crushing blow for Keating and City, with the young goalkeeper in tears at full-time as she replayed the incident over and over in her mind. There will be plenty of chances for her and her team to make up the ground lost in the title race by this defeat, there's no doubt about that, but it's a result that offers Arsenal a way back into the battle at the top, one that was certainly not expected to open up for them based on the opening stages in Borehamwood.
GOAL runs through the winners and losers from a chaotic afternoon at Meadow Park…
Getty ImagesWINNER: Stina Blackstenius
When will Blackstenius get the credit she deserves? Arsenal's Swedish striker has come up with so many big goals for the club since her arrival last January but it often feels like praise is hard to come by.
So far this season, head coach Jonas Eidevall has opted for Russo ahead of Blackstenius in a system with a lone striker in every WSL game except the draw at Manchester United in which the pair started together.
It could be argued that the latter game brought with it the Gunners' best performance of the season, with the qualities of each complementing the other and making the attack look more dynamic.
The strength of the case to start Russo and Blackstenius together only increased on Sunday. Russo was isolated throughout the game, with team-mate Victoria Pelova the only starter on either team to have fewer touches, and Blackstenius hardly got a look in either until Keating's error.
But, after scoring the opener against Man Utd last month, she was there in the right place at the right time again to give Arsenal a huge win. There is a lot that Blackstenius can bring to the Gunners and that shouldn't be forgotten.
AdvertisementGetty ImagesLOSER: Khiara Keating
Keating has been outstanding in the first few weeks of this new season. She's asserted herself as City's first-choice goalkeeper ahead of two senior internationals, she has come up big to help her team make a fantastic start to the campaign and she earned her first senior England call-up as a result of all of that last month, too. But Sunday was a day for her to forget.
The teenager didn't make a great clearance in the build-up to Arsenal's first goal and then, after a poor back pass from Esme Morgan, she brought down Cloe Lacasse to give the Gunners a penalty. There, though, Keating came up big – huge, even – making a remarkable save to deny Little, the hosts' usually clinical captain.
Confident and commanding in collecting crosses and strong in her distribution from then on, it appeared the young shot-stopper had made a decisively-positive contribution in what was looking more and more likely to be a City win.
But it all changed in an instant. McCabe's long ball was misread by Keating, her ineffective attempt at a clearance allowed Blackstenius in and the Gunners were 2-1 up. The City 'keeper was devastated as she pondered what might've been. It was a tough day for her but she is young and she will absolutely learn from it. There is still so much to be excited about when it comes to her potential and her future.
GettyWINNER: Lotte Wubben-Moy
If there is one area of Arsenal's that has looked particularly weak this season it has been in central defence. Eidevall's side have constantly looked suspect to mistakes, failed to deal with crosses effectively and made costly errors, regardless of the personnel chosen or whether they are playing as a back four or a back three.
On Sunday, though, after surviving some difficult early moments, the Gunners looked much better and that was largely thanks to the performance of Lotte Wubben-Moy. The England international dealt brilliantly with the imposing threat of City striker Bunny Shaw, she was reliable in her passing and she constantly got in the way to block and clear any danger.
Despite being a regular in squads and an ever-present for Arsenal, it's not been easy for Wubben-Moy to force herself into Sarina Wiegman's thinking when it comes to the Lionesses' starting XI. This performance won't have done her chances of changing that any harm, though.
Getty ImagesLOSER: Man City's defence
Alex Greenwood's head injury on England duty was a massive blow to the Lionesses in a game that they would go on to lose to Belgium, taking their UEFA Women's Nations League and Olympic fates out of their own hands. But Sunday highlighted, bright and bold, just how big a loss she was for her club, too.
Usually so composed with the ball at the back, Man City looked all at sea at times without the player that excels at that the most. They were far from convincing in playing out, with mistakes in doing so leading to Arsenal's opening goal and to the penalty incident, and they missed Greenwood's ability to start attacks with her excellent passing range, too.
If anyone needed a perfect example of how important the England star is to her club team, then this performance was exactly that.
