Arsenal 1-0 Tottenham: Russo earns North London Derby win at sold-out Emirates

Arsenal signed Alessia Russo with the hope she would make the difference in their bid for a first league title in five years.

The forward may not have racked up as many goals as she would have liked in her first season in north London - seven from 15 games, but her 49th minute strike to seal victory over Tottenham could prove incredibly valuable.

Every game feels like a must win for the Gunners, who trail leaders Manchester City by three points. Arsenal were starting to get frustrated in front of another sell-out crowd at the Emirates but, in a game of few chances, Russo was in the right place at the right time to make the difference.

Arsenal had been facing an injury crisis heading into this game, but manager Jonas Eidevall was given a boost in that Victoria Pelova, Caitlin Foord and Katie McCabe, who had all been doubts, were fit enough to start, while Leah Williamson returned for a place on the bench after missing the win over Manchester United. There was, however, no Vivianne Miedema, who will undergo minor knee surgery next week.

Miedema’s creativity was evidently missed in the first half. Arsenal’s main problem this season has been their inability to break down low blocks, despite dominating possession. That was very much the story of first 45 minutes. The Gunners saw far more of the ball, but it was Tottenham who came closest to breaking the deadlock, with Manuela Zinsberger making a fine save to tip Jessica Naz’s shot onto the crossbar.

Arsenal had struggled to get their creative midfielder Kim Little into the game before the break, but it took the Gunners’ captain just four minutes of the second half to find the pass which unlocked the Spurs defence. Her diagonal ball picked out Beth Mead, who took a touch before cutting back for Russo to finish.

Spurs rarely looked like getting back into the game and created little to trouble Zinsberger in the second half. In truth, there were more wild tackles than chances for either side in the final 20 minutes.

One of the biggest cheers of the day occurred when Williamson came on for Laia Codina in the 74th minute. The England captain made her return from an anterior cruciate ligament injury in January but sat out Arsenal’s last game as well as the Lionesses’ friendlies against Austria and Italy with a hamstring problem This was her first game back at the Emirates and she helped her side see out the closing stages.

It is Chelsea up next in the league for Arsenal, who play Aston Villa in the League Cup on Wednesday before a weekend off due to being eliminated from the FA Cup. That trip to Stamford Bridge will no doubt be key in the title race. Arsenal will have to be better than this to beat Emma Hayes’ side on their own turf, but they go there still in the mix and still fighting.