Arsenal 2-1 Aston Villa: Player ratings as Gunners bag dramatic WSL win

FROM EMIRATES STADIUM - Arsenal scored two stoppage time goals to break Aston Villa's hearts in a pulsating WSL game that saw Beth Mead make her long-awaited return from injury.

Mead climbed off the bench in the 88th minute with Arsenal trailing to Maz Pacheco's first half goal, and she set Alessia Russo up for the winning goal after Katie McCabe had levelled the scores.

In front of 35,829 supporters in north London, Arsenal avenged their final day defeat to Carla Ward's Villa last season, kickstarting their campaign after a surprise defeat to Liverpool on the opening day and more dropped points against Manchester United.

How the game unfolded

Jonas Eidevall made five changes to the team held by United at Leigh Sports Village, with Manuela Zinsberger and Lotte Wubben-Moy among the players to come back into the Arsenal side.

The game's first big chance fell to Arsenal's Caitlin Foord after an error by Daphne van Domselaar, but the Villa goalkeeper's blushes were spared by a vital clearance by Pacheco at the back post.

Pacheco would then influence the game at the other end of the pitch, taking advantage of more woeful defending from Arsenal, who have been dogged by inconsistency in the early stages of the season, to nod home Lucy Staniforth's corner.

Arsenal, still missing Leah Williamson in the heart of central defence, had chances of their own against a high-pressing Villa, with Russo seeing an effort cleared off the line by England international teammate Rachel Daly.

Foord had a second half effort tipped onto the woodwork by the sprawling Van Domselaar, before Steph Catley sent a header wide of the target.

But it was the return of Mead after 11 months out with a torn ACL that sparked Arsenal into life. Not only did her introduction lift the crowd, it lifted the players on the pitch for the 12 remaining minutes - stoppage time again in plentiful supply.

Two minutes into added time, McCabe drew the Gunners level after good work from substitute Victoria Pelove, before Russo bagged her first WSL goal for Arsenal after being set up by Mead. There were wild scenes of celebrations after the goal, with the magnitude of this victory perhaps to be felt in the coming weeks and months.

Arsenal player ratings (4-3-3)

GK: Manuela Zinsberger - 5/10 - Rotated back into the side as Eidevall looked to solve his defensive woes. A decent showing but clearly low on confidence

RB: Noelle Maritz - 6/10 - Made her way into the final third on a number of occasions but caught out of position as a result.

CB: Amanda Ilestedt - 5/10 - Given a hard time by Daly's relentless pressing and could have done better at the set piece.

CB: Lotte Wubben-Moy - 6/10 - Made some big clearances but was dispossessed far too often.

LB: Steph Catley - 6/10 - Looked good going forward but lacked the defensive discipline that Arsenal required to control the game.

RM: Kim Little - 8/10 - Full of running in the wide areas, tracking back to help out in defence and providing an outlet when needed.

LM: Lia Walti - 5/10 - Surrendered possession on a number of occasions and generally looked lethargic.

CM: Frida Maanum - 5/10 - Outnumbered in midfield on occasion and struggled to influence play as a result.

RW: Katie McCabe - 7/10 - Looked good going forward but was visibly frustrated by the lack of options in the box.

CF: Alessia Russo- 7/10 - Failed to capitalise on her chances before taking the one that really mattered in stoppage time.

LW: Caitlin Foord - 8/10 - Was Arsenal's most consistent attacking threat, charging up and down the flank to give Mayling problems.

Substitutes

Cloe Lacasse (62' for Maanum) - 7/10 - Injected pace and dynamism into the game, turning the tide in Arsenal's favour.

Victoria Pelova (62' for Ilestedt) - 8/10 - Made an immediate impact on the game, with her vision paramount to levelling the scores.

Stina Blackstenius (75' for Walti) - 7/10 - Another player to help swing the momentum in favour of the home side.

Beth Mead (88' for Maritz) - 7/10 - Would have dreamt of assisting the winner on her comeback - remarkably that's exactly what Mead did.

Manager

Jonas Eidevall - 7/10 - Realised Arsenal needed something different in the final third - the introductions of Lacasse and Pelova changed the game.

Aston Villa player ratings (4-3-3)

GK: Daphne van Domselaar - 7/10 - Put an initial handling error behind her to deliver another solid performance.

CB: Rachel Corsie- 7/10 - Organised and controlled Villa's defensive line well - unlucky to come out on the losing side.

CB: Anna Patten- 6/10 - Shrugged off by Foord in the box a little too easily but did okay in one-v-one situations.

CB: Dan Turner - 6/10 - Made some important clearances for Villa as the pressure began to mount.

RWB: Sarah Mayling - 7/10 - An imposing threat in the final third but had Foord to worry about going the other way.

CM: Lucy Staniforth - 6/10 - Midfield positioning occasionally disrupted Villa's backline, meaning Corsie and Patten couldn't press as they'd have liked.

CM: Lucy Parker - 8/10 - Looked solid as a rock in the heart of midfield - defensive role suits her game well.

LWB: Maz Pacheco - 8/10 - Made a vital defensive clearance to bail Van Domselaar out before coolly slotting home the opening goal.

RW: Simone Magill - 6/10 - A little quiet and out of sync with her teammates.

CF: Rachel Daly - 7/10 - England's striker turned full-back was not as effective as she can be, but still helped Villa construct dangerous counter attacks.

LW: Laura Blindkilde-Brown - 7/10 - Got into some good positions and helped Villa transition from defence into attack.

Substitutes

Jordan Nobbs (72' for Magill) - 6/10 - Got up to the speed of the game well against her former employers but ultimately came out on the losing side.

Olivia McLoughlin (88' for Pacheco) - N/A

Ebony Salmon (88' for Blindkilde-Brown)- N/A

Adriana Leon (90+7' for Turner) - N/A

Alisha Lehmann (90+7' for Mayling) - N/A

Manager

Carla Ward - 7/10 - Can be proud of the performance of her players. Tactically well drilled, perhaps fatigue contributed to their late downfall.

Player of the Match: Victoria Pelova (Arsenal)