Hannah Hampton keeps Hammers at bay, Millie Turner injury a concern for United and Spurs are handed some good fortune
The omission of the forward Beth Mead from the Team GB squad for the Tokyo Olympics raised eyebrows, particularly with Manchester City’s Chloe Kelly injured. If there was a beneficiary though, it was
Arsenal. With the club having signed the US superstar Tobin Heath,
Japan maestro Mana Iwabuchi and the
England forward Nikita Parris, it would have been fair to assume Mead’s place in the starting XI was at risk. She has risen to the challenge and has four goals and six assists in the team’s opening six games (two WSL matches and four
Champions League qualifiers). In the team’s 4-0 defeat of Reading Mead scored Arsenal’s second and turned provider for Vivianne Miedema’s two goals, with an increasingly potent partnership emerging between the pair. The manager, Jonas Eidevall, said Mead’s form had been “a really positive surprise”. He added: “I hope she can keep her form when she gets the England shirt on and to show that she’s a great player for the national team again.” Suzanne Wrack