Arsenal women player ratings vs Aston Villa: Alessia Russo's on fire and Kyra Cooney Cross impresses as Gunners cruise to WSL victory

Arsenal made light work of Aston Villa and leapfrogged Manchester United to climb to third in the table with a 4-0 victory. The Gunners were hardly threatened by the visiting side and interim boss Renee Slegers will be pleased with the manner in which her side strolled to victory.

After a tight opening 10 minutes, Arsenal began to show their quality and it did not take long before Alessia Russo broke the deadlock after 17 minutes with a deft flick from a Kyra Cooney-Cross free-kick.

The Gunners continued to split the Villa defence time after time in the first half and the pressure eventually told seven minutes before half-time. Frida Maanum’s poke towards goal from a Mariona Caldentey cut-back bounced off the post and at the feet of Beth Mead who could not miss an open goal with Sabrina D’Angelo left stricken on the ground.

The second half saw the Gunners continue their dominance and add a third through substitute Stina Blackstenius after 70 minutes. The Swedish striker beat the Villa offside trap on the edge of the box to lift Katie McCabe’s ball over D’Angelo. Russo then rounded off a perfect afternoon for the Gunners with a stunning curling effort into the top corner after nice work from Lina Hurtig.

GOAL rates Arsenal's players from the Emirates Stadium...