The huddle was silent, the image powerful. After watching another teammate stretchered off from the pitch, this time midfielder Lia Walti shortly after the restart of the Gunners’ eventual 4-1 win over Everton on Wednesday evening, Arsenal were forced to regroup once more.
At what point does Arsenal's season deserve an asterisk? It feels late now, the image of a dismayed player wearing the Arsenal shirt lifted onto a stretcher or emerging from the tunnel hobbling on crutches having become something of a haunting profile picture for the season.
Everton’s Aggie Beever-Jones did not intend to seriously injure Walti with her challenge. The 19-year-old issued a sincere apology afterwards. The situation underlines, once again, the need for a less permissive attitude with regard to the nature of officiating in the women’s top flight, which in turn leads to a litany of challenges permitted to go unpunished before one crosses the line.
