It was more nervy than it needed to be but Arsenal secured a second-place finish ahead of Manchester United with the win in a seven-goal thriller. A point would have been enough for the home team to earn a place in the third round of qualifying for next season’s Champions League, but a three-goal advantage with 20 minutes remaining was reduced to one in the space of six minutes to keep the jeopardy alive and the atmosphere among the 46,603 tense to the finish.
Manchester United’s captain, Maya Le Tissier, had said Champions League football was “all that matters” , but the visiting team fought with the intensity of a team keen to put in a strong performance before their FA Cup final showdown with the WSL champions Chelsea a week on Sunday.
