London City unable to shock Arsenal but are showing progress

Investment by Michele Kangis paying offin the Championship but building community ties will be key

- Suzanne Wrack

Arsenal eased past the Championship side London City Lionesses and into the quarter-finals of the FA Cup with a 2-0 win at a bitterly cold Meadow Park yesterday, but as a barometer of the visitors' progress it was a far more interesting match.

The Gunners dominated, motivated by their failure to reach the League Cup final in midweek and the 10-point gap between them and the Women's Super League leaders, Chelsea. But London City are a rapidly developing beast with WSL ambitions and big money behind them via the ownership of the American businesswoman Michele Kang, whose heels further pockmarked the pitch post-match as she congratulated her players for their strong performance and chatted with staff.

The south London club had an unorthodox start to life. A year after Millwall Lionesses narrowly avoided bankruptcy in 2018, the board announced it was splitting from the parent club Millwall to become an independent women's side.