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This video can not be played Watch: WSL Arsenal v Manchester United seven-goal thriller Arsenal secured second place in the Women's Super League with a chaotic victory over Manchester United, who finished third. Chloe Kelly fired Arsenal ahead early on following a mistake by United keeper Phallon Tullis-Joyce, before Ella Toone equalised shortly after. Arsenal scored three times in 16 minutes after half-time. Mariona Caldentey tucked away a penalty before Frida Maanum marked her 150th Gunners appearance with a slotted finish following Katie Mc Cabe's incisive pass, and Kim Little added a fourth with a powerful low strike. But Manchester United forced a grandstand finish when Elisabeth Terland netted a deflected strike before Maya le Tissier scored from the spot after Mc Cabe tripped Celin Bizet. Arsenal ended their league campaign with 48 points from 22 matches, four points above United. That means the Gunners will enter next season's Champions League in September's final qualifying round - unless they beat Barcelona in this season's final on 24 May - while United must go into the second round of qualifying in August. 'Play like this against Barca and Arsenal will be punished' Kim Little (right) scored her only WSL goal of the season - and her first since netting against Manchester United last year The game sprang into life after 115 seconds because of an unusual error by Tullis-Joyce - who went into this match as the front-runner for the WSL Golden Glove for the most clean sheets, but instead has to share with Chelsea's Hannah Hampton. Tullis-Joyce spilled a routine cross then lost the flight of the rebound. It allowed Kelly to nip in and fire Arsenal ahead. It was a short-lived lead. Arsenal keeper Manuela Zinsberger was left frustrated having seconds earlier made a superb save, as United defender Millie Turner made first contact with the resulting corner, heading back across goal for the unmarked Toone. Arsenal raised their game after the interval, and for a while blew United away. On 50 minutes Caitlin Foord fell over Clinton's leg in the area, allowing Caldentey to slot in the spot-kick. Shortly after they picked open the United defence for Maanum to score, and roared on by the Emirates Stadium crowd in the sunshine they found a fourth with Little finishing powerfully after being set up by Kelly. But Arsenal eased up and Terland scored her 10th league goal of the campaign after pouncing on a poor pass by Mc Cabe, before United captain Le Tissier sent Zinsberger the wrong way on 76 minutes. With the WSL season done, both these sides have major finals to focus on - United defend the FA Cup against Chelsea at Wembley next weekend, before Arsenal's huge showdown with Barcelona in Lisbon. Ella Toone (right) scored her fifth league goal of the season to equalise for Manchester United After losing their past two matches, Arsenal needed a much-improved showing here to give them a boost for their European final. And Renee Slegers' side responded. They were irresistible at times in the second half, with flowing attacking moves pinning United on the ropes. But there remains plenty of room for improvement. Three goals conceded here, all through defensive sloppiness, means Arsenal have shipped 12 in their final three WSL matches. Up front Alessia Russo was quiet - although she does end this season as joint-WSL Golden Boot winner with Manchester City's Khadija Shaw, thanks to her 12 league goals. And a win means Arsenal have restored momentum before their biggest match in several years. They can upset Barcelona if they reproduce this attacking verve - but not if they stay so defensively loose. For United, Tullis-Joyce will be disappointed to miss out on sole ownership of this season's Golden Glove award for the best goalie in the league - especially as she was partly to blame. If the American had kept a clean sheet she would have taken the award outright, but conceding four here, plus Hampton's shutout against Liverpool means both goalies kept 13 WSL clean sheets in 2024-25 - and Tullis-Joyce conceded three more goals. It is a downbeat end to an excellent season for the 28-year-old, who replaced the departed Mary Earps as United number one for this campaign and has filled the role admirably, recently earning an extended contract until 2028. But she was clearly furious with herself about the early mistake, and was hesitant on several occasions. While Tullis-Joyce has shone at times this campaign, her error indicated USA manager Emma Hayes may have had a point when leaving her out of the squad this season as she needed to "improve her decision-making under pressure". After the opportunity to rate players has closed, the score displayed represents the average from all the submissions by BBC Sport users. Head here to get involved Get the latest WSL news on our dedicated page Comments can not be loaded To load Comments you need to enable Java Script in your browser Last Updated 10th May 2025 at 14: 28 Please Note: All times UK. Tables are subject to change. The BBC is not responsible for any changes that may be made. Manager: Renee Slegers Formation: 4 - 2 - 3 - 1 Manager: Marc Skinner Formation: 3 - 4 - 1 - 2 Manager: Renee Slegers Formation: 4 - 2 - 3 - 1 Manager: Marc Skinner Formation: 3 - 4 - 1 - 2 Women's Super League All competitions All competitions All competitions Match ends, Arsenal Women 4, Manchester United Women 3. Second Half ends, Arsenal Women 4, Manchester United Women 3. Attempt missed. Dominique Janssen (Manchester United Women) right footed shot from outside the box is high and wide to the left. Substitution, Arsenal Women. Laia Codina replaces Emily Fox. Offside, Arsenal Women. Stina Blackstenius is caught offside. Offside, Arsenal Women. Stina Blackstenius is caught offside. Beth Mead (Arsenal Women) is shown the yellow card. Foul by Beth Mead (Arsenal Women). Grace Clinton (Manchester United Women) wins a free kick in the defensive half. Manuela Zinsberger (Arsenal Women) wins a free kick in the defensive half. Foul by Melvine Malard (Manchester United Women). Caitlin Foord (Arsenal Women) wins a free kick in the attacking half. Foul by Dominique Janssen (Manchester United Women). Fourth official has announced 7 minutes of added time. Offside, Manchester United Women. Elisabeth Terland is caught offside. Offside, Arsenal Women. Stina Blackstenius is caught offside. Beth Mead (Arsenal Women) wins a free kick in the defensive half. Foul by Melvine Malard (Manchester United Women). Substitution, Manchester United Women. Simi Awujo replaces Hinata Miyazawa. Substitution, Arsenal Women. Lotte Wubben-Moy replaces Katie Mc Cabe. Copyright © 2025 BBC. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read about our approach to external linking.