# 2008–09 Arsenal L.F.C. season

The 2008–09 season was Arsenal Ladies Football Club's 22nd season since forming in 1987. The club participated in the National Division of the FA Women's Premier League, winning the title for a 6th consecutive season, this time on goal difference, defeating second-placed Everton on the final day at Widnes. However, they saw their five-year, 108-match unbeaten league run come to an end, after losing 3-0 at home to Everton. They completed a domestic treble by winning Premier League Cup and FA Women's Cup, defeating Doncaster Rovers Belles and Sunderland in the Finals respectively. They also competed in the UEFA Women's Cup, but lost at the Quarter-final stage to Umeå, the side they had defeated in the Final two seasons ago.
This was Arsenal's final season under the management of Vic Akers, who stood down at the end of the season to take up the position of general manager at the club. He ended his time the club having won 32 major honours, including the UEFA Cup, making him the most successful Arsenal Manager of all time.

## Squad Statistics
### First team squad

Squad statistics correct as of May 2009
| Squad No. | Name | Date of Birth (Age) | Since | Signed From |
| Goalkeepers |||||
| 1 | Emma Byrne | (1979-06-14) 14 June 1979 (age 45) | 2000 | Fortuna Hjørring |
| 13 | Rebecca Spencer | (1991-02-22) 22 February 1991 (age 34) | 2006 | Homegrown |
| 24 | Sarah Quantrill | (1990-07-21) 21 July 1990 (age 34) | | Homegrown |
| Defenders |||||
| 2 | Alex Scott | (1984-10-14) 14 October 1984 (age 40) | 2005 | Birmingham City |
| 3 | Yvonne Tracy | (1981-02-27) 27 February 1981 (age 44) | 2000 | St Patrick's Athletic |
| 6 | Faye White (captain) | (1978-02-02) 2 February 1978 (age 47) | 1996 | Horsham Ladies |
| 5 | Gilly Flaherty | (1991-08-24) 24 August 1991 (age 33) | 2003 | Millwall Lionesses |
| 15 | Laura Bassett | (1983-08-02) 2 August 1983 (age 41) | 2008 | Birmingham City |
| 19 | Niamh Fahey | (1987-10-13) 13 October 1987 (age 37) | 2008 | Salthill Devon |
| 21 | Eartha Pond | (1983-09-04) 4 September 1983 (age 41) | 2008 | Leeds United |
| 27 | Seana Cooke | (1989-07-06) 6 July 1989 (age 35) | | Homegrown |
| Midfielders |||||
| 4 | Jayne Ludlow | (1979-01-07) 7 January 1979 (age 46) | 2000 | Southampton Saints |
| 7 | Ciara Grant | (1978-05-17) 17 May 1978 (age 46) | 1998 | St Patrick's Athletic |
| 8 | Kelly Smith | (1978-10-29) 29 October 1978 (age 46) | 2005 | New Jersey Wildcats |
| 16 | Kim Little | (1990-09-26) 26 September 1990 (age 34) | 2008 | Hibernian |
| 17 | Katie Chapman | (1982-06-15) 15 June 1982 (age 42) | 2006 | Charlton Athletic |
| 18 | Natalie Ross | (1989-09-14) 14 September 1989 (age 35) | 2008 | Hibernian |
| 22 | Laura Coombs | (1991-01-29) 29 January 1991 (age 34) | 2007 | Homegrown |
| 23 | Abbie Prosser | (1991-09-04) 4 September 1991 (age 33) | | Homegrown |
| Forwards |||||
| 9 | Suzanne Grant | (1984-04-17) 17 April 1984 (age 40) | 2009 | Hibernian |
| 10 | Julie Fleeting | (1980-12-18) 18 December 1980 (age 44) | 2004 | Ross County |
| 11 | Rachel Yankey | (1979-11-01) 1 November 1979 (age 45) | 2005 | New Jersey Wildcats |
| 12 | Gemma Davison | (1987-04-17) 17 April 1987 (age 37) | 2001 | Watford |
| 14 | Karen Carney | (1987-08-01) 1 August 1987 (age 37) | 2006 | Birmingham City |
| 20 | Danielle Bird | (1987-02-22) 22 February 1987 (age 38) | | |
| 20 | Helen Lander | (1986-04-26) 26 April 1986 (age 38) | 2009 | Watford |
| 25 | Lauren Bruton | (1992-11-22) 22 November 1992 (age 32) | 2008 | Homegrown |

### Appearances and goals

| No. | Name | Premier League | Premier League | FA Cup | FA Cup | PL Cup | PL Cup | Comm Shield | Comm Shield | UEFA Cup | UEFA Cup | Total | Total |
| No. | Name | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals |
| Goalkeepers ||||||||||||||
| 1 | Emma Byrne | 19 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 34+3 | 0 |
| 13 | Rebecca Spencer | 3+1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4+1 | 0 |
| 24 | Sarah Quantrill | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Defenders ||||||||||||||
| 2 | Alex Scott | 12+1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 4+1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 23+2 | 3 |
| 3 | Yvonne Tracy | 8 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 13 | 2 |
| 6 | Faye White (captain) | 5 | 1 | 2+1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3+1 | 0 | 12+2 | 1 |
| 5 | Gilly Flaherty | 16 | 0 | 3+1 | 1 | 1+1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 21+3 | 2 |
| 15 | Laura Bassett | 19+1 | 0 | 4+1 | 1 | 4+1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 28+3 | 1 |
| 19 | Niamh Fahey | 15+3 | 2 | 5 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 29+3 | 2 |
| 21 | Eartha Pond | 2+5 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3+6 | 0 |
| 27 | Seana Cooke | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Midfielders ||||||||||||||
| 4 | Jayne Ludlow | 20+1 | 7 | 5 | 2 | 4+1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 4+1 | 3 | 34+3 | 13 |
| 7 | Ciara Grant | 17 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3+1 | 0 | 29+1 | 2 |
| 8 | Kelly Smith | 12 | 25 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 22 | 31 |
| 16 | Kim Little | 20+1 | 10 | 5 | 5 | 4+1 | 4 | 0+1 | 0 | 5 | 5 | 34+3 | 24 |
| 17 | Katie Chapman | 16+4 | 6 | 5 | 3 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 31+5 | 9 |
| 18 | Natalie Ross | 2+3 | 0 | 0+2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 3+6 | 0 |
| 22 | Laura Coombs | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 |
| 23 | Abbie Prosser | 0+2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+2 | 0 |
| Forwards ||||||||||||||
| 9 | Suzanne Grant | 3+5 | 3 | 1+1 | 0 | 0+1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4+7 | 4 |
| 10 | Julie Fleeting | 5+2 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 2+2 | 2 | 10+4 | 14 |
| 11 | Rachel Yankey | 10+7 | 4 | 5 | 1 | 3+1 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0+4 | 0 | 19+12 | 9 |
| 12 | Gemma Davison | 19+3 | 7 | 5 | 1 | 4+1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 2 | 34+4 | 10 |
| 14 | Karen Carney | 13 | 8 | 0+1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 2 | 21+1 | 12 |
| 20 | Danielle Bird | 0+4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 0+5 | 2 |
| 20 | Helen Lander | 6+4 | 1 | 3+1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9+5 | 4 |
| 25 | Lauren Bruton | 0+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+2 | 0 |

### Goalscorers

| Rank | No. | Position | Name | Premier League | FA Cup | PL Cup | LC Cup | Comm Shield | UEFA Cup | Total |
| 1 | 8 | MF | Kelly Smith | 25 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 32 |
| 2 | 16 | MF | Kim Little | 10 | 5 | 4 | 5 | 0 | 5 | 29 |
| 3 | 10 | FW | Julie Fleeting | 7 | 0 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 16 |
| 3 | 4 | MF | Jayne Ludlow | 7 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 16 |
| 4 | 14 | FW | Karen Carney | 8 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 14 |
| 5 | 12 | FW | Gemma Davison | 7 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 12 |
| 6 | 17 | MF | Katie Chapman | 6 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9 |
| 6 | 11 | FW | Rachel Yankey | 4 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9 |
| 7 | 9 | FW | Suzanne Grant | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| 7 | 20 | FW | Helen Lander | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| 8 | 2 | DF | Alex Scott | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| 8 | 3 | DF | Yvonne Tracy | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3 |
| 9 | 20 | FW | Danielle Bird | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 9 | 5 | DF | Gilly Flaherty | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 9 | 19 | DF | Niamh Fahey | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 9 | 7 | MF | Ciara Grant | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 10 | 6 | DF | Faye White (captain) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 10 | 15 | DF | Laura Bassett | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Total | Total | Total | Total | 87 | 18 | 23 | 16 | 1 | 16 | 145 |

## Transfers, loans and other signings
### Transfers in

| Announcement date | No. | Position | Player | From club |
| 6 August 2008 | 15 | DF | Laura Bassett | Birmingham City |
| 28 July 2008 | 19 | DF | Niamh Fahey | Salthill Devon |
| 28 July 2008 | 18 | MF | Natalie Ross | Hibernian |
| 1 August 2008 | 21 | DF | Eartha Pond | Leeds United |
| 3 January 2009 | 20 | FW | Helen Lander | Watford |
| 20 February 2009 | 9 | FW | Suzanne Grant | Hibernian |

### Transfers out

| Announcement date | No. | Position | Player | To club |
| 3 July 2008 | 18 | DF | Anita Asante | Chelsea |
| 3 July 2008 | 9 | FW | Lianne Sanderson | Chelsea |
| 2008 | 23 | DF | Mary Phillip | Chelsea |
| 2008 | | FW | Sarah Wiltshire | Watford |
| 2008 | | DF | Felicienne Minaar | FC Twente |
| 2009 | 20 | FW | Danielle Bird | |
| 6 February 2009 | 2 | DF | Alex Scott | Boston Breakers |
| 18 February 2009 | 8 | MF | Kelly Smith | Boston Breakers |
| 28 January 2009 | 14 | FW | Karen Carney | Chicago Red Stars |

## Club
### Kit

Supplier: Nike / Sponsor: Fly Emirates
| Home | Away |

## Competitions
### FA Women's Premier League
#### Partial league table

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| 1 | Arsenal (C) | 22 | 20 | 1 | 1 | 89 | 14 | +75 | 61 | 2009–10 UEFA Women's Champions League Round of 32 |
| 2 | Everton | 22 | 20 | 1 | 1 | 68 | 10 | +58 | 61 | 2009–10 UEFA Women's Champions League Qualifying round |
| 3 | Chelsea | 22 | 16 | 2 | 4 | 55 | 23 | +32 | 50 | |
| 4 | Doncaster Rovers | 22 | 9 | 6 | 7 | 43 | 36 | +7 | 33 | |
| 5 | Birmingham City | 22 | 10 | 3 | 9 | 39 | 43 | −4 | 33 | |

#### Results Summary

| Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Home | Home | Home | Home | Home | Home | Away | Away | Away | Away | Away | Away |

#### Results by matchday

| Matchday | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 |
| Ground | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | H | H | H | A | H | H | A | A | A | H | A | H | A | A | A |
| Result | W | W | W | W | W | W | W | W | W | W | W | W | W | W | W | W | L | W | W | D | W | W |
| Position | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |

### UEFA Women's Cup
#### Group Stage
#### Table

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
| 1 | Lyon | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 18 | 1 | +17 | 9 |
| 2 | Arsenal Ladies | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 13 | 5 | +8 | 6 |
| 3 | Neulengbach | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 17 | −12 | 3 |
| 4 | Zürich | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 6 | 19 | −13 | 0 |