page_title: 2019–20 Arsenal W.F.C. season
section_title: September
hierarchical_section_title: 2019–20 Arsenal W.F.C. season / Review / September
caption_attribution_description: Daniëlle van de Donk during the match vs Slavia Praha (women), October 2019
context_page_description: The 2019–20 season is Arsenal Women's Football Club's 34rd season of competitive football. The club participates in the Champions League, the Women's Super League, the FA Cup and the League Cup. The club is the defending Women's Super League champion.
context_section_description: The Gunners' season started in September with a home game against West Ham United (8 September), which saw the official debuts of Jill Roord, Leonie Maier and Manuela Zinsberger – Jen Beattie made her second debut for the club. Beth Mead put Arsenal ahead after 14 minutes and Roord scored on her debut before half-time. A second half goal by Martha Thomas saw West Ham bring the score to 2–1 and they could've leveled it just before the end of the match when they were awarded an indirect free-kick after Arsenal goalkeeper Zinsberger picked up what the referee perceived to be a backpass, but the shot was saved by Zinsberger. 
  After more than five years Arsenal returned to the Champions League with their 12 September match in Italy against Fiorentina in which they ran out 0–4 winners thanks to two goals by Vivianne Miedema (who was missing from the West Ham match because of a tight hamstring), and a goal a piece by Lisa Evans and Kim Little. Advancement to the next round seems pretty certain, but Arsenal welcomes Fiorentina to Meadow Park on 26 September for the return fixture. 
  On 16 September the Gunners traveled to Leigh Sports Village to play newly promoted Championship champions Manchester United. It was a very tight match, with good chances on both sides: Jane Ross had her promising attack stopped by Zinsberger and Miedema saw her attempts frustrated by Mary Earps. A 89th-minute goal from Daniëlle van de Donk proving to be the difference between the two teams that evening, the fixture ending in 0–1 and Arsenal maintaining their good start to the league season. 
  The next competition to kick-off was the League Cup, in which Arsenal first traveled to newly-formed London City Lionesses on 22 September. On paper it should be a relatively easy tie against the second-tier Lionesses and so it turned out to be: Mead bagged a hat-trick while Roord and Mitchell got one each, ending the game at 0–5 and topping the group after this first game. 
  Fiorentina visited Meadow Park for the first home Champions League game in more than five years on 26 September. Arsenal had already scored four away goals, thus this game shouldn't be more than a formality. A first-half penalty by Little and a second half goal from Miedema ended the game in 2–0, the Gunners winning the tie 6–0 on aggregate. 
  League action returned when Brighton & Hove Albion visited Meadow Park on 29 September for the third league game of the season. The Gunners ran out clear 4–0 victors, with Little, Miedema, Van de Donk and Nobbs all bagging one goal each. Besides scoring one goal, Miedema also assisted the goals for Little and Van de Donk.
caption: Daniëlle van de Donk (pictured against Slavia Praha) scored the only goal in the 89th minute of the away tie against Manchester United.
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