Early on in Arsenal’s clash with rivals Tottenham Hotspur last weekend, Vivianne Miedema pulled towards the left wing and received the ball. Working her way past a defender, she came inside and played a one-two with Danielle van de Donk, then fired a low left-footed shot into the far corner of the net. The goal not only doubled her team’s lead, but made her the all-time FA Women’s Super League top scorer, with 50 goals. She wasn’t done there.
On 36 minutes, Arsenal won a free kick on the right side of the field. Miedema saw an opening nobody else did, and ran into it while the opposition were still organizing themselves. Her run practically screamed for the free kick to be passed her way, and when it was she drove a first-time right-footed shot beyond the goalkeeper.
Five minutes later, Miedema completed her hat trick. Peeling away from her defender, she looked to slip Caitlin Foord through on goal. Quickly realizing a shot of her own could be on, she continued her run and received Foord’s sideways return to slot the ball home into an empty net.
Without so much as a proper celebration, Miedema had made history and scored three goals in a North London derby. The truth is this was nothing out of the ordinary for the 24-year-old. She has now scored 10 goals in five league games this season, helping Arsenal to a perfect start. And since joining the club in 2017, she has averaged over a goal per game. Here, we’ll take a look at precisely what makes her such an elite finisher.
The fans' #BarclaysFAWSL player of gameweek 5⃣…@VivianneMiedema 🐐 👏 pic.twitter.com/kYya5cwWbU
— Barclays FA Women's Super League (@BarclaysFAWSL) October 21, 2020
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