This Sunday second meets third in the WSL 1 as Sunderland travel to Arsenal.
The Lady Black Cats have made a dream start to life in the top tier, winning two of their opening three games including a surprise opening day win against reigning champions Liverpool.
Arsenal are second in the table after two wins and a draw in their opening three games and Sunderland are just below them in third thanks to two wins from theirs.
The Gunners come in to this weekend’s game on the back of a 1-0 win against Manchester City, but the visitors are unlikely to be phased by Arsenal’s reputation and large contingent of England internationals, including Jordan Nobbs who came through the ranks at the North East club.
Sunderland midfielder Rachel Furness said of the upcoming encounter: “When you grow up you just want to play against the best players and challenge yourself. Obviously Liverpool are the champions but I don’t think you can ever discount Arsenal as one of the best teams in the country.
“For me to have the opportunity to play teams like that every week is just a dream come true, so playing Arsenal, who have a team full of internationals, is really exciting and we are all raring to go.
“They have brought in some players and maybe had a bit of a transition recently but once everyone is settled they will be strong.”
