Beth Mead celebrates her late equaliser at the Emirates Stadium with Arsenal teammate Rosa Kafaji [Jay Patel/SPP]

SOME 41,818 supporters flocked to the Emirates Stadium on Sunday to see Arsenal start their new Women’s Super League season with a topsy-turvy draw against Manchester City.

Frida Maanum fired the Gunners into an early lead before Vivianne Miedema returned to haunt her old club with a deflected equaliser – a goal that the former Arsenal striker refused to celebrate.

A stunning long-range strike from Jess Park looked to have given City all three points. But substitute Beth Mead volleyed in a late equaliser as a pulsating opener ended 2-2.

“I think, all in all, it’s a very strong performance against a strong Manchester City team,” declared Arsenal head coach Jonas Eidevall after the game.

“We’ve, once again, shown phenomenal team morale, coming back from a 1-2 result, equalising in the game and really showing we’re a team that wants to go the extra mile.”

Next up, the Gunners will be desperately hoping that they can overturn a 1-0 deficit against Swedish side BK Hacken at Meadow Park tonight (Thursday) as they continue their bid to reach the group stages of this season’s Champions League.