Lisa Baum scores on Arsenal debut as Gunners open WSL season with 1-0 win at Brighton

A 19-year-old scored the only goal on her debut to give Arsenal a winning start to the Women's Super League season.

Lisa Baum, playing her first competitive match for Arsenal, found the net after 10 minutes against Brighton on the opening day of the WSL campaign. The goal was enough. Arsenal won 1-0, took all three points, and headed home with their new signing already a hero to the travelling support.

Arsenal's official match report described it as a "sensational debut strike" — and the footage backs that up. Baum likes to cut in from the right and finish on her strong left foot, a habit she brought with her to the south coast. It took her ten minutes to show it. (Arsenal.com)

The scoreline stayed tight from there. Brighton pushed, but couldn't find a way through. A single goal separated the sides at full-time. (BBC Sport)

What makes Baum's debut worth pausing on is how quickly she has arrived at this level. She played at the Under-20 Women's World Cup in Colombia in 2024, aged just 17. Two years on, she is starting for one of the biggest clubs in the English game and deciding matches on her own. (Arsenal.com)

For Arsenal, the result is the ideal opening to a new WSL season. They came to Brighton looking for a professional performance and got exactly that — a clean sheet, a debut goal, and the points. For Baum, it is the kind of first day that players spend years dreaming about.

Elsewhere on the same round of fixtures, Tottenham beat West Ham 3-1. (Sky Sports)