Already a long-time favourite at Arsenal, Steph Catley will have only have won more admirers among Gunners' fans as she put her body on the line to help the London giants across the line in their crucial Women's Super League win over Manchester United.
But Catley's courage to go for a potentially goal-saving header in the dying minutes of their 3-1 win on Saturday ended up with her having to be subbed off with a head injury, doubtless sending shudders through an anxious Matildas camp before next weekend's Olympic qualifying showdown with Uzbekistan.
Putting her head in low to prevent United's Spanish striker Lucia Garcia from scoring and taking a heavy bang for her troubles, the 30-year-old Catley received treatment on the pitch before being substituted as a precaution.
She was replaced by her Matildas teammate Caitlin Foord, who had surprisingly been dropped from the Arsenal starting line-up after a recent run of fine form that had seen her voted for by fans as the WSL's player of the month for January.
Kyra Cooney-Cross, Arsenal's third Matilda, came on as a second-half sub following an injury to Victoria Pelova and also provided a tidy performance on another landmark day for the WSL, as a record 60,160 crowd watched the Gunners produce a win that puts them just three points behind Chelsea and Manchester City.
Arsenal, with their forward-line riches, didn't appear to miss Foord's input much as they dominated from the start, against a nervous-looking United who conceded an own goal within 10 minutes when Katie McCabe's corner deflected off Geyse from close range.
Katie Zelem's rushed clearance in the 35th minute fell straight to the unmarked Cloe Lacasse, who headed gratefully and with some surprise into an open net before Arsenal effectively sealed the win by halftime with Kim Little's penalty, which was awarded after Gemma Evans brought down Beth Mead.
United's late consolation came from Garcia in the 96th minute soon after she had been thwarted by Catley's heroics.
There could be no arguing about the quality of Arsenal's win with Mead also striking the post twice in the second half.
