Top five Arsenal moments for Danielle Van de Donk

Since her arrival in north London from Swedish club Göteborg in November 2015 she has become a fans favourite at Meadow Park.

Since signing for the club she has made 113 appearances scoring 41 goals for the Gunners helping them win the Women’s Super League, FA Cup and Continental Cup.

On the international scene she helped the Netherlands win Euro 2017 and reach the 2019 World Cup final.

Josh Bunting picks out her five greatest moments at Arsenal to date.

First hat-trick.

van de Donk scored her first Arsenal hat-trick against Sunderland in the FA Women’s Cup Semi-final on the 17 April 2016.

Arsenal won the game 7-0 and took the lead through van de Donk. The Black Cats failed to deal with the ball on the line after Natalia Pablos Sanchon squared across the face of goal for the number 7 to slot into the net.

The Gunners doubled their lead through Danielle Carter as she made a clever run into near post and finished from close range.

van de Donk was also involved in the third goal as she was brought down in the box by Abby Holmes before she was shown a straight red, before Fara Williams fired in the penalty beyond Rachael Laws.

van de Donk scored her second and Arsenal’s fourth after Carter broke away and fed Sanchon, who fizzed a great ball across for van de Donk to finish off the move.

Jordon Nobbs netted the Gunners’ fifth goal after a breakaway, she rounded Laws before slotting home in the 82nd minute.

van de Donk then sealed her hat-trick when she got on the end of a Nobbs through ball to fire past Laws securing her first match ball for the Gunners.

Carter then scored her second goal and Arsenal’s seventh deep into injury time.

Last minute winner in Manchester.

Arsenal’s first trip away from home saw them take a trip to Manchester United.

Arsenal vs Manchester United is a mouth watering rivalry at any level but Monday the 16th September 2019 saw the sides meet for the very first time in the Women’s Super League.

The teams had met in the previous season in the Continental Cup with Manchester United in the Championship, Arsenal won 2-1 on that occasion thanks to a double from Vivianne Miedema.

However a summer of strengthening and new hope meant it would be a much tougher ask for Arsenal on this occasion.

Kitted out in yellow the Gunners were the dominate force on the night but an inspired Mary Earps In the Red Devils goal was shutting them out.

Earps made a fantastic save from Miedema as the Dutch striker saw her header somehow tipped away by the English International.

Earps then denied Kim Little twice from close range after the break as Leah Williamson played in the Arsenal captain but her low effort was somehow kept out by the fantastic reactions of the keeper.

However as time was running out and with Arsenal thinking it was going to be a frustrating draw Danielle van de Donk became the hero.

van de Donk who came off the bench with twenty minutes to go fired in an 89th minute winner as the ball deflected kindly for her and she tucked a shot beyond Mary Earps who had looked unbeatable to send the Gunners home happy.

Amex Stadium masterclass.

van de Donk or DvD as she is known as put on a show at the Amex Stadium on the day that Arsenal won the 2018-19 Women’s Super League title.

The Dutch International scored once and provided one assist as the title was secured after a 4-0 victory.

It took just six minutes before Arsenal hit the front as Vivianne Miedema claimed her 22nd goal of the season as she rifled in a strike from range that cannoned off the underside of the crossbar on its way into the net.

Katie McCabe doubled the advantage after 30 minutes as Miedema turned provider, as the Republic of Ireland captain tucked the ball beyond Marie Hourihan in the Seagulls goal.

In a first half completely dominated by the Gunners it could have been three when McCabe, Beth Mead and van de Donk all linked up before van de Donk saw her effort superbly tipped over by Hourihan.

Arsenal did get their third on 70 minutes when Mead scored with a thunderbolt from range as she skipped beyond Kirsty Barton before thumping in a strike into the top corner of the net.

Six minutes later it was 4-0 when van de Donk completed the scoring, as Miedema was played in out wide and her cross to McCabe was only half-cleared by the Brighton defence with the ball falling to Kim Little who laid it back for Van De Donk to curl her effort beyond Hourihane.

van de Donk is a real prize asset for Joe Montemurro as she’s very versatile, she can play in attacking midfield or as a winger where she played for most of the 2019-20 season.

She also scored against all the top clubs during the season Manchester City, Chelsea and Manchester United as she once again showed that she is a big game player.

Reading away.

van de Donk showed her creative spark against Reading when Arsenal went to play the Royals in December as she played off the left.

A frustrating start had to be endured with Reading holding firm but Vivianne Miedema stepped up to the mark as she has done on many occasions to guide the Gunners to victory.

Reading had the opening chance of the game inside five minutes when Fara Williams latched onto a mistake but fired wide from close range.

However against the run of play Miedema did put Arsenal ahead when she scored for the seventh consecutive time as she was played in by Danielle van de Donk before chipping the ball over the onrushing Royals keeper Grace Moloney.

Kim Little then doubled her sides lead on 37 minutes with a beautiful goal as Nobbs flicked the ball onto the Scottish International who then proceeded to fire in a volley.

On 68 minutes it was so close to three when Miedema crossed the ball on to the head of van de Donk but her header hit the post when the ball was set for the bottom corner of the net.

However the Gunners did make it 3-0 in the final minute of the game as she scored her second chip of the game after she was played in by a stunning sweeping pass from van de Donk into her international teammate.

Birmingham City away performance.

In 2018-19 Van de donk was crucial to the club securing their return to the Champions League after a 1-0 win at Birmingham City.

Arsenal won the game thanks to a Katie McCabe strike but it was a piece of individual brilliance from Van de donk to set it up.

Van de donk drove forward before playing a perfectly timed pass into the Republic of Ireland International before she cut inside and fired her low effort beyond the reach of Hannah Hampton and into the net.

A perfectly timed pass as Arsenal secured European qualification for the first time in five years.

Late winner at Chelsea.

Van de Donk’s late winner dented Chelsea Ladies’ title hopes and kept Arsenal third in Women’s Super League in July 2016.

The Blues were gifted an early lead through Alex Scott’s 40-yard own goal.

Arsenal levelled just before half-time through Vicky Losada’s glancing header from a corner.

Moments after Claire Rafferty had missed from five yards for Chelsea, Van de Donk calmly rounded Hedvig Lindahl to win against the run of play to claim a dramatic late winner.

It was a momentous goal for the Dutch international as she skipped round the Swedish keeper to score from an incredibly tight angle to bag a vital three points in the most dramatic of fashions in a London derby.

There have been many great moments in Van de donk’s Gunners career and there will be many more to come.