Arsenal claimed their fifth WSL Cup title in the competition’s seven-year history as a cool finish from Vivianne Miedema was enough to keep Manchester City at bay.

Miedema dispatched a cross from fellow Netherlands international Dominique Janssen after 32 minutes to give Arsenal a lead their calm control of the first half deserved. City only showed their true potential after the break, led by a driven Nikita Parris, and created enough chances to equalise. Arsenal held firm, however, and when the final whistle blew the players punched the air in a collective explosion of triumph.

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“It had a lot of emotion, ups and downs,” the Arsenal manager Joe Montemurro said. “I thought the first half we were in control, we played well. In the second half we had to defend. But in finals there are lots of emotions and it’s the team who deals with them best who wins.”

Between them these two sides have claimed the WSL Cup in every year of its existence. With City now the team to beat, however, Montemurro called this a “benchmark” game for the side he took over in December. He turned to experience, selecting Jordan Nobbs and Leah Williamson who had been absent from England’s SheBelieves Cup matches. Both of the players left indelible marks on the game.

It was Nobbs who imposed herself on the match in the first half. In the midst of committed and sometimes frantic play across the field, she alone seemed capable of finding the time and space to pick the necessary pass.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Arsenal’s Dutch striker Vivianne Miedema scores the only goal of the final. Photograph: David Price/Arsenal FC via Getty Images

As Nobbs knitted together the play, Arsenal’s passing game started to tick over and they gained a sense of control. In the 14th minute Janssen made the first chance of the match, hitting the bar from 25 yards after City failed to clear their lines properly. Just past the half-hour she provided the assist for the goal. Nobbs began the move, picking a clever pass out wide left to Janssen. The defensive midfielder had time and space to pick her cross and she found it, an inswinger with curve and purpose. After Beth Mead’s run drew defenders to the near post, the ball came to Miedema at the far. She took the ball on her chest, then drove it back across goal on her right beyond the flailing Ellie Roebuck.

For the City manager, Nick Cushing, this was the second consecutive match his team had handicapped themselves, after Chelsea took a two-goal lead in their recent 2-2 draw in the WSL. “We were too passive, we probably gave Arsenal too much respect,” he said afterwards. “I thought the team that got momentum most quickly would win. I’m proud of the reaction after half-time, but we left ourselves too much to do.”

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City’s one bright spark throughout was Parris, the England international popping up across the front line. When she was joined by Claire Emslie in the second half, the pair set about tearing into the Arsenal defence. In the 64th minute Emslie sent over a lovely cross onto Parris’s head but Sari van Veenendaal parried clear. In the 68th minute Parris played a one-two with Demi Stokes who burst for the byline and pulled her cross past Van Veenendaal only to see it roll untouched past an empty goal.

At this point in the game it was Williamson and her central defensive partner Louise Quinn who held the line, and ultimately Arsenal weathered the storm.

“Tonight we played against one of the best teams in Europe and we passed the test,” Montemurro said. “For me it’s a platform of belief, a platform to go forward, and that’s the most important thing for us.”