Arsenal made a surprise exit at the quarter-final stage of the Women’s FA Cup for the second successive season as Brighton stunned the record 14-time cup winners at Borehamwood.

The shock result extends Arsenal’s decade-long wait to lift the Women’s FA Cup, just four days after they knocked Chelsea out of the Champions League to reach a European semi-final. Dario Vidosic’s side stepped up and their former Chelsea forward Fran Kirby provided two assists to help Brighton secure a memorable 2-0 victory.

First Kirby slipped the ball through to Madison Haley, who swept a superb finish into the top corner from the right hand side of the penalty area in lethal style,making it 1-0 shortly after half-time.

Just over 15 minutes later, a deep Kirby corner was headed in at the far post by Caitlin Hayes to boost Brighton’s hopes of winning a first major piece of women’s football silverware.

The victory was no less than Brighton deserved on a day when Arsenal looked disjointed and perhaps a little fatigued after their midweek efforts. The north London side, who have not reached the FA Cup semi-finals since 2022 despite dominating this competition historically, opted to start with the England...