The Japanese international has been one of our standout performers across 2022/23, and she was once again at the centre of a crucial 2-1 win against the Gunners.
Goals from Lauren Hemp and Chloe Kelly helped City leapfrog our opponents into third, while Hasegawa also rattled the crossbar from distance in the second half.
Asked if the midfielder’s display was her best since joining the Club from West Ham in September 2022, the boss described the influence she has had both on and off the field for his team.
“She’d have to play well to do that, because she’s been top class from the minute she’s come here,” Taylor said.
“We were aware that we lost a really good number six in Keira Walsh, but Yui’s come in and taken the team’s performances to a new level.
“She does so much without the ball, her anticipation is top class and her quality under pressure is very high.
“She’s a great girl to work with who has been massively accepted by the rest of the group and is really popular.”
The boss also declared that he can’t fault the attitude of his players across the 2022/23 campaign so far.
City and Arsenal had locked horns in the Continental Cup semi-finals just over 48 hours prior to Saturday’s showdown, with the Gunners coming out on top in extra time.
But in round two it was City who came out on top, overwhelming the visitors with a blistering first half performance.
Taylor spoke of his pride in our display at Meadow Park despite the defeat and expressed further admiration for the manner in which we have tackled any adversity this season.
“I liked what I saw on Wednesday, and we were knackered by the way; we got back at 3am, so Thursday was a wipe-out, and Friday was just a case of recovery,” the boss revealed.
“The mentality shown today was top drawer.
“I also liked what I saw when we lost the first two games of the season.
“I’ve been in environments where that hasn’t been the case, where you see people go off in small groups but not here, not this team.
“That’s why I enjoyed Wednesday night to today’s game, we were really looking forward to it and I saw in the players’ eyes that they were really hungry for this.”
