Hello Arsenal Women aficionados!
The traditional Arsenal Women Journal might well be on holidays mode but that’s no reason to rest.
Last week I was stating the obvious when I said that the Arsenal would have a very busy summer ahead of them, but what was less obvious was how quickly they would start bringing players in. After the announcement that Swedish centre-back Amanda Ilestedt, released by PSG, has joined the team, we can expect more. According to Tim Stillman, (@stillmanator) , one of the most reliable sources when it comes to the Arsenal Women news, the club in on the verge of signing Canadian attacker Cloé Lacasse, currently under contract with Benfica, and are in a very favourable position to land Alessia Russo, after the player decided against renewing her contract with Manchester United. The latter would be a major coup for Jonas Eidevall team, especially after the fiasco of the world-record money offered to Manchester United in January and rebuffed by the Red Devils.
New signing Amanda Ilestedt, who joined from PSG, poses at the Emirates Stadium (Arsenal.com)
Obviously, these are very goods news for all of us and for Jonas Eidevall, who had to think on the spot after losing Beth Mead and Vivianne Miedema for the season; when everyone is back to their best, the coach will dispose of a true force upfront with Alessia Russo, Stina Blackstenius, Beth Mead, Cloé Lacasse, Vivianne Miedema, Lina Hurtig, Katie McCabe, Victoria Pelova and Caitlin Foord – assuming they will all stay, of course. Such abundance of options leads to several questions around the “who” and the “how”, given that Jonas Eidevall will have a few choices to make.
First things first, though: who are Alessia Russo and Cloé Lacasse?
Strongly linked to Russo
The England forward is one of the best all-around strikers in the Women Super League, equally capable of creating and finishing chances. Her upper-body strength and ability to ride challenges while dribbling away is phenomenal and so is her eye for the goal. She can be a prolific goal scorer but also a fantastic asset when it comes to linking up the play and pick her teammates’ runs in-behind, especially from the flanks. Alessia Russo can be deployed anywhere in the attacking line in a 4-3-3, paired with another forward in a 4-4-2, play in the half spaces behind the striker in a 3-4-2-1 and even play as an attacking midfielder in a 4-2-3-1, which will give Jonas Eidevall plenty of choices and make her virtually an ever-present in the starting XI for next season.
Cloé Lacasse, who nominally is a winger, loves to run the channels and attack the blind side of the last defender, as well as popping up at the far post with late, undetected runs from the flank. At Benfica, last season, she was used predominantly as a left winger but she could be seen drifting inside to take the space vacated by Jéssica Silva, a tendency that would work very well with a central striker able to play the false nine role. At 30, Lacasse carries a good wealth of experience and versatility and have developed into a deadly finisher while at Benfica, where she scored 100 goals in 129 appearances.
To summarize, if Tim Stillman is right, then we are acquiring the services of two superb forwards, one more inclined to play off the flanks and the other more central, although capable of roaming across the pitch. More importantly, we are bringing in two players with a proven goalscoring record and an innate eye for the goal – a feature that was sorely missed Vivianne Miedema and Beth Mead were out.
Their qualities, added to Caitlin Foord’s outstanding ability to run at her opponents, will make it difficult to our opponents to read our offensive patterns and will make the team a bit less predictable, moving away from what has been a proficient yet easy-to-read tendency to pick Stina Blackstenius’ vertical runs. The Swede striker will remain an important resource for the team but she won’t have to carry the whole attack on her own and, most importantly, will be allowed to share the burden of converting chances.
Cloé Lacasse of Benfica kissing the Portuguese Women’s League trophy
I am very much waiting to see how Jonas Eidevall makes Alessia Russo and Frida Maanum coexist, for example, or how the England forward will work with Vivianne Miedema, when she is fit. There is still a sense that the Dutch might leave next summer but the new signings will make it hurt a bit less, if that happens. Obviously you can’t light-heartedly replace Vivianne Miedema but club is building a good, polyvalent attacking unit that can hurt the opponents in many ways so, all in all, we might be able to cope with Vivianne Miedema’s absence on the long-term, too.
It’s all speculations for the time being, both for incoming and outgoing players, so we need to wait and see how the team takes shape over the next few weeks but I, for one, cannot help be excited for what lies ahead. The team had a good to great season and the club is determined to build on and make the group more competitive, more versatile – which is very encouraging. Let’s wait for the official announcements and photoshoots, then it will be time to imagine how all the pieces of the puzzle fit together.
The Summer Diaries will continue throughout the months of June, July and August, then the Arsenal Women Journal will return and there are a few more surprises to come…
Speak to you soon!
Italian living in Switzerland, Gooner since mid-nineties, when the Gunners defeated my hometown team, in Copenhagen. I started my own blog and podcast (www.clockenditalia.com) after after some experiences with Italian websites and football magazines. Covering Arsenal Women with the occasional rant about the boys.
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