Good morning, Arsenal Women aficionados!
“Just when I thought I was out, they pulled me back in” famously said Michael Corleone in Godfather, part III (or Silvio in The Sopranos, if you prefer) and I cannot help feeling the same way, today.
The comprehensive away win at London City Lionesses in the Conti Cup and the amazing win against Manchester United at the Emirates Stadium in the league, paired with the unexpected Manchester City win at Chelsea, brought us back straight into the title race and makes the idea of contending the Conti Cup to Manchester City or Chelsea less worrying.
Let’s start from the very beginning, the Conti Cup fixture that was re-arranged after the Lionesses pitch was flooded: after two consecutive losses against West Ham and Manchester City, winning was imperative but far from being obvious. In that regard, winning by a large margin was a very welcome boost for the team’s morale. A nervy one-nil win would not have had the same beneficial effects, so the brace from Cloé Lacasse and a goal apiece from Kim Little and Alessia Russo were the perfect medicine.
In hindsight, one wonders if the Canadian’s lively performance in the Conti Cup quarter-finals made Jonas Eidevall lean towards starting her ahead of Caitlin Foord, but it might have been a tactical decision more than anything else.
Also, Kim Little rehearsing from the penalty spot just before the game against Manchester United was a very good thing – not that Kim Little needs any extra-practice in that specific skillset, though.
Going into the must-win game against Mark Skinner’s team, Jonas Eidevall had to deal with the last-minute absence of Leah Williamson, who suffered a hamstring injury, and handed Laia Codina her first league start of the season. Elsewhere, Cloé Lacasse started ahead of Caitlin Foord on the left, Stina Blackstenius spearheaded our attacking line instead of Alessia Russo and Sabrina D’Angelo got the nod ahead of Manuela Zinsberger between the posts. As usual, Tim Stillman was the first to understand the tactical reasons for these surprising choices, but everything became apparent as soon as the teams got on the pitch – with Arsenal attacking the space behind the visitors’ full-backs.
Despite the nervy start, we quickly took control of the operations and put Manchester United under pressure and got our deserved lead in the tenth minute, when Geyse turned a loose ball into her own net, and then created chance after chance through the first half – with Manchester United incapable of finding a good answer to our setup.
Goals from Cloé Lacasse and Kim Little before half-time sealed the all-important win that is propelling us back into the race, something that looked extremely unlikely (not to say impossible) one week ago.
All of a sudden, after two very disappointing performances, we found our groove, our incisiveness, our spark and here we are, three points off the top spot and full of confidence again. Football truly is the beautiful game, isn’t it? Sometimes I wish we could all see the “real” Arsenal for longer spells, instead of dealing with a less dangerous version of Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde, but this season is looking more and more like a rollercoaster ride, so we’d better fasten our seatbelts.
With the international break looming and the 2024 CONCACAF W Gold Cup starting, we are left to wonder what kind of team will show when the season resumes, on March 3rd.
Sabrina D’Angelo, Cloé Lacasse and Emily Fox will all miss the North London Derby and the subsequent home game against Aston Villa, while we will see if any of Leah Williamson and Amanda Ilestedt are back after their injury and illness, respectively. Both players were withdrawn from their national teams and will stay in London to recover, hopefully they are both fully fit when Tottenham visits the Emirates Stadium in a fortnight.
I guess this is all for today, but I would like to close things up by praising two players who shone against Manchester United, despite not making the headlines. At the back, Lotte Wubben-Moy was very good, and the bravery and composure she showed when tackling Geyse in the penalty box around the half-hour mark was outstanding. The awareness shown to understand where the Brazilian was going, and the way she used her body to cut her out are typical of the most complete, accomplished defenders. Lotte, who has often been considered as the young understudy next to Leah Williamson, Rafaelle and Jen Beattie, is blossoming into a dominant defender, with great leadership skills and the ability to play out of the back or hit long passes with panache. At 25 years of age, Lotte Wubben-Moy looks ready to take a prominent role within the squad and within the England setup.
The other player I would like to single out is Stina Blackstenius, who worked harder than anyone against Manchester United and allowed our wide players to have fun on the flanks. Often criticized for her conversion rate in front of goal and no longer an automatic starter since the much-hyped arrival of Alessia Russo, the Sweden international remains a fantastic asset for her goalscoring ability but also for her unique skillset: her speed makes her a threat when playing against a high-line, but her strength makes her also a perfect target for long balls, crosses and set-pieces, as well as a great focal point for hold-up play when opponents sit deep.
Lotte and Stina might not have the elegance, reputation, or numbers of some of their more illustrious colleagues, but this doesn’t mean that they aren’t valuable members of this team and very important cogs in Jonas Eidevall’s machine. Any hope of success is tightly knitted to the manager’s ability to use players like Blackstenius and Wubben-Moy, who might not be the first names on the team sheet but whose contribution remains vital.
It’s time to take a break now, we will talk again in two weeks’ time, after the North London Derby.
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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