Good morning, Arsenal Women aficionados!
Another game went by, drawing towards the end of a very deflating campaign.
Sure, we retained the Conti Cup defeating Emma Hayes’ team, but this season will surely go down as the most disappointing one of the past five years. All the promises of the brave run-in both in the Champions League and Super League, one year ago, evaporated quickly once we failed to qualify for the UWCL group stage and then let the title slip away. I am tempted to ping all the downfalls of the 2023/24 to the unexpected, hurting shoot-out defeat to Paris FC in July, because that typically is the most prominent sliding door moment in a season: when you prepare to go one better than the Champions League semi-finals and you crash out before reaching the group stage, it becomes really hard to get back on your feet.
Also, the squad was built to challenge on four fronts and suddenly one of those, perhaps the most prestigious one, went out of the window leaving a squad perhaps too big, too equipped to satisfy all player’s ambitions and expectations. I don’t know if our season truly derailed when Alessia Russo’s penalty was palmed away by Paris FC goalkeeper, but I know that this team has been low on confidence for large spells and never truly found its groove through the whole campaign – and ultimately paid the price for that.
The game against Everton was a great example of the psychological baggage this team has carried over for most of this season, with lots of bad choices and mistakes in the final third and an evident lack of self-confidence, mixed with bad luck in crucial moments. After the game, Jonas Eidevall told the press that they shouldn’t have found themselves in a situation where they had to defend a last-minute corner kick, yet they allowed Everton to stay in the match more than they probably deserved and were punished with seconds remaining. It was not a scintillating performance from our players, but they did enough to win comfortably had it not been for some appalling mistakes in front of goal and a tendency to overcomplicate things when it mattered the most. Stina Blackstenius, Victoria Pelova, Alessia Russo and Beth Mead were all presented with decent chances but all fluffed their lines, some of them in spectacular ways, which has condemned us to an underwhelming third-place finish with two games left and the unappealing role of directly influencing who gets to win the title between Manchester City and Chelsea.
This is what we are, right now.
As mentioned in last week’s episode, we are relegated to the role of kingmakers and all we can aspire to is to spoil even more Emma Hayes’ swansong after Chelsea elimination in the UWCL semifinals and our victory in the Conti Cup final. Needless to say, this is not in line with the expectations in and around the club and should lead to a deep review of the coach, the staff and the players; this doesn’t mean we should throw everything away and start from scratches, but in my humble opinion we got to a stage where we lost track of what this team is supposed to be – or to become.
From my perspective, the lack of clarity is apparent and needs addressing in the summer, or we might not evolve into the mighty force we looked to be when Jonas Eidevall took over.
The Swede brought so much energy, belief and tactical acumen since inheriting the team from Joe Montemurro, but this team had looked lost and disjointed on the pitch for quite some time. It is time for Jonas Eidevall to build a stronger identity within the team and put together a reliable core of players able to lead the rest of the group and push everyone forward.
Who are those players today, beyond Leah Williamson, Lia Wälti, Beth Mead, Katie McCabe and Kim Little?
Are there enough strong characters and reliable performers to demand more from the rest of the dressing room?
We have lots of very good players, but not many leaders and losing Rafaelle, Jen Beattie and Jordan Nobbs hurt more than we all probably thought.
I leave you with something to think about, while the team prepares for the big showdown on Sunday afternoon. The fight for the title will go down the wire this season, but we won’t be enjoying any of that. Let’s hope that this group will finish the season strongly and could finish on a high.
Then it will be time to plan for the UWCL preliminary rounds, hoping to go all the way and get into the group stage.
We will talk again on Monday next week.
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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