Good morning, Arsenal Women aficionados!
That’s it then. The season is officially over. We finished third, retained the league cup, handed the title to Chelsea and Emma Hayes (sigh…) and recorded a big, welcome win on the final day.
The five-nil thrashing of Brighton was a nice way to wrap-up a turbulent season and offered a nice day out to both our players and our supporters: in a glorious afternoon at Meadow Park, a brace from Alessia Russo and goals from Laia Codina, Vivianne Miedema and Frida Maanum helped wave goodbye to 2023/24 in a fun way, before everyone cried their eyes out for Viv’s final appearance in an Arsenal shirt.
The Dutch striker, who came in to replace Alessia Russo, signed off in style with a well-taken goal and superb through-ball to assist our fifth and final goal of the season, scored by Frida Maanum. It will feel weird to see her in another shirt, especially if she signs for Manchester City as she is widely expected to do.
More than anything else, the final home game at Meadow Park was all about saying farewell to our Dutch superstar and symbolically enter a new era, which started as soon as the celebrations faded away.
The day has arrived when Alessia Russo is taking the mantle from our Dutch superstar and becoming the public face of a club that is evolving very quickly and took the bold decision to make the Emirates Stadium their primary home ground.
Goodbye Viv, goodbye Meadow Park. Hello Alessia Russo, hello Emirates Stadium.
I have the feeling that this summer will be seen as a major turning point in the history of the club, in a few years, but I can’t tell whether it will be seen as a step forward or the one decision that made everything crumble.
The season that just ended felt like a year-long wait at a crossroads, with the head coach and his staff unsure about when and how to move forward from the “old” Arsenal and the “new” one.
For as long as Vivianne Miedema was at the heart of it all, this could not be the new Arsenal and perhaps the striker and the club should have parted ways last summer, once it was clear that Alessia Russo was coming in and that Stina Blackstenius wasn’t going anywhere – but the ACL injury suffered by the former Bayern Munich start slowed everything down.
More than anything, this team needed clarity: a clear tactical approach, a clear attacking setup, a clear hierarchy within the squad and a clear leadership in the dressing room. This is not to pin anything on Vivianne Miedema, of course, but the team felt too small to have two world-class players fighting for the same spot on the pitch. For a long time, I hoped that Jonas Eidevall could find a way to play Vivianne Miedema and Alessia Russo play together, but it became more and more evident that it was a case of either/or with our two forwards – which is shame, obviously.
It was great to see Vivianne Miedema enjoy herself one last time and remind everyone how great she is, but it was equally great to see Alessia Russo leading the line, putting away two goals and being at the heart of our attacking play. If anything, the home game against Brighton ended up being the ultimate handover from one wonderful player to another wonderful player. We should consider ourselves very lucky, in that regard.
The game itself felt like a nice stroll in the park and the result was never in doubt, with Brighton playing themselves into trouble at the back and unable to threaten in attack, except for a couple of dangerous situations. Kim Little’s missed penalty was like a bad stain on an otherwise perfect afternoon, but nothing to lose sleep about. It was all smiles on the pitch before, during and after the game, as we wore the new home kit for the very first time (there’s too much white, by the way) and recorded the tenth straight home win, all while allowing the departing Sabrina D’Angelo to keep a clean sheet on her last appearance for the club.
It is already time to plan and prepare for another season, because the Champions League qualifiers are already behind the corner and the aim is to get into the group stage, this time. There’s a fresh feeling in the air, a clear indication that this team might look way different to the ideal XI we might have in mind – and that regardless of the transfers in and out: over the last few months, this team has become Lotte Wubben Moy’s team; Emily Fox’s team; Victoria Pelova’s team and, perhaps most importantly, it has become Alessia Russo’s team.
Maybe the word “fringe” is an exaggeration, but I have a clear feeling that many players who were not necessarily starters at the beginning of the season have become mainstays and will play a key role in the immediate future of this club, on and off the field.
After a few seasons as the goofy understudy, Lotte Wubben-Moy became the perfect partner for Leah Williamson at the back and went up a couple of gears – mentally, tactically, technically and physically; likewise, the do-it-all Victoria Pelova took control of the operations in the middle of the park and became the architect of our build-up play, moving away from the archetypical ten to mold into a modern eight, equally impactful with and without the ball.
A new Arsenal is blossoming, we’ll see how it looks like in a few weeks from now.
That’s it for me, it’s time to rest a bit and reset. Hopefully the players will be back firing after the holidays. Hopefully it will be a great season.
One thing is sure: I will be there to tell you all, regardless.
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.
I’ve only just found your articles, and think they’re great.
There’s been a lot of negativity around Viv’s departure which is mostly understandable. It’s refreshing to see balanced and thoughtful commentary such as yours about what’s happening at the moment. The “symbolically enter a new era” comment feels spot on. Style of play, increasing competitiveness and (probably most importantly), the increasing levels of organisation leading to effective low-blocks, means that systems, and the players that service those systems, has to change.
I wish Viv were able to be one of those for us, but it seems she no longer is.
I think the new approach will serve Arsenal in the league and in the Champions League, whether Jonas is the person to lead the team there is yet to be seen. There are signs that he is, but let’s see.
Looking forward to next installments.
Thank you Ken, glad you liked my writing. I very much agree on your comment about Jonas Eidevall, I’m convinced that next season will show everyone whether or not he is the right man for the job.
I will be taking a small break to get ready for next season, which will start very soon, so you can definitely expect new installments in July – when our quest to get into the group stage. Hopefully we will go one step further, compared to last season, and get to experience some great European nights at the Emirates.
Stay tuned, and thanks for your kind words!