Hello, Arsenal Women aficionados!
The first hurdle has been cleared, in quite an emphatic way, too. The six-nil thrashing of Rangers allows our girls to move into the final of the first qualifying round of the UWCL, who will now face Rosenborg on Saturday, at Meadow Park.
The Gunners showed real purpose and grit against a valiant but ultimately poor opponent, who could only delay the inevitable but made us work hard to open to floodgates.
Jonas Eidevall wanted a fast start and he definitely got it, with the team unwilling to take the foot off the pedal even with the result more than secured.
JONAS’ WORDS
We really got off to the start we wanted in the Champions League.”
Yes we did, Jonas, although trickier challenges await us, starting on Saturday. The head coach made it clear that there is no room for complacency and choose to deliver its message right away, during the post-game press conference:
“Enjoyment is an important part of football but Saturday is not going to be easy, it is a mini tournament final and it is a knockout game. It is the next game to progress that we were not able to win last season. Now we put ourselves in a strong position but so have Rosenborg, now both teams need to prepare their best and we will play here on Saturday night to see who is the best team to go through.”
Rosenborg kicking out Atlético Madrid on penalties served as a reminder of what might happen if you are not at your best, but I am pretty sure that no one of the players who were on the pitch last summer, against Paris FC, needed that and hopefully they will use the disappointment and anger as fuel to power through the Norwegian side and get to the two-legged playoff tie.
LESSON LEARNED
Depth is important. Depth is super-important. Caitlin Foord, who scored four goals on the night, would have probably started on the bench, had Beth Mead been available. With the England forward out with some discomfort, the Australian took her place off the right wing and ended up being the hero of the night.
If we want to nurture ambitions and aspirations, we need a big squad and the game against Rangers showed that. Sure, the opponent wasn’t especially threatening or hard to break down, but it will be very important for Jonas Eidevall to rotate and find game changers on the bench, when we will struggle to play our way around a low-block.
Mariona is a great facilitator and is already changing the way we play football, making our attacking play much more fluid and unpredictable: being equally good at driving in-field from the left wing or skip past her opponent on the outside, Mariona keeps every defender second-guessing about her next move and allows her teammates to pick up dangerous positions vacated by those opponents drawn toward the Spain international.
Although at times we could see her teammates also second-guessing her next move, resulting in mistimed runs, the former Barcelona player will soon become the real orchestrator and the wide playmaker we never truly had, prior to her arrival. Instead of having two wide forwards running at full backs in straight lines, we will have an extra player in midfield who can knit passes together, break the lines and force defensives line off their best shape, creating holes and spaces to be exploited.
Laia Codina also impressed and settled in very well next to Leah Williamson, showing great awareness and ability on the ball. With Lotte Wubben-Moy only fit for the bench, the Spanish defender took her chances very well and showed she can be relied upon, making a very good case for her role as the first back-up option for both the centre-half spots. Likely to retain her place in the starting XI on Saturday too, the former Barcelona player will have a chance to cement her place in the heart of our back line and, who knows, put together a longer string of consecutive appearances for the Club, something she failed to achieve during her first season in North London.
NEXT’S UP
Next on is Rosenborg, on Saturday night, at Meadow Park. The Norwegian side will be euphoric after knocking out Atlético Madrid in the previous stage and will surely plan for another big upset under the lights. The Arsenal team will have to stay alert, stay focused and show the same hunger and determination that helped them breeze past Rangers. On paper, we are the favourites to go through and reach the playoffs, but so were we a year ago, when we lost on penalties to Paris FC after a thrilling three-three during normal and extra times.
Jonas Eidevall didn’t give much in terms of team news, but we could expect a few new faces in the starting XI, to inject freshness and keep the energy levels as high as possible. Lia Wälti, Rosa Kafaji and Laura Wienroither could start, having played only ten minutes or so against Rosenborg.
We’ll speak again after the game and hopefully comment on the potential opponents for the two-legged playoff games – rather than licking our wounds like a summer ago.
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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