Hello, Arsenal Women aficionados!
Before we get to business and discuss what happened at the City Football Academy Stadium, allow me to rewind the tape a bit, as some very important things happened on and off the pitch.
The FA Cup win against Bristol City saw Katie Reid getting the starting nod over the more experienced Laura Wienroither, who remained among the unused substitutes throughout the 5-0 thrashing of the Championship side amid speculations around her future. On deadline day, her loan move to Manchester City was made official, with very little surprise. The Austrian leaves in search of more regular playing time but I am not sure Manchester City will be able to offer that, so we will see how this evolves. One thing is sure, she will have to wait a bit longer to make her debut, as players on loan are ineligible to face their parent club and Manchester City plays Arsenal again, on Thursday.
The most interesting aspect of this loan move is that Katie Reid is now promoted to first alternative to Emily Fox at right-back, and deservedly so: the young defender showed great promise at every game she played and looked composed, solid against Bristol City, too.
Another good news was the introduction of Amanda Ilestedt midway through the second half: the Sweden international stepped on the pitch for the first time since giving birth in September 2024 and is a very welcome addition to the squad for the second part of the season. Her experience and ability in the air will complete and already very strong group of centre-halves that can boast full internationals such as Leah Williamson, Steph Catley, Lotte Wubben-Moy and Laia Codina.
Finally, a quick word on a very welcome, last-minute addition on deadline day: Chloe Kelly. The Arsenal academy graduate left Manchester City with five months left on her contract and joined us on loan until the end of the season, but I would be very surprised if she didn’t sign a long-term contract with us later this year. Chloe Kelly brings quality, experience and depth to our attacking line and seems to be on a mission to clear her name and “find happiness again”, so we might be getting a very good player and an extremely motivated one, which is everything I am here for.
After Beth Mead’s, will we be witnessing Chloe Kelly’s revenge tour?
We’ll see after the league cup semifinal, since – like Laura Wienroither – she cannot play against her parent club.
Shall we talk about “it”? Shall we talk about “the win”?
A thrilling, entertaining, crucial win that sent the best possible response after the narrow, deflating loss to Chelsea, a week ago. Now back in third place, above Manchester City, three points off Manchester United in second, we can look at the remainder of the season with renewed hope and optimism. Realistically, there won’t be many opportunities to catch Manchester United until the last three games of the campaign, so it will be vital to stay in touch with them until the end.
There are two ways to look at the performance away to Manchester City: we either allowed our lead to slip too easily and too quickly, or we reacted each time with great spirit and resilience.
To assume that any team would be able to keep Manchester City’s firepower quiet would be arrogant, borderline fool, so I would go for the second option and hail the team’s mental fortitude to recover from every single setback to grab the three points. Something clicked in our players’ heads since Renée Slegers took over, and the win at Manchester City was another evidence of that.
Goals from Mariona Caldentey, Lotte Wubben-Moy, Frida Maanum and Stina Blackstenius were enough to see off Manchester City’s efforts to come back into the game, and if it wasn’t for the appalling refereeing mistake shortly after the restart, our afternoon could have been a lot quieter and just as joyful.
RENÉE’S WORDS
Among the lines and quotes delivered by Renée Slegers during her press conferences, this week, I would like to share with you those that highlighted the spirit and mental strength of this group of players.
When asked about reacting to the setback of losing to Chelsea, Renée Slegers said the following: “that’s what I’m very happy with. I think the girls are on a very high level at the moment in how you manage those momentum shifts in games and big events influence those shifts. But I saw a great determination today as well and they’ve been doing that well for a while now. They did well changing it back around and staying composed and not letting emotions take over. But I saw some extra determination in the girls which was very good to see.” […] I know exactly that and I think the girls are growing on that so they’re on a very high level when it comes to resilience in the game, managing different phases of the game, managing different events that happen in the game that you can’t always control so I think I’m just very proud of how they take this game on because we get a really good start in the game and how we finish the game with everything that happens during those 90 minutes.”
We can sit here and discuss technical ability, fitness levels, tactics, formations and whatnot, but if the players don’t have the determination, the resilience and the togetherness they have been showing consistently since Renée Slegers took over, they won’t stand a chance to achieve anything.
Jonas Eidevall is a great tactician and has a brilliant football mind, but he could not get these players to go the extra mile, to find purpose in their roles and tasks, and to enjoy their football.
LESSONS LEARNED
Both games from last week showed how important our options off the bench can be, and while rotating against Bristol City Women was always going to be an easy choice, reshuffling our deck away at Manchester City was a different matter – especially as the changes in the FA Cup were made by design, while those at the City Football Academy Stadium were forced by injuries.
Injuries to Kim Little and Caitlin Foord, plus the suspension of Katie McCabe and Lia Wälti not being entirely fit, forced Renée Slegers into reshaping her team from top to bottom: Steph Catley moved wide with Lotte Wubben-Moy partnering Leah Williamson in the middle; Mariona Caldentey played deep in midfield alongside Kyra Cooney-Cross and Alessia Russo shifted to the left wing, with Stina Blackstenius leading the attacking line.
As a result, the team balance wasn’t great, especially off the ball, but we had plenty of attacking talent to hurt Manchester City and, most importantly, the willing to do so at every opening. Our press was intense, although not perfectly in-synch, and our players’ eagerness to attack proved difficult to handle for the hosts, who decided to accept the transitional game Arsenal was taking to them. We did pay the price for our off-the-ball setup, with Manchester City threatening several times through Fujino, and coming from behind three times during the game, but we ended up getting the three points, deservedly.

Photo courtesy of Arsenal.com
The craziness and intensity of this game reminded everyone how important Lia Wälti can be, when fit: the Swiss was introduced with 20 minutes to play, with the game lock at 3-3, and immediately provided steadiness, leadership and composure to the team, which proved to be the difference. As soon as she came in, the team looked much better in possession and more structured without the ball, which helped shifting the momentum in our favour. For all the good performances delivered so far, Kyra Cooney-Cross isn’t ready to replace the Swiss midfield maestro, but she can be happy to have such a mentor in the squad.
Then, there was Stina Blackstenius doing Stina Blackstenius things: working the channels, squandering golden opportunities and breaking Manchester City hearts. The Swede had a wonderful opportunity to restore our lead but missed from close range, although she was clipped by a Manchester City defender when she was about to shoot but scored the winning goal with a few minutes to play, turning in an excellent cross from Beth Mead. I am adamant that we have a great asset in Stina Blackstenius, but I find it more and more difficult to stay optimistic when all these chances going down the drain…
A final word on the refereeing standards, because things are getting very ugly: Manchester City was awarded a penalty for a foul that was committed well outside of the penalty area, and none of the referee or his closest assistant spotted that. If only a technology existed to review such actions…
I don’t know how long this will go on, but with clubs making huge investments and supporters coming in large numbers, the league cannot afford to have such a poor officiating standards and expect not to have a negative impact on “the product”.
If you look at the below screenshot, you’ll notice that the assistant referee is desperately trying to keep up with the speed of the action, while the referee…where the heck is the referee? She is nowhere to be seen on the picture, which tell its own story.
NEXT’S UP
Same clubs, different venues. This Thursday night we are hosting Manchester City at Meadow Park to contend a third consecutive appearance in the League Cup final. After winning against Chelsea in 2022/23 and 2023/24, we could setup a third consecutive showdown with the Blues, who I expect to beat West Ham in the other semifinal.
After that, we will host London City Lionesses on Sunday afternoon, at Meadow Park, to complete a block of 7 games in 22 days and hopefully qualify for the quarterfinals.
We will talk again next week, after the “domestic cups week” is over, to see where we stand with our ambitions to collect silverware at the end of this season. I will also cover the UWCL draw, that takes place on Friday, 7th of February and assess our next opponent in the race for the European crown.
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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