Hello, Arsenal Women aficionados!
Arsenal Women made a light work of WSL strugglers Leicester City, who were beaten 5-1 at the Emirates Stadium on Tuesday night.
With the scoreline already 3-0 before the half-hour mark, there was little doubt that Renée Sleger’s team would take the three points and prepare in the best possible way for the upcoming UWCL semi-finals against Olympique Lyonnais, next Saturday.
Despite some big names missing from the lineup, the team played the usual fluid, free-flowing football and didn’t seem to suffer the absences of Daphne van Domselaar, Chloe Kelly and Alessia Russo.
Both Beth Mead and Stina Blackstenius sent a timely reminder of their qualities, recently overshadowed by the brilliant form of their teammates/rivals, and Leicester had no answers for our qualities.
This win puts us three points behind league leaders’ Chelsea and three points ahead of Manchester United, currently in third place, albeit both teams have a game in hand. Manchester City, who lost Mary Fowler and Vivianne Miedema, are fourth and looked destined to remain outside of the top European competition, next year.
Photo courtesy of Arsenal.com
RENÉE’S WORDS
Seven and counting! The 5-1 thrashing of Leicester City was the SEVENTH straight home win with four or more goals scored by the Gunners, to Renée’s delight:
It’s always hard coming back from international break. Players have been all over the world, playing for other teams, with other players, playing a different style of football. We’ve had three training sessions to get back together, and they have been of such high intensity.
We were quite confident going into the game because of the way we’ve been preparing ourselves and the way the players have come back. I’m very happy, of course, with the result. This is all we wanted. The objective of the block in WSL is getting four out of four. Now we are taking the first step, so that is very important. I think we have four different goal scorers tonight. A lot of good performances.”
Four out of four, no less. Renée Slegers knows that the title is likely to be out of reach with Chelsea still unbeaten with four games remaining, but wants her team to keep the focus on both the league and the UWCL, where Lyon awaits.
When asked about the lunch time home game against the French, the head coach sounded respectful but fearless:
“Huge respect for Lyon and everything they’ve already proven in the Champions League, the qualities they have in a team. It’s going to be a big challenge, but we can’t go into a semi-final not believing that we can make something happen, so we will definitely go in there with belief and bravery. We just need as many players as possible, as fresh and ready as possible for the game. That’s going to be key. We’re going to prepare all the detail from a tactical perspective and look at how we’re going to execute in this first game, these first 90 minutes. We just need to get all the details right in the preparation. We’re going to work really hard together with the players.”
Huge respect but no fear, especially as we will be playing at the Emirates Stadium, a place that Renée described as “such a special place, especially with so many fans. I think if we have the belief and we hit our highest level, I think we can do special things”.
As of last week, the club sold over 30,000 tickets, with many more expected to be sold closer to the game, but this being Easter weekend, it is unlikely that we will sell out the Emirates Stadium.
Photo courtesy of Arsenal.com
Not sure why the kick-off was scheduled for 12:30, as nothing beats a European knockout game under the lights.
Anyways. Back to the press conference, Renée Slegers lauded her players’ ability to cope with changes in the starting XI, whether they come by design or forced upon the team:
“I think so many players played so well today, so we have a great squad. And even if we’ve had consistent starting elevens, it’s still very hard to pick those elevens because of the quality we have in the squad, and how well players train. So, it’s always a lot of work around the details and making the right decisions in choosing the team. And today, we had a couple of players that we couldn’t choose. But the way those players then step in, players that haven’t played for a while, maybe for us from the start, was very good.”
Stina Blackstenius was the obvious reference, having been limited to a super-sub role since Alessia Russo’s emergence as our main striker. The Swede scored one and made one in the 5-1 home win, ran her socks off as usual and had a couple of chances to increase her goal tally:
“I think that a couple of things that she does out of possession on such a high level today, I think things we’ve been working on with her, the way she goes back in defense, how about she works in counter pressure, and then, of course, with her physical profile, how strong and fast she is, she can impact so much. So, I think she brings a lot of her strengths into the game.”
Photo courtesy of Arsenal.com
Finally, the head coach shared some positive news about both Chloe Kelly and Alessia Russo, ahead of the UWCL semifinals:
“Yeah, health of a player always comes first. So, we would never, as a club, take any risks that aren’t fair to the player, of course, and the player always has a say in it. But yeah, of course, these players want to be available. They want to play in these games, so bad. So, they’re doing everything they can and base themselves together with the medical team to get ready for it. It’s looking very good for the two.”
LESSONS LEARNED
The big story of the evening was Victoria Pelova’s first goal since recovering from the ACL rupture, last year. The former Ajax midfielder was a half-time substitute and quickly restored our four-goals cushion shortly after Momiki made it 4-1, after the hour mark.
Once an undisputed starter in a midfield three, Victoria Pelova got injured in the worst possible moment and was at risk of being left behind in Renée Slegers’ revolution, while now she looks very much back in the picture and will soon fight for a place in the starting XI, either as a six or as a ten.
Unfortunately for her, she seems to be in direct competition with Mariona Caldentey for that spot, now that the Spaniard is being deployed in a less advanced position: both possessing excellent vision, football IQ, technique and composure, they can create an effective link between midfield and attack, and progress the ball forward in a quick, incisive way.
Making them coexist in a midfield double-pivot could be tricky, but it’s an exciting prospect that would enable the team to play line-breaking passes from different angles and create triangles on both sides of the pitch, although it might make the team a bit more exposed when defending.
Another option would be to scrap the double-pivot and go back to a more traditional 4-3-3 with a midfield anchor and two box-to-box midfielders, but I am not sure the head coach is ready to change a system that has yielded such great results and performances.
Nice problems to have, though.
Photo courtesy of Arsenal.com
As mentioned earlier in this piece, the game against Leicester reminded us that we do have a great variety of options in the forward positions, with Beth Mead (one goal, one assist), Caitlin Foord (two goals) and Stina Blackstenius (one goal, one assist) all heavily involved in the 5-1 win. Among all our forwards, only Stina Blackstenius (5 goals and 4 assists) and Chloe Kelly (1+4) are yet to reach double digits for goal contribution in all competitions, mostly because the former has only started 7 games in all competitions (and has a -3.3 index on xG) and the latter joined us in January from Manchester City.
If we throw in the mix Frida Maanum (8+2) and Mariona Caldentey (12+6), we get a clear picture of this team’s potency in front of goals and the options available to Renée Slegers.
Using these options wisely and effectively will be Renée Slegers’ main responsibility, because the firepower is there and must be maximized, but I feel very confident because our head coach showed she has a feeling for the games and for her players. As anecdotal as it might sound, switching from “starters” and “substitutes” to “starters” and “finishers”, when speaking of her players gave a different sense of belonging to the players not selected in the starting XI and helped building a platform for “finishers” to shine when called upon.
It is not niche, neither is it exclusive to Arsenal, but adopting this new trend surely helped knitting the team together and motivating those players who are asked to come off the bench. For a very long time, forwards named on the bench were often called upon in desperate times, or thrown in when the scoreline was set, while now they come in to inject new energies, regardless of the score sheet, like any other outfield player. Likewise, one forward can be picked ahead of another because of the opponent’s setup, while traditionally forwards would keep their places until they hit a slump in front of goal.
Photo courtesy of Arsenal.com
A final word on Kim Little, our captain: the midfielder is enjoying her best form of the season and seems as sharp, as inspired and as decisive as ever. With so many crucial games coming up and despite a strong competition within the team, she remains the lighthouse in the middle of the park and the go-to player when the pressure is at its zenith.
Some time ago, I was writing about her diminished role and reduced game time, compared to previous seasons, but the narrative changed dramatically in the last few weeks as Kim Little promptly made me look silly with a string of great performances, with four assists in her last eight appearances (6 starts) in all competitions.
Take a bow, Capt’ Little!
NEXT’S UP
Saturday, lunch time, Emirates Stadium.
The Arsenal Women hosts UWCL serial-winners Lyon for the first leg of the competitions’ semifinals, with the French side already crowned league champions with two games remaining.
Joe Montemurro, who took over from Sonia Bompastor, guided Lyon to their fourth consecutive league title but fell to league strugglers Reims in the French Cup, losing 10-9 on penalties after a dull 0-0 draw during normal and extra time.
Olympique Lyonnais will enter the tie as favorites to progress to the final, both because of the quality of their squad and for their history, so Renée Slegers and her players will be facing a steep uphill task if they want to dislodge the eight-time winners and fly to Lisbon, next month.
After allowing Real Madrid to score two unanswered goals in the first leg of the quarterfinals and force an epic comeback in the return leg, the main focus for our players will be to restrict Lyon to few chances and keep the tie alive.
Striking a good balance between the desire to win and the need to stay in the game will be pivotal, or any dreams of European glory will be shattered right away. Memories of the unbelievable 5-1 win in Lyon two seasons ago are still very vivid and give us belief, but it was another stage of the competition, and the stakes were nowhere near this high.
Beyond anything else, Saturday must be a day to enjoy and a memory to cherish in the future, so I hope that the supporters will turn up in numbers and give energy and courage to the players. Whatever happens, this team turned their season upside down and went from hopeless drifters into second in the league and UWCL semifinalists.
We’ll talk again after the Big Day!
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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