Hello, Arsenal Women aficionados!
The opening game of the season didn’t start in the best possible fashion, but one moment of individual brilliance turned the game upside down and transformed a close contest into a one-sided performance and a thumping win.
Goals from Olivia Smith, Chloe Kelly, Stina Blackstenius and Frida Maanum gave Arsenal their first three points of the campaign and put Renée Slegers’ name into the history book, as she became the first coach to win the first nine league games of her tenure.
There is a lot to unpack from an entertaining afternoon at the Emirates Stadium, so let’s dig into that.
NERVY START AND NAIVETY
The starting XI picked by Renée Slegers included some surprising calls, but the most unexpected one probably was the inclusion of Katie Reid in the place of the injured Leah Williamson. The teenager, who was deployed as right-back last season, got the nod ahead of full internationals like Lotte Wubben-Moy and Laia Codina, and partnered Steph Catley at the heart of our defensive line.
In a very typical fashion for such a young player, she showed some naivety and nerves in the opening minutes, and ended up gifting the London City Lionesses a penalty kick, dispatched by Kosovare Asllani.
Like Arsène Wenger once said, fielding young defenders costs you points in the short term, but gets you a better player in the medium and long term. Luckily for Katie Reid, Renée Slegers and us all, her mistake didn’t cost us any points and will be a very valuable learning moment for the talented defender. She did brilliantly to shut down Isobel Goodwin while in a 1v1 situation but got overly eager with her follow up tackle on the onrushing Kosovare Asllani, who was always going to beat her on the loose ball. It was a moment where inexperience was telling, but Katie Reid grew as minutes went by and didn’t look particularly fazed by her mistake – which bodes well for the future.
It must be said that the whole team looked a bit off the pace, and London City Lionesses caused lots of issues with their high-press and defensive intensity. Luckily, one moment of wonder calmed the nerves of everyone in the stadium, including players on the pitch and staff on the bench.
OLIVIA SMITH HAS ALREADY ARRIVED
If one youngster looked a bit nervy, another one took the game by the scruff of the neck and change the whole atmosphere around the Emirates Stadium, all at once: debutant Olivia Smith, who started on the left side of our attack, drove at opponents’ defence with poise and grace, then sent a sensational wonder strike from 25 yards out, leaving Elene Lete absolutely helpless.
The Canadian international and former Liverpool winger got everyone on the edge of their seats with mazy runs and superb strikes, and went very close to a brace with two very dangerous shots: the first, a sumptuous volley, flashed across the goal and went dying inches away from the wide post, while the second was parred away by the goalkeeper, not without serious troubles.
Her full debut, that lasted one hour, was simply sensational and has already put in a bid for the goal of the season. Her energy, drive and technical excellence will make a huge difference in this campaign, and although she might not score amazing goals week in, week out, she will force opponents to double-mark her, meaning that her teammates will have more space and time to leave their mark on a game.
SOMETHING NEW, SOMETHING OLD
As already mentioned, the starting XI included some surprises, but our bench was the most impressive it has been in years: Frida Maanum and Caitlin Foord came on around the hour mark, then Stina Blackstenius and Beth Mead were introduced with fifteen minutes remaining before Taylor Hinds made her debut in the closing minutes. Among the unused substitutes we had Kyra Cooney-Cross, a potential starter, while Leah Williamson (injury) and Jenna Nighswonger couldn’t make the squad.
That’s some serious competition for places, and game changers waiting for their time to come.
This level of depth is probably unprecedented and surely exciting, especially in the attacking unit: against the London City Lionesses, we managed to replace our front-three entirely and scored two more goals to put the game beyond reach for the visitors, which should be seen as a big, big warning for our opponents.
So, while we get all worked up by Olivia Smith’s quick feet and thunderbolts, let’s not forget how effective our “old guard” can be and the impact they can (and will) have during the season.
Whether it is Caitlin Foord’s ability in 1v1 situations, or Stina Blackstenius’ relentless running, or Frida Maanum’s eye for the goal, all of them can turn a game around in the blink of an eye. The game on Saturday gave everyone the most compelling example of that, when Beth Mead provided one assist apiece for Stina Blackstenius and Frida Maanum, to become the first player to dish out 50+ assists in the WSL.
THE CHASE IS ON
Winning the first game of the season will give everyone’s a big boost in the quest for the elusive WSL trophy. Last season we finished second, twelve points adrift of Chelsea, and most of the damage was done in the early stages of the campaign, with Jonas Eidevall’s team collecting only five points in the opening four games.
From that moment onwards, we knew that it would take a total collapse from Chelsea to have a proper go to the title. Playing catch-up with the serial winners is not ideal, and any realistic chance to take the trophy away from them depends on how close we can stay to them through the season.
That’s why it was very important to win the game against the London City Lionesses but going down by one goal inside the first 20 minutes didn’t really help. The fact that we didn’t just win it, but we did it in a very convincing way will be very important for the team’s morale and self-confidence and provide a great platform for the players to keep pushing and keep pouncing on any slip-up from the Blues.
There will be another six games before we host Chelsea at the Emirates Stadium, and the hope is to get there with as many points as possible, so we can make this a must-win game for them, rather than us.
NEXT’S UP
Next up is West Ham away, on Friday night: the Irons played a very close game against Tottenham and only lost to a late penalty from Bethany England, but didn’t do much in terms of shot creation and attacking play, more in generally.
The injury sustained by their starting goalkeeper could be a big blow, but it’s too soon to say whether Kinga Szemik will be fit for the game or if she will sit this one out.
On the Arsenal side, it will be intriguing to see how many changes Renée Slegers will operate – if any – and if she will throw a few more surprises.
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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