Hello, Arsenal Women aficionados!
Going two games winless was already far from ideal. Going winless in three consecutive games is a near catastrophe, especially if the third game of the row is an away defeat to Manchester City.
I was expecting a tough game, and a loss was always on the card, but it doesn’t make it less hurtful – especially when we consider the performance we delivered in Manchester.
We looked shaky at the back, at best, and uninspired in midfield and in attack, all while being constantly late on every loose ball and failing to put up a real fight. We didn’t necessarily make it easy for them, but we definitely didn’t make it hard enough for Vivianne Miedema & Co. If anything, the scoreline reflects very well on us, because Manchester City deserved to get away with the three points more than we ever deserved to take home one point.
We came back from one goal down twice in the game and even had a big chance to win it in the end, but Manchester City deserved the win, in the end. This defeat leaves us fifth in the table, five points adrift of Chelsea – who were held to a draw by Manchester United – and four points behind Manchester City, in second.
TWO IDENTICAL SITUATIONS, TWO DIFFERENT OUTCOMES
Shortly after Chloe Kelly put us back on track with a curled effort from the edge of the penalty area, Frida Maanum had a great chance to put us in front at the City Football Academy Stadium.
She received a lofted pass from Lotte Wubben-Moy, rolled the defender with a nice couple of touches and got into the box. There, she was presented with the choice to shoot or pass the ball to Alessia Russo on the penalty spot: the Norwegian elected to shoot, despite being closed down by City defenders, and the resulting attempt – rather tame – went straight to the goalkeeper.
Thirty seconds later, Khadija Shaw was in the same exact situation, but she chose to lay the ball to Iman Beney, who scored the winning goal. Sure, she was fortunate to come away with the ball following a strong challenge from Lotte Wubben-Moy, but the Swiss was in a much better position compared to Khadija Shaw, and the Jamaica international smartly decided to pass the ball, rather than shooting herself.
In a matter of seconds, we went from almost winning it to lose the game, and possibly more than just this game – and it all goes down to how good your decision-making is. Obviously you would still need a bit of luck, but decision-making in each penalty areas make the difference, in the end.
MAKE THEM BEAUTIFUL, BUT MAKE THEM COUNT
Renée Slegers called them “two high-quality goals”, and it’s hard to argue with that. Both Mariona Caldentey’s and Chloe Kelly’s goals were wonderful, two pieces of great technique and vision – yet they won’t count, this season.
The Spanish midfielder sent a first-time attempt to the top corner, following a fantastic cut-back from Emily Fox (speaking of good decision making…), and gave no chance to Ayaka Yamashita. Similarly, Chloe Kelly found the far corner from the edge of the penalty area with a fantastic curled effort, and again the Japan international had no chance to keep that out – actually, she didn’t even try to save it.
Both goals came after some neat passes and movements, which was more in line with how the team usually plays, compared to the games against Manchester United and Aston Villa. The play was fluid, the players showed intent and purpose with their passes, runs and shooting, and in the end those goals deserved to have league points attached to them – but they didn’t.
After the game, Renée Slegers insisted on how we “should protect ourselves when the momentum shifts” in such big games – because it will, inevitably – and the fact that we failed to do so is rather infuriating. I believe that everyone knew what to expect from Manchester City, yet we were not resolute enough at the back, and ruined all the efforts made to bring the game level, twice.
Most of our success last season was built on being solid at the back and collecting clean-sheets and any chance of getting back in the mix, in the league, or go as far as possible in the UWCL will depend heavily on that.
So far, we already conceded six goals in five league games, with only one clean sheet (against Manchester United), which is simply not sustainable.
TOO SOON OR NOT?
On Tuesday night, we kick-off our UWCL campaign at home against OL Lyonnes (fka Olympique Lyonnais), in what will be an extremely difficult and important game.
Usually, players to like playing as quickly as possible after a bad result or a bad performance, but I am not sure this is the best opportunity we could ask for: OL Lyonnes are among the favourites to win the competition and will come to London knowing that Arsenal are under intense scrutiny and pressure.
Moreover, the game will take place at Meadow Park, rather than the Emirates Stadium, which will make it easier for the visitors as there will be less people in attendance, and the decibels won’t be as high.
I would like if I were to tell you that I am confident about our ability to bounce back, not because I don’t trust our players or the staff, but because we are facing one of the toughest opponents in European football, and a very experienced team who is used to playing high-stakes games.
Needless to say, I hope I will be proved wrong on Tuesday night, and be allowed to tell a wonderful story about a team that was on the brink of catastrophe and managed to turn things around.
NEXT’S UP
OL Lyonnes awaits us on Tuesday night, in what will be the first game of the new UWCL. We will talk on Wednesday, to see how it went, and hopefully you will be allowed to make a fool of me!
We will catch up after the game, as usual.
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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