Hello, Arsenal Women aficionados!
Our girls returned from the international break and won comfortably against Leicester City at the King Power Stadium, recording their third consecutive win in all competitions.
Goals from Alessia Russo and Stina Blackstenius, plus an own goal from the host, saw the Gunners breeze past Leicester and remain within touching distance from the pack chasing Chelsea at the top.
Wins from every club ahead of us mean that we are still in fifth place, but teams behind us are struggling to keep up with the pace ahead, and the league table is starting to break into mini groups.
Our win against Leicester is really important to remain in the ideal position to pounce on any slip-up from Tottenham (+1) or Manchester United (+3), while Manchester City (+4) and Chelsea (+5) are too far ahead, for now.
Unfortunately, this means that failing to beat Chelsea in the upcoming home game against the reigning champions will result in our title challenge being over much earlier than expected, so the pressure will be on us more than the Blues – although they must beware the resurgent Manchester City.
A win would crack the title race open, with five clubs very close to each other – but I would lie if I told you that I feel confident for the big showdown at the Emirates Stadium.
SPEEDY RECOVERY, MICHELLE
I would like to start with a thought for Michelle Agyemang, who suffered a ruptured ACL while on international duty with England. The academy product is the latest player to suffer a major knee injury in the last couple of years, and is likely to out until next season.
That’s a brutal blow for one of the rising stars of European football, and a player that seemed destined to have her proper break-through at Brighton, after shining at the Euros last summer.
Hopefully she will make a full recovery from this injury and pick up from she left off, next summer, very much like Jurrien Timber did for the men’s team. Her young age and strength surely are a big advantage, and she will benefit from the painful experience of some of her teammates, both at club and international level.
Suffering such a big injury is always a risk for the rest of a player’s career, but I am confident that Michelle Agyemang will use the time off to mature and learn about the game, her football and discover a mental fortitude that she might not even know she has.
Get well soon, Michelle! We are all waiting for you to start scoring goals for the Arsenal.
WAS IT THE GOOD, OLD 4-4-2?
When the starting lineup was announced, I was very pleased to see that Renée Slegers decided to go with Alessia Russo and Stina Blackstenius along each other. It was not the first time that the head coach picked both her strikers from the start, but this time it felt like they were playing closer to each other, compared to the previous outings.
While Alessia Russo kept coming short for the ball and link-up play, the impression from outside was that she was more of a second striker, at times, with Beth Mead and Caitlin Foord keeping the width on each flank.
Especially in the first half, the former Manchester United player was seen running the channels ahead of Stina Blackstenius, and latching onto long passes from either side, behind Leicester City’s defensive line.
In the second half, she played much closer to midfield and helped creating space in behind for Stina Blackstenius by forcing centre-backs to follow her in midfield.
The England forward scored the opening goal, assisted by Stina Blackstenius, and forced the own goal, while the Swede scored a brace to put the game beyond reach for Leicester, in what can be described as the perfect display for the attacking duo.
Let’s see if Renée Slegers intends to repeat the experience against Chelsea, next weekend, to make it a bit more uncomfortable for the visitors.
END OF THE ROAD FOR JENNA?
Among the few surprises in the starting XI, Laia Codina was given a rare start at the back, next to Steph Catley. The Spaniard did well against a rather innocuous opponent and help the build up with her neat distribution. All in all, it was a good performance for the former Barcelona player, who didn’t have many opportunities, so far, and was even expected to leave in search of regular football after falling behind Leah Williamson, Lotte Wubben-Moy and Katie Reid in the pecking order.
Very much like het teammate, Jenna Nighswonger wasn’t given many minutes so far and was restricted to a few substitute appearances, including a 15-minutes cameo at King Power Stadium. The US international remains very peripheral to the team and might be the one to leave during the winter, either temporarily or permanently, as reported by Tim Stillman.
It appears that the club is working on bringing in Sweden and Hammarby right-back Smilla Holmberg, and Jenna Nighswonger might be sacrificed to keep a balanced squad. With Taylor Hinds and Steph Catley capable of replacing Katie McCabe at left-back, the former Gotham FC player looks the most expendable among our defenders.
NEXT UP
We will be playing Chelsea at the Emirates Stadium, on Saturday, to earn our right to fight for the title for as long as possible.
As mentioned earlier, we are not in the best position at the moment, and we desperately need a win to keep our hopes alive, so I expect a fierce, proud performance from our players.
We haven’t been particularly lucky at home to Chelsea in recent times, so let’s hope that we’ll get a few things going our way, this time. A win would be massive for the team’s self-confidence, momentum and belief, while a defeat would be simply devastating.
It won’t be an affair for the heart-fainted, folks!
We will talk again 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.
No comments yet.