Hello, Arsenal Women aficionados!
It was too good to be true, wasn’t it? During more than an hour, the Arsenal Women team were all over Bayern Munich, in Germany, and could have scored five, six goals.
The intensity, purpose, aggression and organization showed by the players, masterfully directed by Renée Slegers, were sensational, and the hosts had no answer to that.
Then, the lights went out.
Despite going to the break with a solid two goals lead and restricting Bayern Munich to nothing, Steph Catley and her teammates lost their way in the second half, and while the Germans upped the tempo and started to apply some serious pressure around and inside the box, it is hard to look beyond the word “collapse” when writing about this game and the final result.
The fourth spot remains up for grabs despite the defeat, but the Arsenal Women team have as many as SEVEN teams ahead of them in the table and three games remaining. Three wins would take them to 12 points, which a respectable tally but might not be enough to avoid the playoffs.
Anything else but a win against Real Madrid would see any hope of progressing directly to the knockout stages nullified, so let’s be prepared for another big European night…
FINISHERS V FINISHERS
One of the first changes implemented by Renée Slegers when she took over from Jonas Eidevall was changing the name of substitutes to finishers, to emphasise their importance during a game. It was a radical shift, culturally speaking, and a great way to make everyone feel involved and important.
Coincidentally, finishers steadily became a vital resource for the team, with many goals and assists coming from players who didn’t start the game – including the winner in last year’s UWCL final.
In Munich, though, Renée Slegers was given a taste of her medicine as Bayern turned the game around thanks to goals from Pernille Harder and Alara Şehitler, both named on the bench. Caruso, another finisher, was also very impressive and almost scored when the game still at 1-2 for the visitors, while all our finishers failed to make an impression during their cameos.
Unfortunately, Renée Slegers didn’t have the right finishers available and was made to pay for failing to address the team’s inability to deal with long balls and second balls in the final 30 minutes, with Bayern Munich taking advantage of our shortages.
ARSENAL COSTLY LEGACY (ACL)
When the news broke, earlier in the week, I almost felt sick: after Vivianne Miedema, Beth Mead, Leah Willamson, Teyah Goldie, Manuela Zinsberger and Michelle Agyemang, it was now Katie Reid’s turn to suffer an anterior cruciate ligament rupture.
The 19yo was enjoying her breakthrough season, starting at the heart of Arsenal defensive line alongside Steph Catley, and just earned her first senior call-up for England, so the injury feels especially cruel.
Very much like Michelle Agyemang, Katie Reid looked ready to take the biggest step of any footballer’s career: going from a promising youngster to a first-team player.
This step is already very hard as it is, with many players unable to replicate the impact they have at youth level, overwhelmed by the demands of elite professional football, so knowing that they will both have to take that step after a massive injury feels deeply unfair.
At their age, a ruptured ACL could be a career-derailing injury, because the quality and speed of recovery remain very unpredictable despite the knowledge and technology available to doctors and physiotherapists. Some players recover fully and fast, some others recover fully but slowly, others recover quickly but not completely.
One thing is sure, both Katie Reid and Michelle Agyemang will lose a whole year. Skipping a whole season at that stage of a young footballer’s career could have serious consequences, because other players will be given a path to first-time football, whether they are already at the club or they are signed to cope with the long-term absentee. Skipping a whole year takes the consequences to another level, because players often miss TWO full seasons between recovery and getting back to their best levels.
BOUNCING BACK
If there is a moment to bounce back, it is today: Arsenal Women will face Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday afternoon, then host Real Madrid on Wednesday, and both games carry with them a sense of now or never.
The home draw to Chelsea left us six points adrift from the top of the league and on level with Tottenham in fourth, although we have a far better goal difference. The away defeat to Bayern left us in a rather uncomfortable position in the UWCL, four points off the last available slot to progress to the knockout stage, but dangerously close to bottom four, which means being kicked out of Europe at the first hurdle.
They desperately need to win the next two games in order to keep their hopes alive, and they will have to achieve that without two key players: Leah Williamson and Kim Little.
The defender is still recovering from her injury and is sure to miss both games, with her return expected in early 2026, while the former Scotland international might recover on time, although she missed the last two games.
With Leah Williamson and Kim Little out (and Lia Wälti in Turin…), the team is lacking leadership, and it showed against Bayern. Steph Catley and Katie McCabe are two experienced, charismatic players but they seem to struggle with replicating the influence that their injured teammates usually exert.
In Munich, no player on the pitch was able to calm others around her and organize the team to deal with the mounting pressure and increased threat from the hosts; instead, we witnessed a collective collapse and a result that could hurt more than anticipated, especially with Real Madrid coming to London.
In the second half, the team looked vulnerable against long-balls, slow to react to second balls and unable to slow the tempo down with crafty, smart possession, and the comeback looked almost inevitable, from the outside. This is not how you want to prepare for two big games in quick succession, especially if those games are so important for the rest of your season.
Bouncing back requires grit, courage and assertiveness, and I would like to see some of the senior players stepping up, whether it is through technical or moral leadership: I would like to see Mariona dictate the tempo from midfield; I would like to see Katie McCabe set the example by winning duels and getting first to any loose ball; I would like Lotte Wubben-Moy to dominate in the air and impose her strength. These are just some examples of leadership that will be required in the next two games to avoid throwing away the season so early.
NEXT UP
As mentioned above, it’s North London Derby day on Sunday, and the hope is to see the Emirates Stadium packed and rocking to encourage our players. A win could be massive and might kick-start our season (again…), especially with the Manchester derby being played the day before.
After years of undisputed dominance in North London, Arsenal are now facing a better, more combative opponent and will have to fight to come out with the three points.
Then, it will be time to welcome Real Madrid to Meadow Park and play another massive game, this team for our European aspirations. Anything else than a win will see us drop further down and put ourselves at danger of being eliminated at the group phase already.
That’s not what reigning champions should be doing…
We will talk again next week!
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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