Hello, Arsenal Women aficionados!
Another week, another big win for the Gunners, who got the better of league leaders Manchester City one week after winning the inaugural FIFA Women Champions Cup.
That was a massive performance from Renée Slegers and her players, who dominated the visitors in the first half and managed to protect the lead in the final 45 minutes, when Manchester City finally found their way in the opposition half.
A goal from Olivia Smith, a makeshift centre-forward in Stina Blackstenius’ absence, was enough to condemn Vivienne Miedema’s crew to their first defeat after thirteen consecutive league wins, and their second of the campaign after they lost to Chelsea.
Where was this Arsenal team in the last few months? As things stand, the Gunners are fourth and ten points behind the leaders but have a game in hand and have already faced Chelsea, Manchester United and Manchester City home and away, losing only once all season. It is very hard to make sense of these numbers, and this team overall, because the last few weeks showed everyone that they can and they should be up there, battling for the title, but the reality is very different.
How can a team who only lost to Manchester City in the league and boasts the best defensive record be so far apart from the top spot? The answer is to be found in the relatively low number of goals scored (26) and the uncommonly high number of games drawn (5), unfortunately.
Was the approach too conservative, at times? Maybe.
Were they unlucky, at times? Sure.
Should the players have done better with the number of chances created? Yes.
INTUITION OR LUCK?
I must admit that I was surprised when I saw Olivia Smith starting upfront in place of the injured Stina Blackstenius, and I am pretty sure I wasn’t the only one.
I was expecting Alessia Russo to play as the center-forward, with Frida Maanum back in the starting lineup in midfield, or perhaps Beth Mead brought back to her natural role, with Alessia Russo in the hole. Instead, Renée Slegers picked Olivia Smith and, in hindsight, it makes perfect sense: with her speed, power and directness, the Canada international is the closest replacement for Stina Blackstenius, who always created issues to Manchester City with her strength and ability to run the channels, while neither one of Beth Mead or Alessia Russo could have been a similar threat to an otherwise solid back line.
Once again, Renée Slegers proved to be a level above in terms of tactical nous and creative thinking, and while Manchester City was expecting this kind of approach, they didn’t have any answer to Olivia Smith’s threat.
After being ignored with her first couple of runs, she suddenly found herself in the perfect position to run off Knaak’s shoulder, beat her to the beautifully-treaded through-ball from Mariona Caldentey and then round Yamashita, before rolling the ball in the empty net.
It was a magnificent goal, built in training and replicated perfectly on the pitch, and a further proof that Renée Slegers and her staff do not leave any stone unturned.
While Stina Blackstenius’ injury is deemed minor, it will be interesting to see if the head coach will repeat the trick, especially as Olivia Smith seems better at beating offside and is a better finisher, compared to her colleague. She could be a bit light to play alone upfront, but she makes that up with courage and pure strength.
UNMATCHED DEFENSIVE SPIRIT
There was a moment, in the second half, when Arsenal had to defend deep and push Manchester City back – and that’s when the magic happened.
During that spell, I could see the best version of Kim Little, Lotte Wubben-Moy, Katie McCabe and Leah Williamson, all eager to protect the lead and battle for every ball. There have been a couple of situations where Kim Little and Katie McCabe were superb in their recovery and managed to contain Vivienne Miedema despite her usual sublime tricks and turns. Twice they were beaten, twice they came back and resisted the temptation to put a foot out, but instead they used their bodies and stopped the Dutch international a few steps away from the goal.
Same goes for Leah Williamson, a true leader at the back and the usual fierce competitor, who contributed to stopping her former teammate when she was about to shoot and score, then winning a very important free kick inside Arsenal penalty area.
There are players who give their best when they are under intense pressure, and all of them did exactly that against Manchester City, showing flashes of the unbelievable defensive solidity that helped the team win the UWCL and record clean-sheet after clean-sheet.
NEXT UP
Arsenal Women are back in the UWCL on Wednesday, when they travel to Belgium to face OH Leuven Women. The game is the first leg of the UWCL playoffs that will determine who gets into the knockout phase. Given the relatively easy win registered during the league phase, it is fair to expect that Kim Little and her teammates will progress, but it would wrong to underestimate the importance of this game.
After that, Arsenal Women will travel to Brighton, in the weekend, hopeful to continue their wonderful run and consolidate their grasp on a UWCL place for next season.
We’ll talk again next week and see how both games went.
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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