Here are the key things we learned from the 5-2 defeat away to City on Saturday lunchtime that leaves the team struggling in the title race after just two games.
Refereeing in the FA WSL is still a big problem
Besides the Parris incident (see below), I was at Bristol v Yeovil on Saturday night and the referee was as bad as the one in Manchester.
Twice a Yeovil player was going past Bristol players and twice the referee gave an advantage that yielded nothing. First, a winger went through, got fouled and barely stayed on her feet and her cross went nowhere. No booking or foul for the Bristol defender.
Then, with the score at 1-0 to Bristol, the Yeovil centre forward went through, got her shirt pulled but managed to stay on her feet and her shot was blocked. Had she gone down, it was a stonewall penalty for denying a clear goalscoring opportunity and a red card. But the referee gave nothing.
It is a problem that has been going on for years and the FA has not tried hard enough to bring through quality referees.
At the end of the day, we are talking about amateur referees i charge of professional players. What is the point of pushing for full-time pro teams if the refereeing level is consistently below the required performance?
The Parris incident:
https://twitter.com/WSUasa/status/914096686032719873
I do wonder if Arsenal should appeal because the referee clearly did not see the incident properly as she took no action.
We saw recently with Sane of Liverpool that the right decision is a straight red card and a three game ban. Here, nothing was given, and that’s absolutely shocking. It was a game changing decision, and some might say the referee bottled the decision. I don’t think so, I simply think she was too lenient as many referees in England are. Protecting the physical integrity of players does not seem a priority for the FA.
Law 12 is written in black and white, it is a red card. But referees in England seem to have a problem applying it properly and use every excuse not to give yellow and red cards.
I believe the attitude comes from the FA, as referees get told they are too busy if they apply the rules correctly and are giving cards according to the laws of the game.
“A player, substitute or substituted player who commits any of the following: serious foul play.
“A tackle or challenge that endangers the safety of an opponent or uses excessive force or brutality must be sanctioned as serious foul play.
“Any player who lunges at an opponent in challenging for the ball from the front, from the side or from behind using one or both legs, with excessive force or endangers the safety of an opponent is guilty of serious foul play.”
A Video Assistant Referee would have also helped here. A simple review would have made the decision obvious. The game would have turned out differently if Parris had been sent off for serious foul play. Arsenal did not manage the internal factors well, but when the external factors go against you as well, it’s harder still.
A leaky defence won’t win you titles
I think the statistics are clear: played 2 conceded 7.
An average of 3.5 goals conceded per game is not a serious number if you want to compete for the title or even for a Champions League place.
Chelsea and Manchester City now have six points and, respectively, a 12-0 and 9-2 goal difference, while we trail them by three points already with a 5-7 goal difference.
That is a 14-goal turnaround against Chelsea already.
The future could be great on the left-side of the pitch
Arsenal had the 16-year-old old Lauren James on the bench for the game against City.
Unfortunately, she did not come on and therefore won’t beat the youngest ever FA WSL player record.
She is a sensational winger who could take over from Rachel Yankey on the left-wing and we have been waiting for a successor for many years now.
If you add the high-flying left-back Taylor Hinds, Arsenal might have many years of brilliant attacking football on the left side in the near future.
Review of the defensive plays from the tv highlights
A look at the four minutes of FA WSL website highlights makes grim viewing for Arsenal fans.
It was such a poor defensive performance from the team mixed with individual errors that led to way too many clear chances for City and that is not acceptable for a team looking to finish in the league’s top two positions.
Parris chance
Early in the game, the ball was given away on the edge of the penalty area. Not for the first time, the ball was given away in the defensive third while tying to play out from the back.
I was recently saying that the reserve team players were trying too hard to play from the back and needed to recognise when the opportunity was not there.
If they are under pressure from a goal kick, don’t make it harder for yourself.
Guess what? The first team players do the same thing. They play themselves into trouble.
First City goal
City are given too much time and space and a cross comes from the left. It goes all the way to the right side of the pitch, another cross comes in that is not blocked and the striker gets in front of the Arsenal defender and scores at the near post.
Team and individual failures.
Second Parris chance
A long ball from Houghton finds her roaming between the Arsenal lines, the defence retreats, and no one attacks her. It was a good save by Van Veenendaal when the defensive block was not compact enough.
Second City goal
A corner punched with both fists by Van Veenendaal goes straight to Houghton who finishes well from 10 yards.
Could the goalkeeper have caught the ball instead of punching it?
The problem is she punched at the wrong angle towards the middle of the pitch instead of going towards the wings.
Now, it is not easy to punch the ball with a lot of players around you, so this was a small technical error with severe consequences, and no luck as the ball went straight to a quality finisher like Houghton who was not going to slice it.
Third City goal
Again, a pass finds a City player roaming between the lines with no pressure on the ball. It was a superb through ball from Scott for Stanway to finish.
The midfield did not shield the defence properly.
Eight players were eliminated in two pass while the defensive block should be in the right position.
Poor.
Fourth City goal
Build up from the back under pressure, a pass to a player who missed the first touch under pressure. Transition in the defensive third, goal.
An individual mistake here, it can happen to anyone.
Fifth City goal
Ball sent through to the right wing, there is a 4 v 4 developing, a normal situation as Arsenal are chasing the game. When the low cross comes in, it is a 3 v 1 against Henning in the central area.
An excellent finish from Scott, but again a bad defensive transition but due to chasing the game.
The team lost balance because they were far behind.
I certainly believe that the Arsenal Women’s video analyst will have a busy job reviewing the whole game.
There were some positives obviously but many errors need to be eradicated and, ultimately, a very negative scoreline at the end.
Main image via @ManCityWomen