In a pivotal match, Arsenal delivered a decisive 3-0 victory, keeping up with Chelsea in the league standings.
This win highlights the depth and strategic acumen of manager Jonas Eidevall’s squad.
With a 3-0 win, Arsenal keep the pressure on Chelsea as the Blues defeated Leicester 5-2 and are three points ahead of the Gunners before their meeting on the 10th December at the Emirates Stadium. For fans looking to add an extra layer of excitement to the game, try Skrill bookmakers for a new way to engage with matches like Arsenal’s upcoming clash with Chelsea.
Jonas Eidevall selected the following starting XI making eight changes from the midweek continental cup game at Southampton. Zinsberger; McCabe, Ilestedt, Wubben-Moy, Catley; Mead, Cooney-Cross, Pelova, Foord; Maanum, Russo.
The subs were D’Angelo, Beattie, Little, Miedema, Wälti, Maritz, Kühl, Lacasse, Codina. The players left out of the 20-player squad were Williams, the injured Hurtig and Blackstenius as well as Gio Queiroz who is not registered.
We can see the benefits of having a very deep squad. There was no need to rush our two senior central midfielders back from injury while Pelova, Cooney-Cross and Kühl are there and do the business.
This is a big improvement from last season.
In attack, Russo is showing game after game how strong she is at ball retention and leads the attack in a very different way from Blackstenius. Her signing has opened the doors to new attacking schemes and a variety of options not seen in previous seasons.
The game was also the second clean sheet in a row and we can see a partnership being established at centre-back with Ilestedt and Wubben-Moy.
As explained by the Arsenal manager, “It is really important that we build those relationships and we talked about in the press conference before this game that it probably takes longer because we are trying to grow so many different relationships, we have to invest in all the relationships because we cannot only have a few, we need to get them gelled and ready to play together.”
Arsenal found the opener very early with Frida Maanum finding the opposite top corner from the right wing. It was likely a cross-shot that ended up at the right place in a 4-2-4 structure in attacking play against a 5-4-1.
Asked by @KathrynBatte whether Maanum’s goal was deliberate, ‘never ask the author or the artist about their art. The great thing about art is you can have your own opinion and it’s still beautiful however you see it.’
— Tim Stillman (@Stillmanator) November 26, 2023
Beth Mead added two more goals to open her account for the first time since she has returned from her ACL injury. She dedicated her goals to her mum:
𝙏𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙤𝙣𝙚 𝙬𝙖𝙨 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙈𝙪𝙢 🕊️❤️🤍 pic.twitter.com/7Sj6RJgrNs
— Beth Mead MBE (@bmeado9) November 26, 2023
No goals were scored in the second half, but the job was done after a very good first half.
That is now six WSL wins in a row and eight overall with the Conti Cup games. Arsenal are definitely back into the groove following the Champions League early exit and the poor League start with one point in two games.
The #BarclaysWSL table going into the International break! 👀 pic.twitter.com/IQPaAucjrj
— Barclays Women's Super League (@BarclaysWSL) November 26, 2023
The team has turned things round and can look forward to a potential title decider on Sunday, 10 December at 12.30pm. Arsenal are looking to sell out the game with the current numbers being above 50k.
The players are now gone on international duty as Arsenal will hope none of them will return with an injury with a crucial game coming straight after the National Team games.