Arsenal won away to Chelsea for the first time since 2018/19, thanks to a phenomenal performance that deserved the 2-0 scoreline.
Renee Slegers had a really depleted squad with 17 senior players available. She conjured another mastermind defensive performance that simply disrupted Chelsea so much, that they ended up changing their organisation twice as they could not really go past the Arsenal defense.
She made five changes from the team that was defeated by Manchester United in the Subway Women’s League Cup, as rotation is a must. The match came with a lot of pressure, as form was not great, but Arsenal simply put in an exceptional performance offensively and defensively, something we had not seen since Lisbon last season.
The starting XI was Borbe; Fox, Wubben-Moy, Catley, McCabe; Little, Caldentey; Mead, Russo, Blackstenius, Foord. Subs used were Pelova, Holmberg, Codina and Hinds.
With that win Arsenal now only trail Chelsea by one point and can look at finishing runner-up. There is no chance of catching up Manchester City, who are ten points ahead, as only six points can realistically be gained on them.
United are one point behind Arsenal, and Spurs three points behind, so no slip up is allowed to stay in the Champions League places.
The biggest benefits from that win are the momentum that is going to drive the team forward as well as the winning mentality that is coming back after a poor start of the season.
There was a need for a big performance to kickstart the season and that was it. Arsenal have three cup tournaments to win now and the team has been seriously boosted and might have finally turned their season.
Coming next is the FIFA Women Champions Cup. Arsenal can be crowned the best team in the World by winning the next two games and hopefully the positive mood will lead to that title.