Arsenal women’s European exit exposes tough squad reality

Arsenal improved after the break, but first-half issues, fatigue, squad depth and late Lyon control left them with a league run-in to salvage.

Arsenal fought back from 2-0 down at half-time and came close to taking the game to extra time before conceding late. It was one of those elite matches in which small margins decide whether a team goes through or goes home.

Several factors can explain the defeat.

First, OL Lyonnes raised their level from the first leg by bringing Selma Bacha and Melchie Dumornay back from injury.

Arsenal struggled badly in the first half to control Dumornay’s runs, and they were not compact enough.

The three lines, defence, midfield and attack, were not connected, which allowed OL to play around and between them.

Renée Slegers made adjustments at half-time and the second half was an improvement.

Another factor was tiredness.

Most of Arsenal’s players are full internationals and get little rest throughout the year. It is no surprise that the top five Arsenal players for minutes are Alessia Russo, Mariona Caldentey, Katie McCabe, Emily Fox and Steph Catley.

All of them are starters for their national teams, too, and that makes a difference in the final straight of the season.

Alongside that, there was a lack of rotation, either because of injuries or a lack of confidence from the coaching staff.

Some players are overloaded and cannot get a rest, others get injured, and others do not get enough game time. It is obvious that Arsenal were not equipped with a squad capable of competing for five titles this season.

The depth is not good enough.

The club need to find a way to build a squad of 25 players who are good enough and fit enough to compete in three tournaments next season, the WSL, FA Women’s Cup and either the UWCL or the Subway Cup.

We know there will be a big turnover this summer, with younger players replacing older, loyal servants to the club who have achieved everything and won every trophy available.

Squad balance is complicated to achieve because a club need quality, depth and players who are not offended or disruptive when they do not play.

You can have a squad of 25 players, but only 11 will start, nine will be on the bench in the league, and five will not even make the matchday squad.

It is a tough reality for those five players who train hard all week and do not even make the bench.

Then there are nine players on the bench hoping to get on the pitch at some point, and who are unhappy not to be starting.

In Saturday’s game, the refereeing factor was very visible because VAR was involved in multiple decisions, penalties, goals and offside calls.

I thought VAR did a good job, but some decisions took too long. We ended up with nine minutes of added time in the first half because of it.

What we also saw was the huge difference between refereeing in UEFA games and WSL games.

PGMOL’s influence in the English game is a disservice to English teams and players, who do not get fouls in the WSL that are given in Europe. The same applies to dissent. This is nothing new, and we also see it with refereeing standards, where English referees are well regarded by UEFA and FIFA, as shown by the men’s World Cup having two English referees.

Those same referees are not performing as well in the Premier League because of PGMOL.

Arsenal now need to win their remaining four league games to secure second place and direct qualification for the Champions League league phase next season. That run begins with a difficult midweek trip to Brighton, who are in excellent form.

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