The minutes show how Renee Slegers has used her squad so far, and raises questions about several summer signings and senior players.
Now that the first block of games is finished, we can look at the players’ minutes and performances across the first seven matches, which yielded two wins, three draws and two defeats.
Arsenal have already used 22 players this season. The following players have no minutes but have been selected on the bench: Isabella Damm, the young goalkeeper who was named among the substitutes twice, and Elisa De Almeida, who was on the bench once before her quadriceps injury.
The following players have been fully unavailable so far: Daphne van Domselaar, Katie Reid and Michelle Agyemang. Hopefully, van Domselaar and Reid are close to returning to the squad to offer more options to Renee Slegers, although having too many options may not necessarily help her.
Here are the players and their total number of minutes played so far.
Geraldine Reuteler, 9 minutes. Came on once as a substitute and was on the bench four times. She is clearly the last option in the three midfield positions, behind everybody else. Questions have to be asked about why she was recruited to sit at the end of the bench.
Selina Cerci, 55 minutes. Came on four times as a substitute and was an unused substitute once. She is the last-ditch attacking option behind all the other forwards. Maybe the coaching staff could trust her more?
Taylor Hinds, 90 minutes. One start, two games as an unused substitute and four games in which she did not make the 20-player squad. Another bizarre case. She was sacrificed multiple times and did not make the squad when she could have been a valuable option from the bench. Considering her competitor at left-back is not firing on all cylinders, it is strange.
Frida Maanum, 102 minutes. One start, three appearances as a substitute, one game as an unused substitute and twice left out of the squad. One of the senior players, alongside Hinds, who has been downgraded to make way for the new signings. I think she could bring more to the team because she has a different profile.
Smilla Holmberg, 155 minutes. One start, four appearances as a substitute and two games as an unused substitute. She has performed superbly when called upon. I am genuinely surprised she has not been given more starts or minutes considering how much she brings in attack.
Caitlin Foord, 195 minutes. The number one attacking option from the bench, with one start and six appearances as a substitute. She brings experience and mentality to the team.
Chloe Kelly, 206 minutes. Two starts and three appearances as a substitute before being injured. She brings a different style on the wing compared with the two wingers who run at defenders and use their speed.
Olivia Smith, 214 minutes. Two starts, four appearances as a substitute and one game as an unused substitute. Fitness seems to have been a problem recently, as she should be a regular in the starting XI rather than being used from the bench.
Stina Blackstenius, 217 minutes. Two starts and five appearances as a substitute. One of Slegers’ first options from the bench.
Anneke Borbe, 270 minutes. Three starts. She alternates in goal with Misa Rodriguez depending on the opposition’s profile.
Lotte Wubben-Moy, 270 minutes. Three starts. Basically the first alternative at centre-back to Leah Williamson and Steph Catley.
Misa Rodriguez, 360 minutes. Four starts. She alternates in goal with Anneke Borbe depending on the opposition’s profile.
Steph Catley, 360 minutes. Four starts. She is the number one choice at left centre-back.
Kyra Cooney-Cross, 420 minutes. Five starts. She has become a starter and her game has now matured, with fewer of the errors we used to see in previous seasons.
Kim Little, 424 minutes. Five starts and two appearances as a substitute. The club captain is a starter and a key player for the team.
Mariona Caldentey, 432 minutes. Six starts and one appearance as a substitute. A starter and key player for the team, she has not been in great form by her high standards. It does not help that she has had to play in multiple positions, although that is not normally a problem for her. Now injured.
Lisa Baum, 458 minutes. Six starts and one appearance as a substitute. The young winger has been fantastic since she signed. The only question mark is her fitness, as she has not completed 90 minutes in any of the seven games so far.
Georgia Stanway, 467 minutes. Six starts. She has come in and settled very quickly and is already a key player.
Emily Fox, 509 minutes. Six starts. A starter and a key player. I am surprised she does not get more competition for her place from Holmberg and Ona Batlle.
Ona Batlle, 512 minutes. Six starts. A starter at left-back, she was brought in to replace Katie McCabe, but what she is offering on the left side might not be as good as what she can offer on the right.
Alessia Russo, 582 minutes. Six starts and one appearance as a substitute. As always, a reliable and key player who brings a lot to the table. Her performances have not been as good as in previous seasons, but she is starting to get back to her usual level.
Leah Williamson, 630 minutes. She has played every minute so far. Giving away a penalty against Paris FC has been one of the highlights of her performances to this point. She is obviously the number one centre-back at the club because she brings so much to the team.
Overall, the picture painted here is one of trust in tried and tested players over the new arrivals.
Results have not been good enough. 10th place in the league is unacceptable and improvement will have to come quickly in the second block of games.
We will see whether the pecking order changes in the upcoming fixtures.
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