Arsenal did their job on Wednesday night to get back into the groove in the Champions League group stage.
Renee Slegers had selected the following XI for her first game as interim manager: van Domselaar; Fox, Williamson, Codina, McCabe; Little, Wälti; Mead, Caledentey, Foord; Russo.
With Wubben-Moy absent due to concussion, it was very much a tried and test starting XI, in the continuity of her work alongside Jonas Eidevall.
Below are some interesting points from the game.
Caldentey started at number 10 behind Russo who had a very free role on the night. The striker had many touches all over the attacking third. She had five shots and four were on target and she scored a goal. Foord has again extremely active on her left wing, getting two shots on target.
The attacking play was fluid on the night because Valerenga’s style of play allowed Arsenal to find space to run into their defense and attack them. There was also an improvement when Valerenga were defending in low block, as players seem to be able to find each other more easily than in previous games and combination play involving three players or more happened quite a lot.
Van Domselaar played many more long balls compared to what we saw under Eidevall. It has to be said it is due to the fact that Valerenga pressed really high for most of the game with seven players preventing Arsenal from building up play from the back as they normally do.
Lina Hurtig made her comeback after nearly a year out and got a huge ovation.
View this post on Instagram
Katie Reid got her Champions League debut. The young defender came on at the same time as Hurtig when the game was put to bed with the fourth goal, giving the 18-year-old a taste of elite club football.
On the negative side, the lack of rotation to keep the core team on the pitch means Fox and McCabe have started ALL ten games played this season. Little, Caldentey and Codina have started nine games. Those five players are an injury risk due to tiredness and heavy loading.
We will see if they get rested on Sunday before the international break. There are actually options available in midfield and attack to rotate while it is a bit more complicated in defense sadly.
Overall a 4-1 win after a tough week in light of Jonas Eidevall’s departure is very welcomed.
Juventus’ defeat at home to Bayern means it will be likely to be a battle for the second place in the Group between Arsenal and the Italian team.
Up next is West Ham away where Arsenal were defeated 2-1 last season, with West Ham starting with eleven foreign players for the first time ever in the WSL. Arsenal will surely want to avenge that defeat that hurt their title chances.