Laia Codina hasn’t had much opportunity to make a significant impact on this Arsenal team.
Watching her in yet another masterclass against the London City Lionesses makes you wonder what more Laia has to do to get a start in the WSL. Arsenal boss Jonas Eidevall must have been impressed, because he started the Women’s World Cup champion on Saturday – to face Manchester United!
I know it can be tough to switch up defenders. When it comes to playing a defensive system, it’s important to stick with what’s been effective. One pairing that has shown promise is Amanda Ilestedt and Lotte Wubben-Moy in central defense. They seem to have a good connection and have been getting the job done.
But hey, you never really know what you’ve got until you give it a shot. Laia, being an ex-Barcelona player and a World Cup-winning defender (lifting it with Spain last year), is definitely a top defender. At first, she was held back by an injury, but she managed to overcome it and is now fit and ready to go.
However, Codina hasn’t played a significant role in this Arsenal team. She definitely has the potential to make a difference for the team, and her performance against the London City Lionesses& Manchester United showed us just how talented she is.. In those matches, it was clear that she is an excellent passer of the ball. Additionally, she managed to achieve some impressive stats:
115 Touches
1 clearance
93 passes (88 completed)
3 long balls (2 successful)
12 ground duels (4 won)
5 aerial duels (4 won)
1 dribble, which was successful
Lori, in her scouting report for Total Football Analysis, described Laia as someone who excels at intercepting the ball, has great passing skills, and can pull off impressive footwork.
Lori admitted:“Codina has excellent footwork and outstanding passing accuracy, as expected. She has shown exceptional acumen in anticipating the trajectory of either a pass or a loose ball and promptly takes action to intercept.”
I believe from Lori’s report and the glimpses of brilliance the 2023 summer signing has shown, through Laia’s brief cameos, that she is destined for greatness. However, she would truly shine if given the opportunity to feature regularly.
What do you think?
COYGW!
Michelle Maxwell
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Team selection has been the problem.
CordIna is in because he had no choice.
Amanda not well, Foxy away , Leah injured
Good enough for Barca and Spain but not us
But for his choices we would have been 6 points clear
Wow, are we going to get an @EidevallOut hashtag to rival our AOB discussions!
We do not need hastag at all but it does not surprise me that this site has thoughts in that direction as being upbeat or positive is not a strong point is it?
In fact Michael. Now you mention it I am struggling to remember even one positive comment from yourself.
Either you are not looking or you do not care to see. I can live with that
I certainly do not have much that is positive to say about the editorial angle that you lot come from when writing an article.
Michael. This comes from us writing an article that said the West Ham coach said she was hoping to cause a shock to Arsenal.
Then because they DID cause a shock you are blaming us for predicting it. Maybe you should read more of our positive articles considering we are all Arsenal fans.
It was not MY fault that Arsenal lost that game. Perhaps you should learn a bit of perspective mate…
With @Eidevallout I have to wonder what these fickle people want and that includes the contributors to this site? Some players do get a game because of injuries elsewhere, it happens and should not be criticised. It is the reason we have such a squad.
The decision on Jonas should be at the end of the season and for the club to make not the so called supporters that call for the boss’s head after two defeats.
Codina played well on Saturday and she may well be the choice for while and good luck to her.