Jonas Eidevall and his Arsenal Women walked away from our clash against West Ham empty handed, and it’s come at a time where every point we can get is important. West Ham currently sit 11th on the table and, on paper, should have been one of the easier teams to beat, but they put up a tough fight that saw us walk away defeated and left us wondering what went wrong.
For me personally, I think we went to West Ham and underestimated there want to win, and their quality of players. We were arguably the better team throughout the game and had a lot more chances and a lot more possession than West Ham, but they were clinical in everything they did, and defended like it was to save their lives. They came to win, and they did just that.
Now personally, I like Alessia Russo, and I think she brings a lot to this Arsenal squad and, although she scored the only Arsenal goal at the weekend, I can’t help but think Stina Blackstenius would have been the perfect striker to start for this match.
Russo is a proven striker and when she was at Manchester United, she was probably their most influential player goal wise, and has been very good since joining the Gunners. But when it comes to goals, she hasn’t produced as many goals as I personally was expecting from her, and although she is playing well, Blackstenius has been just as good in fewer games.
A game like that against a side like West Ham, we need someone up front who was going to be more clinical and it sounds harsh, because Russo scored, but I do feel a bit like Eidevall is picking his favourites at the moment, over those who have been producing more.
Russo is good at holding up and linking up play, she usually looks at her most dangerous when she’s got her back to the goal and takes it on the turn, whereas Blackstenius is a bit more direct and with wingers like Caitlin Foord and Beth Mead, being a more direct player pays off as they’re some of the best crossers in the league.
Personally, I’d just like to see a bit more rotation between the two of them, they’re two very different strikers and could be both used in very different ways against certain opponents. For some reason Eidevall doesn’t seem to either trust Blackstenius or he thinks Russo is a better fit up front.
I also get that Russo was brought in for the project that Eidevall is building and will most likely be at the club longer than Blackstenius, so maybe he’s just preparing for a future where Russo is the number one choice. But with Blackstenius scoring a goal every 70 minutes this season on average, compared to Russo’s 218 minutes, it does make me wonder why she’s not been getting more minutes.
What’s your thoughts Gooners?
Daisy Mae
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Yes . I think it’s worth a try
She’s a really good player
I do wonder when the manager comes in for some scrutiny. I accept the challenges with key injuries and having to reintegrate people but the team has also been strengthened with some pretty strong additions. Even with the challenges we should not be losing to most of the WSL teams, we are full of national team players and people with strong reputations. Is he able to use what has to be considered a very strong team? I would be interested to hear from some people who follow the women more closely than I – it is a bit challenging in Canada.
should have used my name…
Katie McCabe did her team no favours in getting stupidly ruled out of the game.
Also, if Arsenal had been awarded the obvious penalty, Russo may well have taken it and scored her second goal and everyone would have been singing her praises now instead of trying to relegate her to the bench. The ideal combination is Russo and Mead alongside one a other with Blackstenius leading the line.
Leave Russo out at your peril.
Russo is a fabulous player but not against a deep block.
She needs to run onto crosses, run from deep with the ball.
If you want to play her against tams like West Ham, play her like a false 9
Is your suggestion similar to the one I posted? Play Russo alongside Mead/Miedema behind Blackstenius in the centre forward position. At this stage in the league it doesn’t matter who scores as long as someone scores and the triangle up front could have the desired results but only as long as there’s strength in defense. Goalkeeping/goalsaving has been a weakness for some time. Should’ve tried for Ellie Roebuck?
NO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I totaly Agree, it has become a joke now.
Russo has never been a prolific goalscorer, not even at Manchester United. Scoring goals is not her best attribute but she brings a host of other valuable abilities to the team. Do not try judge her just on goals scored. If you do you will call her a failure and send her back to Man U.