Last night Arsenal Women walked away 4-0 winners against Aston Villa, in the semi-final of this season’s Continental Cup. Another dominant display from our Gunner women in the cup and a chance for us to go on and win the cup for the second season in a row. I expected Eidevall to make a few changes, but I didn’t expect him to play both strikers, Alessia Russo and Stina Blackstenius, but it definitely worked.
Russo seems to be Eidevall’s number one pick this season and, because of her level of pedigree you can expect that, but Blackstenius has also been on fire, whenever she has had the chance to play. Clearly Eidevall trusts Russo more, and probably likes what he see’s on and off the ball, but it has led me to question him a few times, as to why he hasn’t been using Blackstenius when she’s been scoring goals whenever she plays.
Last night we got to see Russo and Blackstenius start together and, although we’ve seen it before, last night it seemed to work perfectly. Blackstenius started in the middle and Russo started on the left wing, but drifted into the middle a lot throughout the game. Russo had a few good chances but couldn’t find the back of the net, while Blackstenius picked up a hat-trick in the first half and looked like she was going on to score a few more.
I know football has turned into a game of serious tactics and, when I think about when I was growing up, everything has changed from the days where everyone used to mainly play a 4-4-2 set up. it does leave me to wonder if it would be a possibility to see both strikers line up beside each other, being the two soul strikers at the top.
For me I think they could be a formidable duo, and it would be hard to stop them from scoring. Both are super talented and know exactly where the back of the net is but, because of the system’s that teams now play, it might make it hard to play the old school 4-4-2 formation. Full backs have now become very important in games, and the way teams build up, and if we were to play 4-4-2 that might take a bit of freedom out of the full-back and winger roles, but I do think it could be worth a try.
It’s a very good problem to have when you look at the big picture. You have two strikers who have been in great form this season, and having to pick one or the other is the hard part, but If Eidevall could find a way to make it work, I think it could be a dangerous duo and we could see them link up really well together, and score more goals than they already have.
What’s your thoughts Gooners?
Daisy Mae
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Eidevall is clueless.Blackstennius is one of the few who actually shoot.Something that appears on many occasions to have been ‘ coached’ out of them with trying to walk the ball into the net!So frustrating.
i take an entirely different view, i think Jonas is astute, playing Blackstenius and Russo together is great, 2 plus 2 equals 5, b/c they can benefit from each other, it reminds me of my favourite man s team, blackburn, back in their day, in 1995, when Shearer and Sutton provided a lethal combination
we re going to have a great season in the end !
Most definitely, Russos running off the ball creates space for Stina
if i may, i will add a bit more ..it s exciting, . i have confidence in Jonas ‘ selection and i think he s moving towards a great combination with Russo and Blackstenius. Together they are a nightmare threat for defences to handle especially with magnificent Mead and Lacasse putting in brilliant crosses from the right and Ford from the left, and our talented defence and midfield supplying upfield passes too … by creating options and competition for places Jonas is making some players really shine, eg wonderful Wubben Moy and wondrous Walti …. not to mention mighty McCabe … players can give their maximum knowing there are high calibre substitutes who can come in at the end if need be … it s taken time for this team to gel, but we re going to be practically unbeatable very soon … i expect us to beat Chelsea by two clear goals next Friday
I have never looked at Alessia Russo as a main number 9 striker. She is an incredibly creative player and plays best as a 10 or even playing wide. She spent her time in the USA as a winger, only to have Casey Stoney change her to a number 9 when she arrived at Man U.