The one where the stats tell the story.. Chelsea 2-0 Arsenal Women in Vitality Cup clash

The one where the stats tell the story.. Chelsea 2-0 Arsenal Women in Vitality Cup clash by Michelle

A lot of people will say that Chelsea were the better team on the day, that Arsenal are just not up to Chelsea’s standard, that Arsenal lacked a little something, that Chelsea are the top and it’s obvious why.. but they would be wrong, in my opinion..

Take a look at the key stats on possession and shots below, courtesy of the BBC. Review them. Mull them over. Ask what it means. Then, let’s discuss..

Possession: Arsenal dominated possession – not far off a 60/40 split in Arsenal’s favour. The Gunners opened up some fantastic scoring opportunities, playing through Chelsea’s defence and presenting some real challenges for the Blues, not all of which were defended well. In defence, despite the obvious fact of 2 Chelsea goals, Arsenal were on the ball. Not a lot Zinsberger could’ve done about Ingle’s goal as it was drilled into the bottom corner, after Ingle found space through Rafaelle, but a great save to deny Chelsea just a few minutes before half time when Kerr could have done some real damage with a rare loose ball from Walti. Captain Kim Little was solid in the back line with Williamson.

Shots / Shots on target: Shots are great because shots can lead to goals.  Arsenal took 20 shots to Chelsea’s 7 with Arsenal getting 11 (yes, 11!) on target to Chelsea’s 3.. so, why oh why, did the scoreline end up where it did? Arsenal had so many chances to score in this match and really should have been solid winners, but they’re not and they’re out of the running in the Vitality Women’s FA Cup after not even reaching the quarter-finals. Chelsea, on the other hand, only had 3 shots on target and added 2 of those 3 to their scoreline. This is where the difference lies.

Frida Maanum forced an early save from Berger in the opening few minutes. Later, after great play from Foord and Blackstenius Maanum she couldn’t get on the end of Blackstenius’ cross. Blackstenius had a huge opportunity just on the 20 minute mark as she was played clean through, but was unable to keep her shot down. She has some real talent despite seemingly being unable to finish, at the moment. Caitlin Foord made some brilliant runs to create great chances for her teammates and caused havoc for the Chelsea defence. But couldn’t get a goal when it counted despite being on great form for the Matilda’s when they won the Cup of Nations last week.

So what can Eidevall and his squad change in preparation for next week’s battle with Chelsea in the FA Women’s Conti Cup Final? In my mind, they have to bring exactly what they did to this game as they actually played some out-there-with-the-best football BUT they have to find some Mead / Miedema magic up-front – and that is no mean feat. Mead & Miedema scored 66% of Arsenal’s goals last season – they are not easily replaced and the situation was only exacerbated by Arsenal’s failure in their efforts to secure a prolific goalscorer in the January transfer window. But this cannot be used as a reason or an excuse to fail. They have to get on with it and get goals. How do you propose they do that?

What do they need to bring home that Cup Final trophy next week?

Michelle Maxwell

WATCH EVERY ONE of Mikel Arteta’s and Jonas Eidevall’s Full Press conferences by subscribing to our YouTube Channel – JustArsenalVids

Follow Michelle on Just Gooner Women on Twitter for regular updates on the Arsenal Womens Team!

Do you want to read more about the Arsenal Women’s Team? Click here….