This season is turning out to be a disappointment for the Arsenal Women. But which department has disappointed them most this season?
The attack obviously. To win the WSL, you simply need to be efficient in front of the goal.
After 2019, Arsenal came closest to winning the WSL in the 2021–22 season, a season in which they scored 65 league goals, which made them the most prolific scorers. Unfortunately, they did not win the league but rather lost by one point, but they were very close.
In the 2022–23 season, when injuries struck, our Gunners struggled to find efficiency, scoring only 49 goals while their main rivals Chelsea, Manchester United, and Manchester City scored 66, 56, and 50 goals, respectively. It is evident that with fewer goals, you cannot compete. Arsenal finished third.
This season, Jonas Eidevall wanted an effective attack, so he signed Cloe Lacasse and Alessia Russo, both of whom were expected to score plenty of goals. Unfortunately, Arsenal have still struggled in front of goal. It’s been evident they haven’t been clinical in front of goal.
They have quality forwards, but the attack hasn’t clicked. Game after game, Jonas Eidevall has touched on what they should have done better in attack. Even after the 3-1 loss to Chelsea at Stamford Bridge on Friday, Eidevall said via Arsenal.com, “It was [an improved second half], but I still think when we look at it, there are things there as well where we need to get, especially our execution, a little bit better in order to pose a real threat. I think we played into a lot of situations in front of their defending line but were not punishing them enough in those moments.”
Looking at the table, if Arsenal are contending with Chelsea for the title, they are doing a poor job. After 16 games, they only have 34 goals, whereas Chelsea has 48, demonstrating how unreliable the Arsenal attack has been. Though their biggest challenge has been that teams tend to play defensively against them, they must find a way to be clinical in attack. They have the talent; it is just a matter of finding a way.
Even captain Kim Little said a while ago, after the triumph over Spurs, that they need to discover ways to be clinical, like using set pieces. “I think the 3 points is the most important thing, but we weren’t at our best. We can probably be a bit more diverse with our corners. You can see across the game, when you’re good at set-pieces, you’ve got more chances of winning games,” said Little.
We cannot only look at attack in isolation. Arsenal have failed defensively this season too. You only have to look at Chelsea & Man City’s Goal Difference of 34 and 32, respectively, versus Arsenal’s which is half that number, at 17.. Arsenal are much more on a par with 4th placed Manchester United this season when looking at the overall numbers below..
What are your thoughts Gooners? What do Arsenal Women need to do differently in their 6 remaining WSL matches of the season? And let’s not forget, our only chance of silverware this year is now the Conti Cup. What can Arsenal do differently to defend their title by beating Chelsea on 31st March?
Danni P
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