Arsenal travel to Stamford Bridge for Sunday’s Women’s Super League meeting with Chelsea (16:30 BST) knowing that defeat would be a damaging result just four weeks into the season.
It sounds like an extreme verdict, yet the Gunners know all too well how difficult it is to recover from an early setback in a title race. Renee Slegers’ side already sit seven points behind leaders Manchester City, albeit with a game in hand, and giving their rivals further breathing space would be a serious risk.
Successive draws have dented Arsenal’s start. They were held 0-0 by newly promoted Crystal Palace and then needed a 95th-minute equaliser to draw 1-1 with Manchester United. In the Champions League on Tuesday, they beat HB Koge only through a 93rd-minute penalty.
Arsenal’s wait for another WSL title has now stretched seven years, although in that time they have lifted the Women’s Champions League and the Women’s Champions Cup, proof of a squad capable of winning major trophies. The same story has continued this season, with the shooting boots missing and a lack of ruthlessness in front of goal proving costly.
The underlying numbers are stark. Across their first three WSL games, Arsenal have had 56 shots and scored just twice. Against Crystal Palace they registered 70 touches in the opposition box and 79% possession and were still unable to find the net.
Slegers accepts there is a problem to solve. “If I look at the last two games, not turning that dominance into goals and wins, is something we have to look at,” she said. “We believe in the quality of the squad and their ideas. We can create in a variety of ways. When that starts clicking, it will be really good. It really is about the details in the final third.”
After the United draw she added: “It’s a combination of things. There’s some details in decision-making and some details in the technical execution. It’s also the ruthlessness in front of goal. I know the players want it. They want to execute for Arsenal. Counter-attacking moments and set-pieces – those are also moments for us to be dangerous from so it’s not only breaking down a low block.”
Arsenal were tipped by many to win the WSL this season after investing in the squad during the transfer window. Germany duo Lisa Baum and Selina Cerci were brought in to boost the attack, while England winger Beth Mead left for Manchester City. Slegers still has a wealth of forward options in Chloe Kelly, Olivia Smith, Alessia Russo, Stina Blackstenius and Caitlin Foord, with Michelle Agyemang also expected to return later in the season.
One obvious question is why Russo, England’s number nine, is not playing as a striker. Only Manchester City’s Khadija Shaw scored more WSL goals than Russo’s 13 last season, and she finished second in European competition behind Barcelona’s Ewa Pajor. Yet Slegers, who has often rotated Russo’s position, has started her in the number 10 role in every WSL game so far.
It has not yet paid off. Russo is still waiting for her first goal of the season despite attempting 11 shots, 10 of them from inside the box. In total she has scored three times in 507 minutes as an attacking midfielder under Slegers, compared with 21 goals in 2,913 minutes as a striker. She creates 1.42 chances per 90 minutes in the number 10 role, more than she does as a striker (1.27), but she has fewer shots, fewer passes finishing in the final third and fewer shots from inside the box. Russo and Blackstenius have also never directly combined for a goal while the England forward has started in midfield.
Against United, even as Arsenal trailed and pushed for an equaliser that eventually came from full-back Smilla Holmberg, Russo continued to play in midfield.
Explaining the plan, Slegers said: “Basically, we were expecting to be spending a lot of time in their half. It was looking at how we could pose as much threat as possible in the box, hence why both Stina Blackstenius and Alessia Russo started. There was double threat in that position. We wanted to keep Alessia as high as possible on the pitch. We know she can do both roles really well for us. She’s a fantastic number nine. Stina played her role. Selina Cerci also made her official debut. She has other threats, like her aerial play and instincts in the box. We have three but the plan was to have two number nines in the box as much as possible for crosses.”