If there were doubts around Arsenal Women’s level of concentration and focus for the home game against Leicester City, sandwiched between the UWCL semifinals against Olympique Lyonnes, those were blown away on Wednesday night.

While the men’s team was fighting hard for an away draw in Madrid, Renée Slegers and her players thrashed rock-bottom Leicester City at the Emirates Stadium to close in on Chelsea and Manchester City at the top of the WSL table.

With two games on hand against both sides, Arsenal Women are now two points off the second place and eight points off Manchester City, making this an unexpectedly close title challenge.

Photo courtesy of Arsenal.com

Should Arsenal Women win both games in hand, they would be only two points off City with two games remaining, which is closer than anyone would have thought a fortnight ago. I still expect Manchester City to win the title, given that they play two teams currently in the bottom three but Arsenal Women have the opportunity to make it difficult for the front runners and see by themselves if the elected champions have what it takes to push it over the line.

Granted, winning away at Brighton won’t be an easy task and this might become a non-argument by next Wednesday, but I would like to salute the team and the staff’s ability to keep going and keep chasing even when everyone was writing them off.

FRIDA BACK FROM THE COLD

After weeks on the fringes, Frida Maanum made the home game against Leicester City her comeback moment, pulling the strings in the advanced midfielder role and leaving her mark on the scoresheet with a goal and two assists.

The Norwegian, who at times looked like the team’s main driving force, has fallen back in Renée Slegers’ pecking order and has been the primary victim of the head coach’s preference to use Stina Blackstenius upfront and Alessia Russo behind her, which de facto removed Frida Maanum from the starting XI.

Photo courtesy of Arsenal.com

Her tactical anarchy and the lack of technical security made her a non-option for any of the midfield double-pivot slots, which also restricted her opportunities to make it in the starting lineup. In Renée Slegers’ eyes, Frida Maanum became one the strongest finishers off the bench, a role that might not satisfy the soon-to-be 27yo, who is entering the prime years of her career.

This campaign, she has been restricted to only twelve starts in all competitions but still contributed to nine goals ad assists; in the WSL, her last appearance was the North London Derby on March 28^th, when she played the whole game but couldn’t really leave a mark.

With six games scheduled in the next fourteen days, Frida Maanum could become a pivotal figure and play a big role in the immediate future of the Arsenal Women and hopefully rediscover her best form to help her teammates with the final push in Europe and in England.

HOLMBERG’S HOMECOMING PARTY

When she signed from Hammarby, there was a sense of anticipation about Smilla Holmberg’s ability to impact the game as an attacking right-back, and the Swede didn’t take long to make her mark.

Despite being limited to a support role for the best part of the last three months, she showed glimpses of her power, technique and attacking instincts when called upon, but the home game against Leicester City took that to a whole different level.

Photo courtesy of Arsenal.com

Deployed as a right winger, in front of Emily Fox, Smilla Holmberg scored a brace and provided the assist for the seventh and final game of the night, with a beautifully taken corner kick. Since joining, she registered two goals and four assists in six appearances (only three were starts), confirming that she can be a very powerful threat down the right flank, in place of or alongside Emily Fox.

BUILDING BLOCKS

After a week of speculations about the future of Beth Mead and Katie McCabe, who are both close to a surprising move to Manchester City in the summer, a sense of anxiety started hovering around the club and the immediate future of the team.

While losing both players wouldn’t be much of a surprise, especially Beth Mead whose departure looked imminent last summer already, seeing both joining Manchester City would be a blow, as it simultaneously makes Arsenal Women weaker and Manchester City stronger.

Photo courtesy of Arsenal.com

More importantly, though, both are veterans within the squad and have strong personalities and tons of charisma, so the repercussions in the dressing room could even be bigger than those on the pitch.

In that regard, the club announcing that both Steph Catley and Leah Williamson signed new contracts calmed the nerves, because those are also big characters and strong voices in the group, and their presence will be vital to keep the group going and improve the allegedly bad atmosphere in the changing room.

With Kim Little, Stina Blackstenius and now both Leah Williamson and Steph Catley committing to the club, the Arsenal Women looks in a good place to continue their progression and build on the foundations laid since Renée Slegers took over from Jonas Eidevall. Their experience, paired with the quality and exuberance of young players such as Olivia Smith, Smilla Holmberg and Michelle Agyemang within their ranks, make a great mix for a squad capable of competing now, as well as in the future.

Photo courtesy of Arsenal.com

NEXT UP

Arsenal Women are travelling to France on Saturday, where they will face Olympique Lyonnes for the return leg of the UWCL semifinals. Olivia Smith gave the Gunners a small advantage by scoring the winning goal at the Emirates Stadium, last weekend, but we can expect a tense, close affair when the teams will take the pitch.

Olympique Lyonnes posed all sorts of threat during the first leg and will surely start on the front foot to turn things around. The Gunners will have to be up for the fight in Lyon, and be prepared for an opponent ready to use their power, strength and experience to overcome the deficit. There will be space for the Arsenal Women players to exploit, so focus and execution will be key.

Speak to you soon!

The post The Arsenal Women Journal – Seven Wonders Gunners hunt down the Foxes [ARS 7-0 LEI] first appeared on Gunners Town.

Football was back this week, after the last international break of the season, and the Gunners made sure they were ready for the big game. Hosting Olympique Lyonnes at the Emirates Stadium for the first leg of the UWCL semifinals, Arsenal Women were quick off the blocks and reacted superbly when going down inside 20 minutes, despite being the best team on the pitch.

Olympique Lyonnais made the most of a counter-attack situation and punished the hosts for being exposed at the back, with Brand slaloming her way in the penalty area and beating Daphne van Domselaar with a powerful strike that the Dutch goalkeeper could only touch but not keep out. Instead of crumbling, the players picked themselves up and kept playing their way, slowly but surely taking control of the ball and the pitch until the completed the comeback, deep into the second half.

Sure, OL incredibly bad defending on both occasions did help, but the hosts showed their typical grit and resilience and deserved to come away with a very important win.

There’s still everything to play for next week, in the reverse fixture, but travelling to France with a one-goal margin will be very important because it will force OL to be more adventurous and more attacking-minded, which could open up some space in between for Stina Blackstenius, Olivia Smith and others to exploit.

Last season we travelled to Lyon with a mountain to climb, having lost 2-1 at home, and delivered what was probably the best performance of the campaign, and while the context this time is very different, it will still take an outstanding performance to qualify for the final.

WELCOME BACK, LEAH

As expected, Leah Williamson was back in the starting XI for the game against OL.

As expected, she made a big difference both on and off the ball.

The England captain set the tone with a couple of line-splitting passes that helped breaking OL structure and advance the ball, then coordinated the defensive line with assertiveness and calmness. Her presence, alone, makes a difference on how the players move and respond, and I am sure that most of the credit for the reaction the players had after falling behind has to do with the way Leah Williamson (and Kim Little, obviously) lead the group and the dressing room.

Having her back in the starting lineup changes a lot in the way the team plays out, and how high their defensive line can be, but most importantly how the players feel secure, confident and focused when she is around. As planned, she was taken out after the hour mark to avoid any risks, and she will likely sit out of the WSL game against Leicester in order to be ready and fit for the return leg, in France.

More than skills or stamina, this team needs experience and guidance now that they’re entering the final weeks of a long, consuming campaign – and they need to have Leah Williamson at their side to power through the final hurdles.

Welcome back, Leah.

NO OPTIONS, NO PROBLEMS (SORT OF…)

With no Beth Mead and no Chloe Kelly available for the game, Renée Slegers couldn’t count on any “finisher” off the bench, except for Frida Maanum. In a quite bold move, she decided to field all her available forwards from the first minute, with Alessia Russo supporting Stina Blackstenius through the middle and Caitlin Foord and Olivia Smith on the flanks.

It was big risk, but in the end it paid off because Caitlin Foord was an absolute nuisance down the left flank and Olivia Smith ended up scoring the winning goal; in the middle, Stina Blackstenius kept OL defensive line busy with her constant running and aerial presence, while Alessia Russo – probably the “quietest” of the quartet – worked her socks off between the lines to stop OL from building from the back.

It would have been interesting to see which substitutions she would have made, had the game state been different: when moving Katie McCabe at centre-back when she replaced Leah Williamson with Taylor Hinds, the game was already at 1-1 and Arsenal seemed to have the upper hand, but the Irish could have been an option higher on the pitch, had a wide player ran out of steam.

Instead, she kept every forward on the pitch until the 84^th minute, when she put in Victoria Pelova for Olivia Smith, moving Alessia Russo wide, and then she replaced the England international with Smilla Holmberg three minutes into the stoppage time.

Given that the Gunners were ahead by the time Victoria Pelova came in, Renée Slegers could opt for conservative/defensive substitutions, but it would have been interesting to see what she could/would have done in a different scenario.

Thankfully Chloe Kelly is expected to be back for the reverse fixture, because Arsenal need that sort of options if they were to go all the way in the competition. The game against Olympique Lyonnes showed that the players are ready to fight and sacrifice, make every run until the final whistle and bust their lungs for their teammates, but that’s not sustainable, even in the short term.

Unfortunately, the timeline for Beth Mead’s return is still blurry, so Renée Slegers will have to make with only five forwards for the games against Leicester and OL, which is not ideal.

Could someone from the U21 team that recently won their league title step up?

IN OTHER NEWS

There was no football over the last two weeks, but Arsenal Women didn’t stand still: the club announced the extension of Stina Blackstenius contract, which puts a lot of rumours to bed, and are expected to sign Switzerland international Geraldine Reuteler from Frankfurt, next summer.

The Swiss international, a dynamic box-to-box midfielder with great vision and composure in front of goal, was one of the highlights of Switzerland’s run in their domestic European Championships and will be one of the building blocks of the future Arsenal Women midfield, together with Georgia Stanway. With Victoria Pelova unsure whether to stay or go, and Kim Little not getting any younger (anyone with a magic potion?), the team is in desperate need of fresh legs and new faces, so it makes sense to do the business early and build with strong, skilled and experienced players.

Also, the club appointed former player Pauline Macdonald as Player Pathway Manager in a move aiming at helping as many players as possible to bridge the gap between academy football and the first team. The club recently lost promising players such as Teyah Goldie and Freya Godfrey, who left the club in search of regular football, and surely want to make sure that others – such as Michelle Agyemang, Vivienne Lia, or Laila Harbert – see a clear path in front of them.

Unfortunately, there were some sad news too, as Manuela Zinsberger confirmed she will be leaving the club when her current contract expires, next summer. The Austrian goalkeeper, probably the finest penalty stopper in Europe, is currently nursing a knee injury and will start fresh at a new club, leaving Arsenal Women after seven seasons, a UWCL win and two Conti Cup trophies to her name.

NEXT UP

The Arsenal Women player will be on the pitch again on Wednesday, when they host Leicester City at the Emirates Stadium. Rock-bottom Leicester have only won twice this season and are letting in 2.16 goals per game, in average, so they shouldn’t be too much of an issue for the Gunners, who are chasing the runners-up spot in the league.

The biggest hurdle, on Wednesday, will be Arsenal Women’s ability to remain focused on the task, despite playing the return leg of the UWCL semifinals three days later, and Renée Slegers’ ability to rotate her players, given the injuries.

Speak to you soon!

The post The Arsenal Women Journal – Gunners get the all-important win against OL [ARS 2-1 OL] first appeared on Gunners Town.

An Arsenal blog from a coach’s perspective

Analyzing an elite game of football is a time consuming task. The amount of detail rises. The coaches know that the margins are smaller and so the margins themselves become the focus for the coaching staff.

Talking about the space that Nico O’Reilly had to progress the ball in the second half is interesting. As is the tactic of leaving Saliba one on one with Haaland so Gabi could man mark Cherki. There are many others and maybe that’s for later.

I’ve always tried to find the story of the game. The reason why what happened, happened.

I think there were two main storylines. Neither are new stories.

The first was the finishing. Not so much the comparison in the two teams, but simply that Arsenal are still to convince that their attacking abilities are anywhere close to their abilities to defend. I still believe that Arteta needs to simplify attacking. We take too long to move the ball forward and recycle. we have a group of players that can play one touch football, but don’t. Our defenders pass the ball around the back in three passes rather than skipping a player or two out. If we had more verticality at times, not always, then our opponents wouldn’t be able to get in shape. Our wingers are all inverted which leads to the request for them to score back post benders which have been rare this season rather than using one winger at least to play on his natural side, beat the full back on the outside and create tap in opportunities for a striker in VG that would score far more if we leant into his strength.

Against City, Martinelli was brought on perhaps to threatentheir high line, but we never played him the ball and I only saw one proactive run.

I know what Arteta is doing. He sees a league with far two many games for the most successful and he doesn’t want his team to have to play exhausting basketball games. He is right in that. So, he focuses on control which means that we want our opponents to all retreat into their half into a compact shape that is then very hard to pass your way out of because space is dramatically reduced. This makes sense too. It’s a good idea and has got us as far as competing in every competition and being recognized as one of the best. Many fans want a complete change of style because this style is dull and frustrating. I don’t want a complete change. I want balance. I want a team that can understand when they have been given an opportunity to score a far more simple goal. Arsenal are blessed with having Odegaard who can organize and execute a very effective press. When we do steal the ball, we slow down rather than play vertically. We have two thieves in midfield. Two of the best there are. When Zubi gets close he frequently dispossess opponents. If there was an award for ‘Snuffing Out Attacks,’ then Rice would be the Ballon d’Or winner of that trophy almost every year. Yet when these two thieves perform their robbery, we get in a Ford Fiesta and drive in 2nd gear around the town rather than jumping in an Audi and driving straight down the motorway.

Making the argument that we don’t yet have an elite attack is fair. It is also fair to say that we have never got the best out of Martinelli and Gyokeres to name two. If we had done so then considering the amount of minutes they’ve both had, we would have the league wrapped up by now.

It has taken too long to address both in the market and on the coaching field. Arsenal don’t have enough players who have finishing in their top three attributes. As an example, we don’t expect Odegaard to have finishing as his number one threat but 1 goal in half a season simply isn’t good enough.

The fact that the others haven’t helped compounds the problem and shines a bright neon light on what needs to change.

Which is the priority though? Creating easier chances or buying/training elite finishing? I’d say that the former would take care of both problems but the latter has to be addressed because it’s not just a one player issue. Firstly, Arteta has to prioritize attacking at training. If we didn’t do another defensive drill at training for the rest of the season, I’m sure that we would be fine as we have clearly come as close to perfecting this as is possible. Then ensure that the attackers and midfielders that you sign in the summer are better in front of goal than what we have. This might be why Arsenal are being linked with Atalanta goalscoring midfielder, Ederson.

Football at its simplest is a game where all the details lead to the moment. The point. The whole point. Can you put the ball in the goal. This is not our specialty and it needs to be or we will always struggle, even if we win.

What is more likely to happen is that we will focus on recruitment because Mikel will see this stat and that is fair enough.

The player chosen will likely be one that can help in build up as well as be an expert finisher. I’m not convinced that this is possible though. I often think that the fact that Haaland is such a reliable finisher is because he is physically fresh.

The second issue that greatly affected the game was the pre-game decision that Anthony Taylor had made to not be the reason that the game swung one way or another. This was obvious to me. Rather than simply reffing each moment on its merit, all the key decisions were wrong. Khusanov shoved Kai over. A simple red card decision. Gabriel should have seen red and the fact that if Haaland would’ve rolled around he would’ve gone, is a sad truth about the state of officiating. The winning goal was only scored because Haaland pulled Gabriel out of the way before finishing. such an obvious advantage gained and embarrassing that VAR haven’t even tried to check all the angles.

What is always so frustrating is that if the UK media don’t choose refereeing decisions as the narrative, then anybody who does is shot down. Anthony Taylor made the game about him with non-decisions, whilst trying to not be the story. It is all so very messed up.

POSITIVES:

Saliba:

What an incredible performance. Given a tougher task than any defender has been given against Haaland and he was so good. As mentioned earlier, Saliba was left one on one against arguably the worlds most dangerous striker. It almost doesn’t make sense. Saliba isn’t as polite as he used to be. Hyper aggressive, never flustered and in total control of his job.

There is a strong argument that Arsenal have the world’s best two centre backs.

Kai:

Although we are disappointed that he missed two big chances, he did so much well that needs to be applauded. He is so much quicker than people realize and I wish he would’ve taken off earlier to beat Bernardo to the ball. Donnaruma didn’t know as he paused. Credit to Havertz for seeing the perfect opportunity to press hard.

Mosquera:

That was a real test. Marking their most dangerous player whilst on a yellow card and with constant pressure. He was smart to back off a step so as to not be tempted to tackle.

Hincapie:

After the summer window, Arsenal will own an entire back four of defenders who can handle any player by themselves. That is so rare in football and is a huge compliment to the recruiting staff and coaches for finding and training them in the details needed to be that good in one on one situations. Timber is the king followed by three princes in Hincapie, Saliba and Gabriel.

NEEDS:

Martinelli:

That might be the end of Martinelli. If true, it’s a big shame because he has the athletic and technical gifts to have gone up levels, but remains one of the only AFC players that hasn’t really improved.

I got the impression that he had something else on his mind. there were rumours about his agent chatting with PSG last week. I’m sure Martinelli didn’t expect another CL contender to be interested.

His major sin was pressing a keeper who had the ball in his hands and being more concerned about Guehi than O’Reilly who subsequently ran box to box to set up the winning goal. Arsenal now have 3 wingers that are inconsistent. What I hope we don’t see but could in May, is that PSG can rely on 4 wingers who show more goal threat and impact than Trossard, Madueke and Martinelli. That is the level and could be the difference this year. Football has changed in that wingers are expected to contribute 10+ goals per season and the same number of assists. Our crew are just too scattered and unreliable at this level and when your rivals are streets ahead, you have to respond.

Madueke:

I wonder if Arteta will persist with Madueke or sell him before his value drops more. Cutting your losses and being as ruthless as he has stated that he will be, but hasn’t really followed through on. Madueke might be seen as a market opportunity and if somebody wants to give us our money back then we take it. I can see Arsenal selling at least 1 big player this summer and because inconsistency has troubled our entire front line, I wouldn’t be surprised if Madueke or Gyokeres disappear.

Arteta:

I’m really surprised that Arteta didn’t move Rice to the right side. City were running riot on that side and we needed legs. a strange decision.

FINAL THOUGHT:

Arsenal still have a 50/50 chance of winning the league. Most of City’s opponents have Europe to play for and a few of them would be qualifying for the first time. Arsenal have the return of Kai and Odegaard to help us alongside the possible return of Saka, Calafiori and Timber. Eze is in form and having our most creative player in form could be the spark to infect others. Rodri possibly being out is their most important player missing and so I think there are more twists. It also can’t be forgotten that we look like a team returning to form ourselves.

I’m predicting that Merino will come back and win the league for Arsenal.

The post The details point to the point (Positives Needs & Hopes) [MCI 2-1 ARS] first appeared on Gunners Town.

An Arsenal blog from a coach’s perspective

I don’t believe that we’ve ever been to the moon. I believe Stanley Kubrick’s confession. All will be disclosed soon, I feel.

A decent percentage of the Arsenal fanbase and football fans in general can’t leave Arsenal alone. They got in a NASA pod and flew to the moon. Whilst there they sat around in a large circle and shouted at each other. Some were obsessed with being right or not wrong based on their long-held Arsenal feelings. Others had just stood next to Angry Alfie in the pub too long and he had finally penetrated the football part of their brain. The rest had simply taken their anxiety to a dark place of negativity and lost their prescription that could’ve brought them back to reality.

We are all struggling with this run-in. We are all saying irrational things. We are all shouting at the TV and this time it’s not all Gary Neville or Talksport’s fault. This Arsenal fan has been to therapy so I feel I can help all of us. Therapy involved hanging out with my 5 year old niece. She didn’t understand why I was so upset at these little red and white men on the 8K flat screen and just wanted to tell me about Rhett, her new boyfriend, that she gained by pushing him on the swings at recess. Oh, and “let’s go play hide and seek.”

I went on the socials and picked out a few to discuss….

Some are struggling to separate Premier League Arsenal from Champions League Arsenal. There are many ways to win. Arteta is leaning into the strength of the team. Logic would say that this isn’t a bad plan. We are by far the hardest team to score against. My opinion backed up by the facts above. It’s not even close. Because we want to be entertained as a part of our footballing experience, and rightly so, we would rather do what Bayern did and win whilst conceding 3 goals. Sure it would be more memorable but the coach has to look around his locker room and decide if we can score 4 goals like they did. Based on talent and form it would be potentially suicidal to play a basketball game like they did.

Arteta’s addiction to ‘control’ isn’t just rooted in his personality. It is in looking at the cards that PL teams are dealt and intelligently deciding that running endlessly back and forth each three days is perhaps not clever.

Looking at this fact and this opinion shouldn’t the narrative be….. ‘Intelligent Arteta leaning into clean sheets as his players struggle with form and fatigue.’

Rather impressive, but no round of applause from anyone. Huh!

One of the buttons that you can push to really annoy me is to tell me that every reason is an excuse. This perspective is based purely in facts and the difference in the freshness that players from other leagues feel is stark. Having seen how we have struggled recently and not really rebounded, I would be an idiot to think it was just ‘bottling’ or ‘pressure.’ It is fatigue, also. We can fight about whether Arteta should’ve played Norgaard more to help the situation. That is not a discussion from the moon, it’s real. If Arsenal win the Champions League, I think it will be a 10 minute standing ovation simply because they shouldn’t be close because of the 20% more minutes that successful PL teams play. In fact, if Arsenal do win the CL then the achievement will embarrass the fools mainly because most won’t back down from their ‘Arsenal are boring’ or ‘Arsenal only score on set plays’ narrative.

Perhaps Alvarez is flirting, but so many non-PL related players, coaches and media say the exact same thing. This is another example of how those outside the UK pay more attention to the game itself rather than the drama or weekly narrative.

To be balanced it is as important to state what is going wrong as what is worthy of flowers. Arsenal were the favourites for the CL and now they are not. Rightly so, because we have been hit with key injuries (1 in 1 out), fatigue, nerves and as James Benge states here, our attack is not firing and not of the quality right now of others who are chasing the PL and CL. It is important to also say that back in the autumn Arsenal’s attack was certainly considered good enough, so the gap isn’t as far apart as the angry heads and narrative numpties would have you think. Martinelli, Trossard, Madueke and Gyokeres were taking turns making the very best teams look poor. Admittedly, it has been rare that they all light their fire at the same time.

This is what actually happened vs Sporting. Our bench had depth and quality and we went from Arteta trying to threaten Sporting with pace to switching to technical security. This was evidenced by removing the memory of ‘what if’ in the last 20 minutes and seeing that we totally controlled the game.

Because the media are so focused on what their lil pea brains can understand, you won’t see this type of high level observation from them. It certainly doesn’t fit their narrative of Arsenal bending the rules, either.

Ultimately, this the the truth that most are dancing around.

Have you seen this rather amazing stat on the back pages?

Another fact. Not opinion, fact. What is actually going on. It’s like Arsenal are a social experiment to see if black can be white.

If you have been and still are nervous, fine. So am I. Every game. It’s natural for any team in any sport that has repeatedly ‘almost’ won to want to protect their heart from breaking. Just don’t forget gratitude because I don’t know about you but I often have flashbacks to City at the Emirates with Arteta sitting on the City bench as they embarrass us, knowing that he may be about to inherit this train wreck.

Conclusion…. The people who flew to the moon have an annoying addiction to setting themselves up to be right. If they are proven wrong, they vanish. If they are right, they will search their posts for hours to tell you.

Thanks for reading, commenting, quoting and sharing! There are so many kind hearted Gooners out there.

The post Fly them back from the moon – how to bring the hysterical back to Earth. (For their good and ours.) first appeared on Gunners Town.

Distribution: Strictly limited to clubs, officials, and anyone who can keep a straight face

To all participating clubs,

Following a comprehensive review of this season’s entertainment objectives, we would like to remind all teams of their civic duty to ensure Manchester City continue accruing points in a manner that creates maximum emotional distress for Arsenal Football Club.

This is not a suggestion. This is not even really a hint. This is football governance.

All clubs are therefore instructed to:

• Defend normally against Manchester City until approximately the 73rd minute.

• Then, preferably, experience a sudden lapse in concentration.

• Avoid scoring first, as this may interfere with the approved title-race narrative.

• Refrain from making Arsenal fans hopeful for more than 14 minutes at a time.

We appreciate that some clubs may have concerns about fairness. Please note that fairness is very much a theoretical concept and should not be permitted to disrupt broadcast schedules, social media engagement, or Arsenal-related suffering.

Special note regarding Arsenal:

Should Arsenal unexpectedly win a match, all other results must be arranged to restore equilibrium within 24 hours. If this is not possible, please ensure a controversial refereeing discussion is circulated online to maintain the correct emotional climate.

Failure to comply may result in disciplinary action, strongly worded statements, a further delay to the resolution of City’s 115 charges, or a suspended ban that will be rescinded after nobody remembers why it existed.

Thank you for your continued cooperation in preserving the integrity, tension, and occasional misery of the Premier League.

Regards,

Football Administration Department

“Keeping It All Very Balanced Since Never”

Screenshot

The post CONFIDENTIAL: FA INTERNAL CIRCULAR Subject: Competitive Balance, Public Morale, and the Ongoing Arsenal Situation first appeared on Gunners Town.

The post “Miss Marple on a free transfer” (Positives Needs & Hopes) [ARS 1-2 BOU] first appeared on Gunners Town.

An Arsenal blog from a coach’s perspective

Dr. Perspective the football therapist: Hi, Mike! Come on in and make yourself comfortable. I’m assuming you are an Arsenal fan? I’ve had lots of Arsenal fans this week.

Me: Yes, sir I am an Arsenal fan. Partly optimistic and partly terrified.

Doc: You must take this Arsenal thing rather seriously then?

Me: Since 1979. Sometimes I wish that I didn’t care as much as I do. I live in the middle of nowhere with not a single Arsenal fan close by except my family who I have infected with my fandom.

Doc: Well, after meeting with many of you Gooners over the last few weeks, you don’t have to explain what is going on. I’m fully aware. So, how can I best help?

Me: Seeing reality, I suppose. My lens is getting cloudy and I’m afraid that I’m going to drive myself crazy. More importantly, I don’t want to drive my wife to say, “it’s only a game.” I’m a pretty calm guy but my fandom went past that point in the 80’s.

Doc: I understand. Tell me exactly how you fell about the current situation?

Me: Well, I’m a positive guy, but I see legitimate concerns.

Doc: What are they?

Me: Well, we have the best squad in the clubs history and Mikel has done rather well at rotating at the right time, but our team look fatigued. We are usually a team that is defensively so hard working and solid. A team without mistakes. That has changed recently. We are conceding so much ground in transition and we are being scored on with so few opportunities.

Secondly, we don’t seem to have anyone at the top of their game. I know it’s a team sport and therefore hard to be great if others are below par but we are lacking energy to change this.

Thirdly, we are at the stage of the season where teams are familiar with our style of play. Because we are a ‘coach’s team’ and play programmed football we are looking too predictable and easier to play against.

Fourthly, our coach is a serious guy. His standards are the reason that we are where we are but I worry that his body language and possibly his personality create tension in the group. Almost as if we went to the masseuse and this kung-fu warrior comes out and starts doing chop suey on our back.

Finally and most importantly, we look like a team that is really feeling the pressure of expectation. The media have chosen Arsenal as their horse to whip many years ago and it affects our fanbase who get irrationally upset. It is as if our players cannot stay off social media.

Doc: What is your ultimate fear?

Me: That we won’t win anything and that Mikel will be seen as 7/8th’s of a coach. A coach who can rebuild, get you to the gate of success but hasn’t yet got the skillset to get us across the line, either because of something that he is doing that he shouldn’t or something that he’s not doing that he shouldn’t. That another European power house will get the best of Mikel Arteta, rather than Arsenal.

I have never wanted someone to succeed more than him.

Doc: Why is that?

Me: Because he turned my life around. I’m ashamed to admit it, but I was so affected by Arsenal heading in the wrong direction. Mikel Arteta is the first coach I’ve ever seen who turned a ship around and kept it on course, never veering. In an incredibly impatient world, he was allowed to start from the chapter of the coaching manual that the club needed, and he took it. He was given the time to take his time, and he took it. He has given us a team that is the best at multiple aspects of the game and competitive at the very highest level to the point where those outside of the British media see us as the best team in Europe.

I have so much gratitude for the club and Mikel. 

Doc: Ok. Well think on this….The best way to look at this is from the, let’s call it ‘The June perspective.’

Imagine if you win the Premier League, Champions League or both. That would be one of the best seasons in the club’s history. If you win both it would literally be the best ever. How would you feel in June if either of those quite possible options happened and you spent the winning part of the season being negative?

Me: But it could go wrong?

Doc: But it could go right?

You are going to have to decide if you want to be part of the problem or part of the solution. If I had told you in August that you would be top of the league by 9 points and playing Sporting Lisbon in the quarter finals today you would tell me that I was a dreamer.

You are right, it could go wrong. If you can lose to Southampton, you could lose to Sporting. If you believed that the glass was half full though, you would remind yourself that before Mikel showed up you routinely lost 1-5 to Bayern Munich and the same group of players who comfortably beat Bayern 3-0 in the autumn will be playing tonight.

Listen, you don’t have to go telling everyone that you are going to win anything but you need to tell yourself that you are a fan and you picked football because you thought it was fun. You are on the precipice of being able to tell your grandchildren that you were alive when this happened. If you knock Sporting out and get 3 points on Saturday then the mood will change.

Me: But what does it matter what I do? I’m just one fan trying to build a shield to defend myself from the potential imminent pain. 

Doc: I get that. But you have influence. Even though you are on an Arsenal island in East Tennessee, you share your thoughts through your phone and laptop. We live in a world where our opinion could affect the mood of fans who are going to the game itself. Fans who have to decide if they are going to be tense or sing for their team. With worldwide access to anyone, there is a very good chance that someone living in Hong Kong will be affected by what you post. You are part of the energy that will drive your team on or suck it out of the room entirely.

Me: So, what does it come down to?

Doc: No matter whether you win the shiny cups or not, Arsenal are going to face adversity again in likely more than one of their remaining games. When that happens, you are going to want those 11 players to respond positively. You have to ask yourself if you want to be a help in that time or a hindrance?

I have Spurs fans calling me all week. Chelsea fans are pissed. Liverpool fans are very angry. City fans think that if they win anything that it will be taken away. United fans are deluded, I don’t take their calls. I even have Barca, Bayern and PSG fans that contact me and they are concerned that their team isn’t dominating as they should be. Real Madrid fans are furious at their league form and praying that if they get to the CL final, that it’s not Arsenal that they play.

The sun isn’t really shining anywhere.

Outside of England and the influence of the British media, there is nothing but fear and respect for Arsenal. They see you as the number one club on the rise. The one most likely to dominate Europe in years to come. A team with a coach that checks more boxes than any other. One of the best keepers in the world. The best CB partnership in the world. The best out of possession team in the world. Arguably the best back five in football. The most effective team at set plays. The team with the best squad and the team with a handful of potential Balon D’or winners and one school boy who might be the next best thing.

Choose gratitude.

Me: Then I will.

Doc: That’ll be $900.00

Me: I thought you wanted me to leave this couch happy?

The post Arsenal on the Therapist’s Couch – Glass half full or half empty kind of session first appeared on Gunners Town.

And then there was one. The Arsenal Women team went crashing out of the Women’s FA Cup after an unexpected home defeat to Brighton, halting their streak of eleven consecutive wins in all competitions, in the process.

Renée Slegers rotated her starting XI following the intense away game at Chelsea, in midweek, but the visitors were still the fresher team and got a deserved win.
There won’t be a 15th FA Cup for Leah Williamson and company, then, and the only piece of silverware left is by far the most difficult to grab: the UWCL.

As title holders, Arsenal Women are naturally among the favourites in the biggest European competition, but OL Lyonnes and Barcelona remain the strongest teams left on the road to glory, so it would require a string of sensational performances (and some luck) to retain the trophy.

The home defeat to Brighton comes as a blow, but at least the players are now going away on international duty and will have the opportunity to reset and start fresh, hopefully without any knocks, niggles or worse.

ONE GAME TOO MANY?
Renée Slegers referred to the recent handful of games as “an intense block”, and it’s hard to argue that the players had a lot on their plates recently, with five games squeezed between March 21st and April 5th, including two massive UWCL games against Chelsea and a North London Derby.
Perhaps, the home game against Brighton being the easiest (on paper) and the last before the international break, the players’ heads were already away, drained after the return leg at Stamford Bridge and looking forward to the upcoming break.

One can’t really blame them, if it was the case. I am pretty sure the players didn’t underestimate Brighton, or didn’t take them for granted, but simply couldn’t summon the required energies to overcome yet another hurdle. It is a shame because there was a cup semi-final at stake, and potentially a big game to be played at Wembley, but Brighton were sharper on the day and deserved their qualification.

Photo courtesy of Arsenal.com

With at least seven games remaining, it will be pivotal for Renée Slegers and her staff to make sure that the players are rested, mentally and physically, before the run-in and although the title is all but gone, there is still a second place to chase and an equally daunting/exciting two-legged UWCL semifinals against OL Lyonnes to play, with a big final looming in distance. Hopefully Steph Catley and Leah Williamson will be fully fit after the break, and Renée Slegers will be allowed to pick her strongest XI more frequently then not, between now and the end of the season.

If this loss is the price to pay to see the team at its best in the remaining fixtures, so be it.

RENEE THE MIXOLOGIST
Renée Slegers decided to reinvent both flanks for the game against Brighton and give Smilla Holmberg, Taylor Hinds, Beth Mead and Chloe Kelly a start against the Seagulls. The Sweden full-back was paired with Beth Mead on the right, while the former Liverpool defender linked-up with fellow England international Chloe Kelly on the opposite side.

Photo courtesy of Arsenal.com

Despite the results, there were encouraging signs from the interactions and build-up on each side, with the duo Holmberg-Mead very active down the right-hand side: the young fullback had the biggest chance of the afternoon but couldn’t convert from very close range after being picked up by Chloe Kelly from the opposite flank, then made another run in behind in the second half but chose to shoot, instead of passing to either Alessia Russo or Frida Maanum in the box.

Unfortunately, things were not as smooth defensively, with Brighton enjoying a lot of space and time when playing down the flanks, and both Arsenal Women fullbacks losing track of their opponents in the final third. The opening goal came down Taylor Hinds’ side, with the defender getting caught in the middle of a quick one-two between Haley and Kirby, while on the opposite side Smilla Holmberg showed that, for all her attacking qualities, she is still quite raw defensively.

Photo courtesy of Arsenal.com

Still, it is vital for the Arsenal Women team to work on multiple combinations on each flank as they try to increase their unpredictability and become less easy to defend against. In Beth Mead, Olivia Smith, Chloe Kelly and Caitlin Foord they have four wonderful wide forwards, while at the back they can count on Katie McCabe, Emily Fox, Taylor Hinds and Smilla Holmberg.

Renée Slegers must find the right mix to balance the flair and unpredictability with balance and solidness. With so much quality and versatility at her disposal, it should be easy for the head coach to find the perfect blend.

BIG GAME, SMALL VENUE?
Looking ahead at the return of football after the international break, the Arsenal Women team are set to play the first leg of the UWCL semifinals at home on April 25th or 26th, when they will host serial-winners and old foe OL Lyonnes.

The game is scheduled to be played at the Emirates Stadium, or perhaps I should say “it was” because it now conflicts with the men’s home game against Newcastle, on April 25th.
There is still a chance that the Arsenal Women’s game is moved to Sunday, 26th of April, but it’s unlikely that the pitch will be used in consecutive days by the men and women teams, mostly to protect it for the all-important Premier League run-in, during which Mikel Arteta and his players will host Fulham (May 2nd) and Burnley (May 17th) between now and the end of their campaign.

Photo courtesy of Arsenal.com

As things stand, the club is very likely looking at a huge backlash once they inevitably announce that the UWCL semifinals are being moved to Meadow Park. Perhaps they were confident that the men’s team would overcome Southampton in the FA Cup, which would have seen their Premier League home game against Newcastle moved to a later date, hence freed the Emirates Stadium for the UWCL semifinals.

It’s ironic how the men’s team fail to deliver, but it’s the women’s team that is made to pay the price – once again.

NEXT UP
It’s International Break now, and I guess it’s a welcome one after the shock defeat to Brighton Hove & Albion in the FA Cup. The players will be back in two weeks, hopefully fully charged and ready to bounce back in the UWCL semifinals against OL Lyonnes.

We still don’t know where, but we know when and we know why. One thing is sure: the Arsenal Women supporters will pack the stadium to its maximum capacity – whether it is the Emirates Stadium or Meadow Park.

Speak to you soon!

The post The Arsenal Women Journal – Unhappy Ending for the Gunners [ARS 0-2 BHA] first appeared on Gunners Town.

This time. Max Dowman is in the crosshairs.

The final section of his ridiculous rant, spouts as follows:

“Max Dowman don’t follow their path. Forget who your family supports, that’s irrelevant now. Think about your career, go find a stage your talents deserve.

Real Madrid? Barcelona? Go find a coach who will get the very best out of you and bring you success in your career.

You deserve better than Arsenal.”

Oh just jog on.

Adrian Durham telling Max Dowman to leave Arsenal is the kind of take that makes you fully understand that he doesn’t know sh!t football, he is just throwing cr@p at the wall of opinions and waiting for some to stick.

The kid is a teenager, not a faulty kettle — he doesn’t need to be “moved on” because some pundit’s ego got bored and needs some clicks.

Arsenal have a proper setup, a real pathway, and a history of developing young talent. Durham’s answer to that is basically to kick the tyres, shrug dramatically, and yell “SELL HIM” like he’s trying to clear stock in a $2 shop closing-down sale.

It’s one of the great joys of modern football punditry: a youngster has a bit of hype and suddenly the same people who’d lose a debate with the aforementioned toaster, start acting like career architects.

The lad hasn’t even had time to finish being a prospect, let alone school and already someone’s trying to pack him off with a suitcase and a lecture.

Arsenal should be doing the exact opposite of what Durham suggests. Keep Dowman close, develop him properly, and ignore the noise from people whose football opinions come with pre-ordained bias and wrapped in the emotional maturity of a traffic cone.

Durham can keep the hot air. Arsenal can keep the talent. Dowman can keep on with The Arsenal and let this so called pundit, keep on embarrassing himself.

The post SATIRE – Max Dowman must leave Arsenal as soon as possible, Mikel Arteta will discard him like the others first appeared on Gunners Town.

It was nervy, it was intense, it was end-to-end football and the Gunners came out on top, despite Chelsea’s best efforts and pressure. Arsenal Women are heading to the UWCL semifinals for the third time in the last four seasons, establishing themselves as a true continental powerhouse in the process, very much in alignment with their pedigree and stature.

Nüsken’s late goal was not enough for Chelsea to overturn the two-goals deficit they took home from their trip to the Emirates Stadium, last week, and while the hair-pulling incident involving Alyssa Thompson and Katie McCabe marred the end of the encounter, the game at Stamford Bridge was highly competitive yet fair and correct, overall. Both teams played hard and went for it throughout the 95 minutes, both had chances to score and both hit the post once, with the ball dancing on the line before heading away from goal.

Photo courtesy of Arsenal.com

Both teams can be proud of their performances over the two legs, and surely this tie will be remembered as one of the tightest yet most entertaining in recent years, which is great for the UWCL and women’s football in general.

Renée Slegers opted against introducing an extra midfielder in place of a striker, hoping to exploit the space behind Chelsea defensive line, and went with a very offensive setup with Alessia Russo, Olivia Smith and Caitlin Foord behind Stina Blackstenius. It was a bold, risky call but the correct one (in my opinion) that sent a clear message to the team: they were not going to sit deep and defend with their backs to the wall, but they were defend from the top and make sure Chelsea knew that they could hit anytime, from anywhere.

The Blues had a lot of chances, very much like in the first leg, and surely can have some regrets about their finishing even without considering Daphne van Domselaar’s outstanding saves, but the visitors had their fair share of chances too, and should have probably done much better with some of the counter-attack opportunities they made for themselves.

There were moments, mostly towards the end of the second half, when they found themselves in 4v4 or even 4-3 situations but failed to pick the right pass, of didn’t show enough conviction with their shots. In a night when several players delivered strong performances, Renée Slegers was probably the best of the lot thanks for her choice before and during the game.

Well done, Renée!

Arsenal Women will play either OL Lyonnes or Wolfsburg, who are coincidentally the last two opponents they played at this stage of the competition, with the Germans taking their one-goal lead to France for the return leg, on Thursday night.

SUPER DAPHNE

Renée Sleger’s decision to select Daphne van Domselaar instead of Anneke Borbe, who has been outstanding in her recent outings, was surprising but very inspired. The Dutch shot-stopper, who didn’t cover herself in glory against Tottenham over the weekend, produced three world-class saves to deny Chelsea and prevent the tie to become even more insufferable that it was.

Photo courtesy of Arsenal.com

The former Aston Villa player was especially impressive when she palmed Nüsken’s header against the post, going full stretch to get enough contact on the ball, and while she was lucky that the ball didn’t go in after hitting the stick, she summoned that luck with a powerful jump and her strong hand.

After a sensational season in 2024/25, Daphne van Domselaar’s form dipped alarmingly this campaign, especially in the opening weeks when her mistakes were as blatant as they were unexpected; then she suffered a big injury and struggled to find a good rhythm, so her performance against Chelsea came at the perfect time, both for the team and for the player herself. It was a nice reminder of her outstanding quality both as a shot-stopper and with ball distribution, as well as her ability to command the penalty box.

Sure, it felt harsh on Anneke Borbe as she was enjoying her football after being propelled from third choice to the starting goalkeeper, but the Dutch is one of the best in the world in her role, so it is just natural to field your best players when they are available.

Hopefully this big performance will serve as a platform for Daphne van Domselaar to enjoy a strong end of the season and help the Gunners in their quest for unprecedented back-to-back success in Europe and a 15^th FA Cup.

HAIRGATE AT STAMFORD BRIDGE

Everything happened very quickly, with the game already very tense going into the final minutes, and I had to look back at it several times to form an opinion about the incident involving Alyssa Thompson and Katie McCabe.

Although I believe that the Irish was genuinely going for a shirt pull, it is undeniable that she got the hair, instead, and I struggle to understand how the referee didn’t blow the whistle at all, and how VAR didn’t investigate that.

If the roles were reversed, I would be fuming. There is no shame in admitting that Arsenal Women and Katie McCabe got away with one, at Stamford Bridge, and should consider themselves lucky that they didn’t have to endure the final minutes reduced to ten players.

That said, I believe that the right outcome would have a been a foul and a yellow card because I don’t see any malice of violent conduct from the defender, but a shirt-pull (worth of a yellow card, by the laws of football) that went very bad.

There is still a possibility that Katie McCabe gets a ban through a retroactive look at the incident, if categorized as violent conduct, so Arsenal Women and the player are not yet off the hook for this one.

It would be a shame if this incident became the focal point of any discussion about a thrilling, entertaining and quality football game, because Wednesday’s night showdown was the best possible advertising job for the UWCL and women’s football in general, both because of the physical efforts done by the players and the technical level on show by players like Nüsken, James, Kerr, Russo, Mariona and many others.

Photo courtesy of Arsenal.com

“WERE WE AWAY FROM HOME?”

This was Lotte Wubben-Moy’s cheeky answer when asked about the support from Arsenal fans at Stamford Bridge, and it is easy to see why the England defender was so impressed with the away end.

Despite being obviously outnumbered in south London, the Arsenal supporters were louder and “outsang Chelsea fans tenfold” to quote Lotte Wubben-Moy, showing once again that they are by far the most loyal, the most vocal and the most present fanbase in the United Kingdom.

Beyond posting great attendance numbers on regular basis and registering record attendance after record attendance, the Arsenal Women supporters have quietly built their own universe and became their own force.

Photo courtesy of Arsenal.com

It must be said that the club worked extremely well to help consolidating the fanbase, promoting and marketing the games and the Arsenal Women world overall, taking down any barrier between the men’s team and the women’s team in their noble quest for equal exposure and equal consideration (equal pay is a different matter…), proving that the “one club” message they were promoting wasn’t a buzzword, but a true target.

The support from the fans proved to be a major contributor to the team’s success, both at Meadow Park and the Emirates Stadium, the latter becoming one of those intimidating places where visitors cannot play with their usual freedom and calmness.

NEXT UP

No rest for the Arsenal Women team, who will host Brighton at the Emirates Stadium on Sunday, in what will be the last game before the international break.

I guess we can expect a little drop from the players after such a demanding game away at Chelsea, but there is a place in the FA Cup semifinals at stake, and hopefully the team will give a final push.

Renée Slegers can rotate thanks to the squad depth, and give players a rest before the break: we could see Smilla Holmberg, Taylor Hinds, Victoria Pelova a start, with players like Chloe Kelly and Beth Mead (who has been recalled to the England team) playing a lot of minutes, too.

Speak to you soon!

The post The Arsenal Women Journal – The Sweetest Defeat [CHE 1-0 ARS] first appeared on Gunners Town.