Jonas Eidevall’s Arsenal Women team intends to possess the ball, press opponents, and “hurt them”. Teams are aware of this, and so when they believe they cannot match the Gunner women’s talent, they will seek to be defensive and play with a low block: “They park the bus.”
In recent WSL games against Liverpool and Bristol, the two teams used a low block to try to contain and frustrate the Arsenal women. In these games, despite having a lot of possession, Kim Little and Co. struggled to score goals. I can’t help but think that weaker teams will frequently use that strategy against Arsenal.
As the season progresses, we may expect to see this again when they play clubs from the bottom of the league or the championship. So how does Jonas Eidevall deal with teams that simply aim to irritate him while defending in a low block?
The Arsenal manager must instruct his players to strive to always increase the tempo of the match. They must strive to play quick, fluid, and aggressive football. They must move the ball faster than these opponents anticipate, as they did when Katie McCabe scored against Aston Villa.
In training, the Arsenal manager must also ensure that his players’ shooting skills are sharpened. As the opposition camps in their box, shooting from distance could be a strategy to score goals; Alessia Russo’s goal versus Villa came from a shot. These shots may not always be on target, but they may be deflected to the back of the net, or lead to a valuable corner.
Eidevall must also motivate his players to play their best. Individual brilliance may be useful. Caitlin Foord and Cloe Lacasse can dribble through opponents, not only creating chances but also drawing fouls that they can convert.
Opponents may also be interested in “nullifying” Arsenal players’ threats. They may decide to man-mark them – you only have to look at the Bristol game to see how that can look on a bad day.. Eidevall, like he used to do last season, may switch player positions to catch opponents off guard.
Finally, the 2023–24 season is long, and we are only getting started. Hopefully, Eidevall will employ such strategies in his wisdom to get his team to demolish weaker opponents.
Our Gunners are currently sat 7th in the WSL – that’s the bottom half of the table… I admit to being a little nervous even though it is only early into the season..
What about you Gooners? What changes do you think we need?
Michelle Maxwell
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