What are the lessons learnt from Arsenal’s 2-0 win over West Ham, that could come in handy for our Gunner Women? Here are mine:
1. Before the West Ham game, Renee Slegers spoke of the team needing to adjust to Caitlin Foord‘s style to capitalize on her form. Arsenal must understand that they cannot afford to rely solely on one player. West Ham defenders surrounded Foord every time she had the ball, making it difficult for her to find space to exploit and fully influence the proceedings like she wanted to.
2. Relationships, such as the Foord-Fox link-up and the Mariona-McCabe link-up, are already forming; these partnerships require cultivation and could serve as the basis for other forms of play. On Sunday, they could have made the difference.
3. Substitutes made the difference, and whoever takes over as Arsenal Manager should be as bold as Renee Slegers, ready to change things and give the substitutes enough game time to make a difference. Slegers herself talked about the “big impact” of super subs, in our Gunners win over the Hammers.
4. Kyra Cooney-Cross isn’t starting games suddenly. After the international break, this situation needs to be addressed. Her introduction against West Ham transformed the game with her pace, making her a valuable asset against teams with low blocks that need to be punished by moving the ball faster.
These are the four lessons I learnt from the Arsenal versus West Ham game; could you share yours?
It is now time for the international break but, when our Gunners return, they will travel north face Manchester United Women in what will be a big WSL clash.
Michelle M
Michelle M
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Foord is quality but sometimes the low cross into the box rather than shoot KCC should start in my opinion, she is great defensively, attacks space when it opens up in front of her. We need goals from midfield , Walti has only scored one in the WSL it seems.
4-4-2 allows us to play any 2 from 3 , Russo , Rosa , Stina