Maturing Arsenal are adding strings to their bow in WSL chase

Arsenal simply had to beat Manchester United. After losing to West Ham in their last Women’s Super League game, Manchester City’s win over Chelsea on Friday gave them another chance to stay alive in the title race.

They took that opportunity with both hands. Although the result — a 3-1 win over United — was needed, the performance and the work behind it need to act as a springboard for the business end of their season.

Jonas Eidevall’s side have been hampered by surprise defeats. With eight games left to play, they are the only side in the top three to lose three times this season (against Liverpool, Tottenham Hotspur and West Ham).

Those results coincided with Arsenal missing heaps of chances, which wasn’t the case against Manchester United. Eidevall dropped Alessia Russo and Caitlin Foord to the bench in favour of Stina Blackstenius and Cloe Lacasse, demonstrating the different options he has to choose from in attack.

“How do we use them and how do we use them together? And what relationships do we build?” Eidevall said before the United match. “How do we play to a player’s strength and what does that player need to have around her for that to happen? What situations is our preference to set up in?

“That’s where you can see we’re not a fully mature team in that yet. That’s the process that we’re in. It’s an exciting process. I can see how we’re developing with that but that means that we haven’t reached the heights of our offensive play yet.”

A major part of Arsenal’s ‘maturity’ is how they perform against low blocks. Eidevall provided a glimpse of how he may look to solve their lack of success against defensive shapes in last month’s FA Cup win over Watford, with Russo and Vivianne Miedema starting together while Blackstenius and Frida Maanum worked well together off the bench.

Against Manchester United, the dynamic of Lacasse and Blackstenius in the front line was another new formula that yielded impressive results.

With Lacasse on the left and Beth Mead on the right, Arsenal’s wingers tormented United’s full-backs. Mead was cheekier in her play, with a few nutmegs setting the tone, while Lacasse was much more direct. Whenever the Canada international picked up the ball, she drove forward regardless of what was in front of her. Lacasse’s goal, Arsenal’s second of the afternoon, required a slice of luck, with Katie Zelem’s clearance arrowing straight to her head, but she was a constant threat.

The pair both had their opposite numbers booked within the first half and then combined when Lacasse’s left-footed cross found Mead to win the penalty for Arsenal’s third goal.

“Cloe did what she does really well — she used her pace,” Eidevall said. “She went on the outside of their full-back a lot and there are very few players in the world who can deal with Cloe Lacasse (when she) uses her pace on the outside. She’s incredibly fast and skilful off both feet.”

In theory, Blackstenius was employed as the one to stretch United’s defence but with Lacasse a natural outlet, the Swede excelled more as a hold-up player. It was just her third WSL start of the season but the 28-year-old showed what she could contribute to Arsenal’s attack despite not scoring.

Back in the title race and with a Continental Cup semi-final on the horizon, it will be vital that Eidevall finds the right times to make use of his team’s different combinations.

The upcoming international break will give Eidevall and his staff time to devise plans for when they return against Tottenham Hotspur, Aston Villa and Chelsea in March as Arsenal aim to mature at the most important time — even if more major challenges are coming.

“We’re taking steps all the time,” Eidevall said. “The playing group and staff have been phenomenal since the new year. We’re doing so much productive work on the pitch and developing the way we are playing, but we still haven’t had all our players available. We still have playing returning from injuries or being absent due to injury.

Kim Little scores Arsenal’s third from the penalty spot (Paul Harding/Getty Images)

“We knew that before the season would start, so it’s not an excuse, it’s something we need to deal with. Now coming into March, we’re at a good point but we have to deal with more things. Sabrina D’Angelo and Cloe Lacase go away from the Gold Cup and are not going to be back for our game against Tottenham. It is a period of the season that is a little bit turbulent with player availability and we need to make the best out of it.”

Emily Fox will also be at the Gold Cup with the USWNT after impressing in her first few Arsenal appearances while the extent of Leah Williamson’s minor hamstring injury is yet to be seen, with Eidevall expecting the England captain to miss her country’s upcoming friendlies against Austria and Italy.

The make-up of Arsenal’s squad when league football returns could determine how their campaign ends. Eidevall could vary his front line more often than earlier in the season, while the race to have his first-choice back line is still very much on.

The important thing is, however, that Arsenal could have been out of the title race had they lost and Chelsea won this weekend. Instead, results went their way and they are very much still in it with the ability to control their destiny.

(Top photo: Paul Harding/Getty Images)