On the face of it, a 4-1 Champions League qualifying aggregate victory over BK Hacken seems trouble-free for Arsenal.
Yet that doesn’t tell the full story. The first leg defeat in Sweden had been, as head coach Jonas Eidevall put it, a “backwards step” and even the 4-0 victory in the return leg on Thursday was not entirely straightforward. The opening 20 minutes were tense, with quick turnovers of possession making everything more frantic than Eidevall would have liked, before the hosts got a grip on the tie.
Arsenal will discover their group stage opponents today (12pm UK, 7am ET), with two matchdays a month from October until December. Even if the schedule is more full, reaching the group stage of Europe’s elite competition was a must considering the recruitment Arsenal have made in recent seasons.
Many positions in the squad have quality depth and there is the other reality that Daphne van Domselaar told The Athletic this summer that the club’s run to the semi-finals in the 2022-23 season was a key factor in joining, while star signing Mariona Caldentey arrived having won the competition three times with Barcelona.
Arsenal also benefit financially from reaching the group stages. Clubs receive €300,000 for qualifying and could earn up to the same amount depending on results at this stage (€50,000 for each group win and €17,000 for each draw). After what Leah Williamson called a year of “regret” from failing to qualify last season, making that step this time was essential.
“We needed it tonight. We upped our game, don’t get me wrong we weren’t perfect, but the intensity was a lot better than last week,” Beth Mead said after her volley made it 3-0 on Thursday.
Arsenal celebrate defeating Hacken (Harry Murphy/Getty Images)
“We were motivated. We believed as a team that we could get the result. It was a long day and a bit nerve wracking coming into it, knowing the outcome if we didn’t win. It’s the minimum standard at Arsenal to play in the Champions League group stages regularly, so it was nice to get over the line tonight.”
A burden has been lifted with Arsenal’s Champions League status secured. Last season’s failure to qualify haunted them until they took their aggregate lead through Caldentey late in the first half against Hacken. Now is time for Arsenal to make use of this squad and kick on at their new home.
“We can’t relax, the season starts now for us,” Eidevall said. “We are in all four of the competitions we want to be in and we need to make the most of it.
“The Emirates (where all Arsenal’s Champions League matches will be held) is a European stadium. It deserves Champions League football and when we can deliver that on both the men’s and women’s sides, we give the Emirates the treatment it deserves.”
The player who brought a sense of control for Arsenal on Thursday was one making her first start of the season, Lia Walti. The 31-year-old’s left-footed strike from range was helped over the line by Hacken goalkeeper, Jennifer Falk, but there was much more to the Swiss international’s performance that provided a reminder of how influential she is.
The return of her ‘snake hips’ in midfield saw her evading pressure with ease to help Arsenal gain control while, more importantly, she covered space well and made timely tackles and interceptions to keep her side ticking over.
“Not only the long distance shooting,” Eidevall joked, before explaining why Walti had been given her first start of the season. “The reason for it was it’s really important in the way we were building against Hacken and trying to exploit them that we could have offensive full-backs.
“We needed to balance that against a strong counter-attacking team and we know ‘Wally’ is very good at organising both our attacks and defence. It was basically to get her qualities around balancing counter-pressure but also when we press, to allow Kim Little to be more aggressive.”
A fixture of Arsenal’s midfield since signing in 2018, the defensive side of Walti’s game is often forgotten because of how effective she is with the ball. As well as being able to survive in tight spaces, her ability to play off both feet has made her stand out across the Women’s Super League.
Lia Walti proved her worth against Hacken (Alex Burstow/Arsenal FC via Getty Images)
The last two seasons, and the start of this one, have underlined Arsenal’s long-term planning, with the arrivals of young talented creative midfielders Victoria Pelova (25) and Kyra Cooney-Cross (22), but Walti is still the blueprint when it comes to playing in a deeper role.
“When I was on the bench against Liverpool and Aston Villa, I would watch everything they (Walti and Kim Little) did defensively because the demands are just different.” Pelova told The Athletic last season.
It is a sentiment echoed by Cooney-Cross, who had started all three of Arsenal’s competitive matches before the Hacken win. “That (improving defensively) was definitely one of my goals coming into this season,” she said after the win over Rosenborg earlier this month. “Jonas and Wally have been helping me and I now understand what they want from me, which makes it a lot easier coming into games.”
Importantly, on Thursday this work was not just being done at 0-0 or 1-0. Walti was still alert when Arsenal were 3-0 up, knowing when to drop and anticipate a second ball that needed winning before slowing the tempo of the game down to keep her side in control. Cooney-Cross replaced Walti later in the second half, contributing to the fourth goal with a lovely ball out to Caitlin Foord before Frida Maanum, another regular starter this season, finished for her third of the season.
“I’m very lucky because Kyra has started the season in a tremendous way, but now I can choose to get some other attributes on the pitch,” Eidevall added. “We built the squad to get into this position of competing in the Champions League group stage and the WSL.
“That will become evident for us because the playing schedule is really tough, there will be a lot of travelling and quick turnarounds. That’s why we built the squad with so many great football players, to use them. So we’re ready to play these games.”
(Top photo: Harry Murphy/Getty Images)
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