Sky Sports columnist Laura Hunter breaks down the talking points from the second round of Women’s Super League matches, bringing you closer to the top stories at the heart of the women’s game.
Slegers’ ‘excellent margins’ defense failed to stand up
Renee Slegers has had to put a brave face on things for the past two weeks. Arsenal are winless in each of their last four league games, their worst start to a season since 2014. Judging by their alarming league position, it paints an even bleaker picture.
There isn’t much that can be defended about such an under-performance, despite Slegers’ constant claim that her side are falling to great advantage. This argument becomes less and less plausible the longer such stagnant performance continues.
Perhaps it even lost its legitimacy completely when Slegers later accepted defeat by Man City that the club will use the upcoming international break to organize a comprehensive review of “not just what we see on match day, but everything behind the scenes”. She added: “We must turn every stone.”
Small margins tend not to require such an investigation. To suggest that Arsenal have struggled so far certainly misses the point. Not enough changes to arrest such a talented team from its current plight. If they were, many stones could be saved from the scraping that Slegers has promised during these next two weeks.
In reality, Arsenal appear to be suffering a crisis of confidence, a self-doubt that is particularly noticeable in the pressure moments of big games. It is a multifaceted problem with serious consequences.
Lisa Baum provided Exhibit A within three minutes of kick-off at the Etihad on Sunday, fending off Niamh Charles’ advances as she did so many times throughout the game, only to curl in an effort near the post instead of returning the ball to Alessia Russo for a strike.
In isolation, that poor decision is easy to atone for. Baum is new to the league; a young, dynamic winger eager to impress. Having created the chance, she had every right to take the shot on herself. But picking the low-probability option seems to be a trend that is hurting Arsenal in the final third.
It happened again when Georgia Stanway played a fantastic pass to Emily Fox on the right and she tried to beat Ayaka Yamashita from an impossible angle. If she was a fraction of a second late, Russo was making a smart run on Jade Rose’s blind side and would be free at the back post.
Stanway’s off target from 30 yards shortly after had the same hallmarks, and so a problem becomes a pattern and that cycle of uncertainty is destroying Arsenal’s chances of winning games.
Arsenal have simply lost all nuance. The numbers back this up. Their xG differential is the worst in the division, their conversion rate equally dismal. Shots are being grabbed as desperation sets in, doubt following the patterns of play Arsenal are so familiar with.
This was not a margin of error. Man City have killers in their ranks. Arsenal don’t. The actual conditioning of each side, broken down, is actually pretty grim. Nothing about the way City operate under Andree Jeglertz is off limits. They play with a full range of motion and balanced flow through the third when advancing the ball. Each stage has a purpose.
Jeglertz helped the Slegers after the match, calling Arsenal a “big football team”, but also made a point of praising his side’s “very fluid” attacking play, adding “we score in different ways”.
Arsenal’s creative paralysis doesn’t allow this, scoring twice due to mistakes attributed to City’s defence. Though Russo provided a timely reminder of her finishing quality in the second half. Her first domestic campaign goal is perhaps something to build on; she is one of many with bigger form problems than any day off can take responsibility for.
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Alessia Russo’s superb strike put Arsenal ahead against Manchester City in their Women’s Super League clash.
Slegers and her coaching staff have serious work to do; The toughest examination of her tenure at Arsenal so far lies in the next block of games. The north London derby is at the end of this month.
The Dutchman has cultivated an obviously strong bond with her squad and, more importantly, retains the support of the club despite not being able to deliver consistent results at the moment. Arsenal’s stance is not expected to change during this international window.
However, the time for a reality check is now. No more talking about great margins. Arsenal need big impact from this break and a more deliberate way of accepting responsibility for what has already gone wrong in order to find a way back.
The gap to leaders Man City is anything but small or good. That’s a whopping 10 points.
