Hello, Arsenal Women aficionados!
Our beloved team is having a mixed week, so far, and I cannot say I feel confident going into the third game of the last seven days.
The two-nil win against Aston Villa on Sunday, courtesy of second half goals from Stina Blackstenius and Kim Little, made sure that the Gunners made it to the last sixteen of the FA Cup, but the real hammer blow came on Wednesday, when Manchester United came to Meadow Park and won one-nil, effectively ending any hope to grab an eight League Cup trophy and extend our lead as the most decorated club in the competition.
With a much-dreaded trip to Stamford Bridge awaiting and the morale presumably low after the defeat against Manchester United, it is fair to assume that the players will have a lot of work to do to pick themselves up and go again against the reigning champions.
Saturday could be a pivotal moment in Arsenal season, not necessarily for the immediate hopes of winning a first title since 2019 but to shape the rest of the campaign – especially in Europe. The Arsenal Women team has three objectives remaining, this season: qualify for next year’s UWCL, go as far as possible in this year’s UWCL and bring home a record-setting 15th FA Cup trophy that would see Arsenal Women surpass the men’s team for the most FA Cup triumphs.
Team " data-image-caption data-medium-file="https://gunnerstown.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/Team-450x302.png" data-large-file="https://gunnerstown.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/Team-780x523.png" class="wp-image-50017" src="https://gunnerstown.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/Team-780x523.png" alt="Team" srcset="https://gunnerstown.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/Team-780x523.png 780w, https://gunnerstown.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/Team-450x302.png 450w, https://gunnerstown.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/Team-200x134.png 200w, https://gunnerstown.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/Team-768x515.png 768w, https://gunnerstown.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/Team.png 994w" sizes="(max-width: 780px) 100vw, 780px">
Photo courtesy of Arsenal.com
Winning against Chelsea or at least showing that they can go toe-to-toe with Sonia Bompastor’s team, will rejuvenate the players and change the mood around the team, making it more likely to achieve the remaining targets. This team has already showed multiple times how strongly they can bounce back from difficult situations, so I should probably be a bit more optimistic for the upcoming big day, but it is hard to ignore all the scars left by the past campaigns.
KIM LITTLE SUCCESSION PLAN CAN WAIT (A LITTLE BIT MORE)
The home win against Aston Villa brought several positives, the most important being Kim Little’s standout performance in the middle of the park. The captain left the pitch with a goal and an assist under her name, and the clear feeling that she is not done yet. Rumours are flying about Arsenal Women trying to lure Georgia Stanway to London, and while she would be a massive signing for the club, I don’t agree with suggestions that she would come in and take Kim Little’s place in the starting XI.
Not immediately, at least.
The former Scotland international isn’t exactly a youngster anymore, but her footballing IQ and experience are still invaluable to the team, especially with Kyra Cooney-Cross still adapting to her new role and new status, and both Mariona Caldentey and Victoria Pelova more at home in advanced positions.
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Photo courtesy of Arsenal.com
With Lia Wälti gone, Kim Little is the only option currently available to Renée Slegers to sit deep and build-up play, and that’s unlikely to change even if Georgia Stanway steps in. The former Manchester City midfielder is the archetypal box-to-box player, whose attacking instincts are best suited alongside a midfield anchor, and doesn’t truly excel as the primary outlet to build-up play from deep positions. Instead, she is wonderful at finding spaces between the lines and progressing the ball through carries and dribbles.
With Arsenal Women now playing with a double-pivot in midfield rather than an inverted pyramid, Georgia Stanway and Mariona Caldentey (whose contract has been extended to 2027) would have to take turns to come deep and collect the ball – with all the risks that this strategy carries. Mariona Caldentey is probably better suited to act like a deep-lying midfielder, but she doesn’t have the defensive nous – and consistency- showed by Kim Little.
Kim Little’s reign is not over yet!
RINSE AND REPEAT. RINSE AND REPEAT.
Should have scored. Should have won. It’s getting boring, isn’t it? Another day goes and we are left to rue missed chances and avoidable mistakes. Everyone makes mistakes, of course, but the number of goals we gifted to our opponents is becoming unbearable.
This time it was Anne Borbe’s turn to take the centre stage: the German goalkeeper made a terrible pass just to Mariona Caldentey just outside the penalty box, with three Manchester United players chasing the Spain midfielder. The former Barcelona player managed to briefly win the ball back, but she was then surrounded and dispossessed, then Terland scored from the subsequent shot.
The goalkeeper made amends later in the game, preventing Malard from scoring a second with a few minutes left, but that mistake was the difference between getting to the League Cup final or crashing out. To be fair, that was one of the mistakes, not the only mistake: before and after that, Arsenal Women had plenty of opportunities to take the lead or equalise, but Frida Maanum (skied the ball from four yards out) and Alessia Russo (couldn’t hit the target from three yards out) couldn’t convert their chances, while Olivia Smith was sent off for a completely avoidable second yellow card with thirty minutes to go.
There is a finite number of mistakes one can make and still blame it on bad luck, and it seems that Arsenal Women have passed it since a long time.
Katie " data-image-caption data-medium-file="https://gunnerstown.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/Katie-1-450x301.png" data-large-file="https://gunnerstown.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/Katie-1-780x521.png" class="wp-image-50020 lazyload" alt="Katie" data-sizes="(max-width: 780px) 100vw, 780px" src="https://gunnerstown.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/Katie-1-780x521.png" srcset="https://gunnerstown.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/Katie-1-780x521.png 780w, https://gunnerstown.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/Katie-1-450x301.png 450w, https://gunnerstown.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/Katie-1-200x134.png 200w, https://gunnerstown.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/Katie-1-768x513.png 768w, https://gunnerstown.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/Katie-1.png 994w">
Photo courtesy of Arsenal.com
NEXT UP
Chelsea awaits, ladies and gentlemen.
At this stage, I don’t know whether I should look forward for yet another back-to-the-wall, once-in-a-lifetime performance from the Arsenal Women team, or if I should hope that the result won’t be too harsh.
Now, I am not saying that Chelsea will surely batter Arsenal, but I am genuinely worried that going to Stamford Bridge at this specific time could be a bit too much to handle for a team short of confidence and self-esteem. I will surely be proved wrong, and I will be glad to sound like a fool, but I am struggling to see any upside in facing a Chelsea side that has lost only one home game in years right on the back of a lost League Cup semi-final.
Speak to you soon!
Logo Twitter - 21-22 - Trasparente
Italian living in Switzerland, Gooner since mid-nineties, when the Gunners defeated my hometown team, in Copenhagen. I started my own blog and podcast (www.clockenditalia.com) after after some experiences with Italian websites and football magazines. Covering Arsenal Women with the occasional rant about the boys.
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