THE LOWDOWN
Arsenal play Everton at Emirates Stadium at 7pm on Wednesday in the WSL for their last home game of the season. The Gunners need four points from their final games at home to Everton and away at Liverpool to guarantee second place and qualification straight into the group phase for next season’s Champions League.
While the points are the most important thing, a big focus for this game will be on some of the players who will play in front of the Arsenal crowd for the final time as Gunners players. The departures of goalkeepers Manu Zinsberger and Naomi Williams were announced last week, they have been followed this week by Laia Codina, Victoria Pelova and club legend Beth Mead.
Mead, in particular, has made Emirates Stadium her garden over the years and supporters would love to see one last Mead goal on the hallowed turf before she departs for Manchester City this summer. Arsenal will also want to build on the good performance we saw at Villa Park at the weekend where the Gunners won 3-0 and could have easily won by more.
It’s been a congested end to the season with rearranged games against Aston Villa and this game due to qualifying for the Champions League semi-finals, the Leicester home game was rearranged due to participation in the FIFA Champions Cup and the Brighton away game was initially postponed. Two more good performances, two more wins and a guarantee of Champions League football ought not to be beyond this group.
TEAM NEWS
Steph Catley isn’t quite ready to return after a calf injury but has a chance for the game against Liverpool on Saturday. Leah Williamson returns after missing the games at Brighton and Villa. Katie McCabe returns after missing the Aston Villa game owing to a family matter. Manu Zinsberger, Katie Reid and Michelle Agyemang are out with ACL injuries and Kyra Cooney-Cross is on compassionate leave.
Goalkeepers: 13.Votikova 14.van Domselaar 28.Borbe 40.Williams
Defenders: 2.Fox 3.Wubben-Moy 5.L.Codina 6.Williamson 11.McCabe 24.Hinds 31.Holmberg
Midfielders: 8.Mariona 10.Little 12.L.Maanum 21.Pelova
Forwards: 9.Mead 15.Smith 18.Kelly 19.Foord 23.Russo 25.Blackstenius
A WORD FROM THE BOSS
‘If I look at the football, I think technically it’s on a high level. I think teams are showing versatility. So that’s not teams just doing one thing, but teams can adapt. I’ve seen a lot of teams adapting in really interesting ways. So I found this season fun. It challenged me as well and inspired me to think in different ways and find different solutions. So I’d say that’s been what impressed me the most with the league, if you look at all the teams together.
‘Every single time when you walk out, when you see the fans at the Emirates singing all the songs and the connection they’ve created with our players, the way they support our players, it’s the best and I enjoy it every single time. But also the away games, if you look at the fans at Villa Park this weekend, it was incredible.
‘They were so loud and just giving us so much energy. And yeah, I think that the moments that I enjoy the most is when I see players and fans connecting. That’s what it’s all about for me, that we can give them something and they give us something back and that synergy, that’s it. It’s a special place, Emirates, Arsenal and the fans are a big part of it.’
LAST TIME OUT
When the teams met at Goodison Park in December, Arsenal ran out 3-1 winners. Katie McCabe gave Arsenal the lead before an equaliser from Honoka Hayashi. Alessia Russo quickly restored the lead before Olivia Smith wrapped up the points in the second half.
THE OPPOSITION
In February, Everton parted company with manager Brian Sorensen- who has since moved into a Technical Director role at Aston Villa- and they have been coached by interim Scott Phelan ever since. He oversaw an immediate uptick in results in the WSL, winning his first three league games against London City Lionesses, West Ham and Spurs.
For the Toffees, gaps in the schedule are an issue coming into this game- the opposite issues encountered by their hosts. They have played just once since the end of March, a 4-1 defeat at home to Chelsea on April 26th. The Toffees currently sit 8th in the WSL which has been roughly par for them in this division in recent years.
At the outset of the WSL, Everton were Arsenal’s biggest title challengers and even defeated them in the 2010 FA Cup Final. There was a greater investment in players last summer with the club under new ownership, though they have been plagued by injuries this season. They have inherited Goodison Park after the men’s team moved to the Hill Dickinson Stadium this season.
PLAYER TO WATCH
While the likes of Zinsberger, Williams, Codina and Pelova can expect a warm goodbye from the Emirates crowd, Beth Mead’s final home game in an Arsenal shirt will yield a lot of emotion and the majority of the attention on the night. Beth has given absolutely everything for the club for over nine years and her output has been incredibly high.
The home crowd will be willing her to score in a stadium where she has already provided do many memorable moments. A lot of Arsenal fans are Arsenal fans because of Beth and her involvement in the explosion of crowd sizes in recent years is not to be underestimated. It will be difficult to see her in a Manchester City shirt but that is something fans can and will worry about later.
Mead has never struggled for the adoration of the match going fan base and she will get her flowers on Wednesday. It would be wonderful and fitting to seal her farewell with a goal. She has two goals and five assists so far this season which feels low by her standards, it would be great to see those numbers inflated at Everton’s expense on Wednesday. It is just a shame that the game is being played on a weeknight.
MY PREDICTED LINE UP
Subs: 6.Williamson 10.Little 13.Votikova 14.van Domselaar 15.Smith 18.Kelly 24.Hinds 25.Blackstenius 31.Holmberg
HOW TO CATCH THE GAME
The game takes place at Emirates Stadium and kicks off at 7pm on Wednesday. The game will be broadcast live on Sky Sports in the UK. Full global listings are available here.
COMING UP
We will post the line-ups around an hour before kickoff, we will have Aidan Gibson’s on the whistle match report and every word from Renee Slegers’ post-match press conference on the site around an hour after full-time. Don’t forget to sign up to our free Arsenal Women Weekly Newsletter.