Another game, another struggle in front of a fairly meat and potatoes low block and at this point, it is difficult to know what to say or how to say it. One can only repeat oneself so often. 27 shots on target for Arsenal but only four on target. Another game where, by the manager’s own admission, the ball circulation was excruciatingly slow and another game where Arsenal are unpicked by a counter attack that exposes their left side.
After the game, Blues manager Amy Merricks confirmed that their rapid winger Oceane Hurtre was switched from the left wing to the right wing to target Arsenal’s left side. There was more than a note of anger in Slegers’ voice when she accentuated, ‘that’s the one player we needed to stop and we didn’t in that moment. And then we end up in a scenario again where we have to chase it. So yeah, a lot of frustration.’
More than once, Slegers, usually so protective and nurturing of her players, expressed a sense of annoyance at her team in her post-match press conference. ‘I think in the first half, it’s hard for us to build momentum because I think the tempo needed to be higher and the basics in everything, in the duelling positional detail, all the ball basics, I think we turn it over at times and then we lose momentum. So that takes energy for the team, physically and mentally.’
When invited to laud Olivia Smith for her superb equaliser, Slegers tinged her praise with a rare note of criticism, ‘she can do those moments for us, but she also needs to be consistent in the basics. So there’s still a lot of growth areas for her, which she knows about. So she needs to continue to work hard, but the talent that she has, like I said, a couple of days ago, it’s the best I’ve seen probably in women’s football.’
These felt like ‘mask slipping’ moments and I don’t mean that in a critical way of Renee per se, in the wake of the Paris FC game I wrote that it was time we saw angry Renee. On this occasion the post-match press conference happened sooner than I thought it would, with Slegers not opting to take some time for counsel before speaking to the written press. Her frustration was palpable.
My second question to Renee post-match asked, specifically, whether this situation is fixable. A post international break game at home to newly promoted Birmingham, where players had gone away with their countries, scored lots of goals and cleared their heads and where Arsenal’s coaching staff had a fortnight to plan, felt like it should have been a new start of sorts. (Even if I understand why a lot of fans found that difficult to be enthusiastic about that).
Alas, it was the same old story. The first half saw 76% possession equate to just eight shots, only one of which was on target. Russo’s header that hit the inside of the post was really the only proper spark. The problem is not necessarily that Russo didn’t convert. Most chances are not converted. Most attacks do not result in shots, let alone goals. The problem is that it was one of the only chances of its kind for Arsenal during the half. They did get some joy attacking the back post, Baum and Wubben-Moy went close with headers from that position in the second half.
Ultimately, there is very little consensus among fans as to what is actually wrong because it’s difficult to peel back the layers and try to guess what the the process is. If you look at it from a remove, what is this Arsenal team? What is it trying to do? How would you explain it tactically to someone who had never watched them before? Do they press well? Do they pass well? Are they fast? Are they technical? Are they direct?
Based on this season I can’t answer any of those questions. There is a reason I have not written a match analysis piece in some weeks now, I can’t really find any interesting detail. Renee’s testiness with some of her answers reminds me a little of when Joe Montemurro’s Arsenal lost 2-1 away at Manchester City in December 2020. After an absolute second half battering, City scored a last minute winner when Caroline Weir dispossessed van de Donk on the edge of the area to score.
I asked Joe whether he was frustrated by the fact that van de Donk did not simply hack the ball clear so that the final whistle could go and Arsenal escape with a draw, ‘We had the opportunity to manage the game and clear our lines and we didn’t do it…I can’t kick the ball for them- the players have to make those decisions on the pitch and we had opportunities to clear the area and we’ve got world class players who have played in World Cups and big games making decisions in those situations, what more can I say?’
I knew then it was over for Joe. He was never critical of players in that way. When managers that do not criticise players in public allow frustration to lead to a change in policy, it is rarely due to one game or one moment. It’s dark matter that has built up over time. When it comes to a manager’s future, the question is naturally ‘what is the case for making a change now?’ At some point, that question flips and becomes, ‘what is the case for keeping things the same?’