Arsenal went back to the top of the WSL with a 3-0 away win at Reading thanks to goals from Kim Little and a brace from Vivianne Miedema. Tim Stillman caught up with Gunners boss Joe Montemurro after the game exclusively for Arseblog News.
On the performance…
Every time we come here it’s difficult, this is a team that doesn’t give you any time to rest on the ball. The goals came at the right times for us and we had to adapt a bit today, we had to play a bit un-Arsenal and be a bit more direct. But we came here to get the points and that was the most important thing.
On Kim Little’s wonder goal for 2-0…
You guys are the ones that pick the goal of the season, I don’t pick those things. Every week there’s a goal of the season, but this one is a credit to the team because we work a lot on set plays, we work a lot on corners and free-kicks and this was worked from a corner and they got into a goalscoring position and that’s what we work at a lot.
? “Playing football the Arsenal way!” ?
Simply world class from #CaptainLittle ? pic.twitter.com/VtxJ20T1xK
— Arsenal Women (@ArsenalWFC) December 8, 2019
On Viki Schnaderbeck playing at left-back…
Katie (McCabe) isn’t quite ready yet and we need to give Mitch some more minutes to get her into the rhythm before she can start. But the idea was to overload on one side and have a more defensive full-back on the left so we could drag Reading to one side and find space that way. That’s exactly how the first goal came about, we opened up some space on the right which was great.
On Reading playing a high pressing game…
We were prepared for that, we know they press quite high. We weren’t smart enough in the first half in going beyond the press a little bit earlier or making the distances a little bit longer, we were a little bit short with the distances and they probably should have gone 1-0 up when they stole the ball at the start.
On leaving the team in the hands of Leanne Hall and Aaron D’Antino while Joe returns to Australia for personal reasons…
No worries at all, Aaron and Leanne will do the match days but we have such a lot of great staff here, from Rose, Gary, to Fran and Owen, they’re all fantastic and we’re prepared for next week’s game, which is a massive one for us at Everton.
Joe Montemurro won’t be in the dugout for upcoming games against London Bees and Everton, he’ll return to Australia for personal reasons. The team will be taken by @LeannehallSGK and @ABDAntino. My understanding is that Joe will take the game tomorrow.
— Tim Stillman (@Stillberto) December 7, 2019
On Reading not allowing Arsenal to control the second half…
It was messy from our perspective, it got messy. But when a team plays long, early and the distances get long, it’s hard to get the ball down and play. They didn’t allow us to do that, they pretty much bypassed our midfield every time. We can’t always play the football that we want to play, we have to be logical and realistic coming to places like this, these are good teams and the games are hard. They didn’t allow us to play but we had to adapt and we did that well.
On keeping a clean sheet…
I don’t think Reading had many opportunities, they had that one in the first half when Manu makes a brilliant save. There were lots of crosses and lots of corners, but nothing centrally and we were quite happy to defend the crosses.
Aha…..Joe’s cunning stunt with the back 3 explained….a few of us in the stand were pondering that one. After a few early wobbles, showed what an intelligent player like Viki S can do. Great goals, 3 points, ’nuff said.
What a coach!…. Just the way he analyse makes you know you have a special coach.. Our male first team needs a special coach
Vivianne Miedema = Legend…..if TH14 is the King, then VM11 is the Queen, we’ve had some legends in this club (Kelli Smith, Alex Scott etc) but Viv is on another level right now, frankly this team is playing on another level, they won’t win all their games but they are a joy to watch, they have just gelled into a heck of a unit, exceptional players, and Viv over there just banging them in, cold-hearted af, she doesn’t take no prisoners. And to think Dan Carter is not even back yet, when she hits top form we all know its… Read more »
Another great win!
That second goal by Little was special! Good win vs Reading who made us fight hard for the win. COYG!
Sure was. The sort of goal the men’s team used to score when they were this good.
third goal was good too cross field diagonal and lovely chip over keeper well done ladies ps tell the boys how you do it
A very, very good performance. Patience, continuing to play our game and work it out in the periods in the 1st half when Reading were on top. Little’s goal was sublime, DvD’s pass timing for Meidema’s brace equally impressive (as was Viv’s finishing). Props to Jen as well. Nothing was getting past her.
Yeah Ladies
That goal has Arsenal DNA written all over it! Men’s team should take a page from the women’s team. That’s the kind of football that made me fall in love with Arsenal
Montemurro seems to have everything to be Arsenal men’ team manager. He is great at squad management, he makes wise tactical desicions, and women’s team is playing real Arsenal football!
Although short corners can be frustrating from time to time, we have scored some absolute beauty’s from them this season. This one, Viv vs Brighton and Beth vs Charlton.
Its great to be in the stand (just behind the dugout) observing Joe and the others doing their stuff on the side and, of course, soaking up the atmosphere and the raw conditions! That blustery wind and driving rain down the Wye combe together with Readings tough, rough “in yer face” approach certainly gave Joe and the team something to think about particularly in the first half. Reading could and should have been ahead early on but our current day Invincibles have a resilience and VM11 & KL10 to strike back and put away two classic Arsenal goals. Fair play… Read more »