THE LOWDOWN
Arsenal face Manchester United at a sold out Emirates Stadium on Saturday lunchtime in a crunch WSL match up. The Gunners defeat at West Ham a fortnight ago and their narrow FA Cup defeat at home to Manchester City last weekend have tipped the season into ‘unsatisfactory’ territory for a club of Arsenal’s stature.
They clambered back on the horse with a 4-0 Conti Cup quarter-final win over Championship strugglers London City Lionesses on Wednesday night but, in truth, anything less than that would have seen more questions asked. Arsenal currently sit in third place and the final Champions League qualification spot.
United are fourth and four points behind. A win for Arsenal and they can very much look up in the table, especially as Manchester City and Chelsea meet at Kingsmeadow on Friday evening meaning one or both drop points. Lose to United and it will create a tug of war with United for the final UWCL qualification spot. In truth, a defeat will also set off even further questions from the fan base too.
Arsenal owe United too, they haven’t beaten them in the WSL since October 2021 and haven’t beaten them at home under Jonas Eidevall, the last home victory coming in March 2021 at Meadow Park. The game will also be notable for both centre-forwards playing against their former club, Alessia Russo for Arsenal and Nikita Parris for United.
TEAM NEWS
Jonas Eidevall says that Vivianne Miedema is in contention for the squad after two games out with knee irritation, while Caitlin Foord should be ok after going off with a knock on Wednesday evening which Eidevall said was a precaution. Amanda Ilestedt ought to return from illness. Emily Fox (Gold Cup), Lina Hurtig (back), Laura Wienroither and Teyah Goldie (ACL) are out, while Cloe Lacasse and Sabrina D’Angelo are involved for the final time before joining up with Canada for the Gold Cup.
Available squad
GOALKEEPERS: 1.Zinsberger 14.D’Angelo 40.Williams 86.Bouhaddi
DEFENDERS: 3.Wubben-Moy 6.Williamson 7.Catley 15.McCabe 27.Codina 28.Ilestedt
MIDFIELDERS: 10.Little 12.Maanum 21.Pelova 32.Cooney-Cross 53.Lia
FORWARDS: 9.Mead 11.Miedema 19.Foord 23.Russo 24.Lacasse 25.Blackstenius
A WORD FROM THE BOSS
‘I spend very little time looking at the table and making different scenarios. I spend a lot of time trying to optimise out performance on Saturday and that is where we put our focus and of course we have the mindset to try to win the game. The next game is never the same as the last one and that is a thing you learn as a coach and as a team. We have had tough games against United but we have a very clear mindset on what we need to do on Saturday to bring the performance needed to win the game.
‘Geyse and Nikita Parris are excellent players, Geyse is an excellent one v one player and has flair and skill. Nikita is a really, really good team player who works tremendously hard in offence and defence. She was a really, really good player to work with at Arsenal. Even if I don’t hope she is successful tomorrow, it is one of those players who I wish every bit of success because she always gives her very best for the team and those players always deserve success.’
LAST TIME OUT
When the teams met in October it was a 2-2 draw at Leigh Sports Village, with Stina Blackstenius giving Arsenal the lead before goals from Leah Galton and Malvine Malard for United, Cloe Lacasse hit a superb stoppage time equaliser to salvage the draw. In the reverse fixture last season, United ran out 3-2 winners. Ella Toone gave United a first half lead, which Frida Maanum and Laura Wienroither reversed before late headers from Millie Turner and Alessia Russo gave United the points.
Lacasse stoppage-time SCREAMER! ☄️ | Manchester United 2-2 Arsenal | WSL Highlights – YouTube
THE OPPOSITION
After a season that saw them finish 2nd in the WSL and runners-up in the FA Cup, United really looked to have broken the ‘big three’ hegemony of Arsenal, Chelsea and Manchester City last season. However, some of the elements that underpinned that season- few injuries, a very consistent line-up, players like Ona Batlle and Alessia Russo- have not been present this time around.
United lost Russo to Arsenal and world class full-back Ona Batlle to Barcelona during the summer, while speculation continues over the future of goalkeeper Mary Earps. Injuries have taken far more of a toll this season while Marc Skinner has tried to replace key pillars from last season’s team. Left-back Gabby George was an excellent signing from Everton but she tore her ACL early on in the campaign.
United have found more of a rhythm in recent weeks with Brazilian winger Geyse, who very nearly joined Arsenal in the summer of 2022, on the right hand side with former Gunner Nikita Parris starting upfront. Parris now has eight goals in her last nine games and has flourished with the tricky Brazilian to her right.
PLAYER TO WATCH
Clearly, the narrative demands that all eyes are on Alessia Russo against her former club. Russo scored the winning goal against Arsenal three times during her United career and also notched in a 1-1 draw two seasons ago. While she will be in for a hot reception from the away end, Russo is just not the sort of character to be drawn into that sort of melodrama.
However, I found Jonas Eidevall’s comments on her goal against LCL on Wednesday evening fascinating, he told Arseblog News, ‘We create a really good crossing situation and Lessi is great in that whole attack and has sixty seconds of perfect positioning as a 9. She only touches the ball once and that’s when she scores.’
Arsenal knew the player they were buying and Russo’s ability to drop deep and link play is world class. However, I think there is a clear desire to get her into the penalty area far more often and sometimes to leave the build-up play to the very capable players behind her- especially as she is so lethal in the air- as Arsenal found to their cost several times when she wore the United shirt.
PREDICTED LINE UP
Subs: 11.Miedema 12.Maanum 14.D’Angelo 24.Lacasse 25.Blackstenius 27.Codina 28.Ilestedt 32.Cooney-Cross 86.Bouhaddi
HOW TO WATCH
The game takes place on Saturday at 12.30pm at Emirates Stadium and will be shown live on Sky Sports.
COMING UP
We will have every word from Jonas Eidevall’s post-match press conference on the site on Saturday afternoon, as well as the usual on the whistle match report. Hopefully you saw our preview podcast too with All for United WFC’s Conner Roberts. And don’t forget to subscribe to our free Arsenal Women newsletter on Substack.
COYGG
Good luck, girls! I’m so excited about tomorrow.
Our weak spot is McCabe being played at RB, especially if Geyse swaps flanks. Otherwise I’m quietly confident Jonas will finally overcome his curse against Utd.
With City currently beating Chelsea (which would be a FANTASTIC result, if they hold on), a win here could be so crucial for many reasons. Let’s hope the girls can deliver tomorrow.