THE LOWDOWN
Arsenal play the second leg of their UWCL qualifier at home to Hacken chasing a 1-0 deficit on Thursday evening at Meadow Park. The winner of the tie will go into the group stages of the Champions League and Arsenal can’t afford to miss out on that for the second year in a row.
Arsenal boss Jonas Eidevall admitted that the first leg in Gothenburg represented ‘a step backwards’ in terms of performances, especially against low blocks. Hacken don’t traditionally play in a low block at all but whether by design or force of Arsenal attacks, they played the second half of the first leg in that manner and Arsenal struggled.
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Jonas Eidevall did also insist, ‘We know what went wrong and how to put it right’ but the proof will be in the pudding on Thursday evening. The Swedes did not have a fixture over the weekend so have been able to put all of their effort and resource into this game, while the Gunners negotiated a tough assignment at home to Manchester City.
Arsenal’s high press was pretty lacklustre in the first leg. Hacken take risks with the ball when playing out from the back but do so precisely because they want to tempt the opponent onto them and Arsenal looked a little unnerved by that approach. I fully expect to see a much more intense and ‘at it’s Arsenal on Thursday evening.
TEAM NEWS
Steph Catley is still out with a muscle injury while Leah Williamson misses out due to concussion protocol. Lina Hurtig is back in full training but isn’t considered ready to be in the squad yet. Victoria Pelova (ACL) is out, as is Amanda Ilestedt who is on maternity leave.
Squad
Goalkeepers: 1.Zinsberger 14.van Domselaar 40.Williams
Defenders: 2.Fox 3.Wubben-Moy 5.L.Codina 11.McCabe 26.Wienroither 62.Reid
Midfielders: 10.Little 12.Maanum 13.Walti 16.Kafaji 22.Kuhl 32.Cooney-Cross 61.Harbert
Forwards: 8.Mariona 9.Mead 19.Foord 23.Russo 25.Blackstenius 53.Lia 56.Godfrey
A WORD FROM THE BOSS
‘I am responsible for the team’s results and I’m optimistic about our chances this season. I don’t think anyone puts more pressure on me than I do on myself. I have really high expectations and demands on myself, and for the team. I see us as a Champions League team. We need to be in the group stage and that is our ambition.
‘If we don’t qualify tomorrow, I will consider that a failure. We need to qualify for the group stage. Even if we had made the group stage last season, that wouldn’t have changed the expectations this season. We need to get into the group stage and that’s what we should do. We were the better team against Manchester City and we need to draw some confidence from that. It’s a totally different game tomorrow.
‘It’s knock-out football and we need to be prepared for that. In the league we need to win all the time, when we play. We don’t know what game is going to be the deciding one, but potentially every single one is deciding. It’s the same thing when you go into the Champions League. It’s not a new mindset for me or for the team. There’s not such a thing as one game being more or less important than another. We are representing The Arsenal, we need to win every time we step on the pitch. Tomorrow is no different to that, next week against Leicester too.’
LAST TIME OUT
Hacken won the first leg 1-0 thanks to a second half goal from Tabby Tindell. Away goals no longer count in UEFA competitions so if the tie is level on aggregate after 90 minutes, extra-time and, if necessary, penalties will be used to separate the teams.
THE OPPOSITION
Hacken play a brand of football very similar to Everton in the WSL. They take risks playing out from the back and like to keep the ball around the edge of the area to try to attract the opponent onto them. At the point that they attract enough of the opposition into those central spaces, they like to hit the ball quickly into space.
They caught Arsenal out a couple of times with this in the first leg and it was where their goal came from. They passed the ball around the back, attracted Arsenal onto them and then switched the ball quickly to their right wing. They created an identical chance a few minutes earlier doing the exact same thing.
Häcken head coach Mak Lind on the second leg:
"Arsenal need to perform in the league. I hope the [Arsenal v Man City] match is intense so they wear themselves out. We’re off this weekend, and we only have the return leg against Arsenal to focus on.
Arsenal need to score two… pic.twitter.com/QBGJSK8Wad
— matterofarsenal (@matterofarsenal) September 19, 2024
In the second half of the first leg, Hacken did go into a low block, which is unusual for them. It will be interesting to see whether they repeat that approach from the off in this game with the one goal lead. I expect them to start much more in their own style but, if the game drags on with their advantage in tact, that they will eventually go into a low block.
PLAYER TO WATCH
Caitlin Foord won her place back in the team on the right hand side on Sunday, with Foord starting the game and Mead finishing it. I suspect Jonas Eidevall might be attracted to the idea of doing something similar again. Foord has looked strong on the right side this season with Mariona taking more of the creative burden on the left.
In the last three games against Rosenborg, Hacken and Manchester City there has been a sense of Arsenal not being clinical enough with their chances. Foord’s four goal salvo in the first round game against Rangers is the best show of ruthless finishing shown by an Arsenal player since Russo’s double against Washington Spirit in August.
Foord has played really well, as she always does when it comes to serving the structure of the team. But Arsenal need to score more goals this season and they certainly need goals in this tie. All of the forwards need to deliver more in the final action.
PREDICTED LINE UP
Subs: 9.Mead 13.Walti 14.van Domselaar 16.Kafaji 22.Kuhl 25.Blackstenius 26.Wienroither 40.Williams 53.Lia 56.Godfrey 62.Reid
HOW TO CATCH THE GAME
The game takes place at Meadow Park at 7.30pm on Thursday evening and will be streamed live on Arsenal.com.
COMING UP
We will have every word of Jonas Eidevall’s press conference published on the site soon after the final whistle, as well as our usual on the whistle match report from Aidan Gibson.
