THE LOWDOWN
Arsenal travel to Crawley to take on Brighton in the Subway League Cup quarter-final on Wednesday evening. It is the Gunners’ first League Cup game of the season as they were given a bye to the quarter-final and excused the group stage due to their participation in the Champions League. The Gunners made short work of Dario Vidosic’s team in November, thrashing them 5-0 at Emirates Stadium.
The winner of the game will play at home to either Manchester United or Manchester City in the semi-final. The Seagulls topped their group above Leicester City, Birmingham City and Bristol City. Brighton have been playing reasonably strong teams in the competition and given they are currently 5th in the WSL, seven points from a Champions League spot and 12 points clear of relegation, it would be unusual for them not to go full strength on this occasion, though they do play away at Manchester United on Sunday evening.
Arsenal have won the last two League Cups, whose sponsorship has now shifted from Continental Tyres to Subway. It will be interesting to see how Renee Slegers uses her squad with away games at Chelsea and Manchester City on the immediate horizon, as well as a rescheduled FA Cup tie against Bristol City.
Players such as Lotte Wubben-Moy, Laia Codina, Lia Walti, Caitlin Foord and Manu Zinsberger, who didn’t start on Sunday, may well come into the team. Arsenal started their season in the earliest UWCL qualifying rounds before negotiating the group stages, so consistent midweek football has been a constant of their season, but the schedule certainly intensifies in the WSL in the coming 10 days.
TEAM NEWS
Stina Blackstenius is expected to return to the squad after missing Sunday’s game will illness. Lina Hurtig will be given a little more time after being given extra time off over Christmas due to the number of muscular injuries she has had in recent seasons. Victoria Pelova and Amanda Ilestedt aren’t far from returning but aren’t ready yet, Ilestedt will return before Pelova.
Available squad
Goalkeepers: 1.Zinsberger 14.van Domselaar 40.Williams
Defenders: 2.Fox 3.Wubben-Moy 5.L.Codina 6.Williamson 7.Catley 11.McCabe 26.Wienroither 62.Reid
Midfielders: 8.Mariona 10.Little(c) 12.L.Maanum 13.Walti 16.Kafaji 32.Cooney-Cross
Forwards: 9.Mead 19.Foord 23.Russo 25.Blackstenius
A WORD FROM THE BOSS
They have a very strong identity, they are very persistent with their style of play and when they do it well they do it really well. They will challenge us and press us really high so we will have to find ways to play out of their pressure. But also they commit a lot of numbers and are very settled in the way they build, so it will be an interesting challenge.
They have changed a little bit, not in possession with the way they play, but a little bit out of possession so that will be a little bit different from the league game. We have a really good squad and the club wanted us to be able to compete in all four competitions and for every game, we look at who is the fittest and strongest and what is the best team for us to play and which partnerships we need on the pitch and we do that for every game.
They have been doing really well at home, they probably feel the benefit of playing at home, that is impressive but we don’t think so much about that. That is not something in our control, we are going to play a game against Brighton tomorrow and we are going to try to beat them, wherever that will be.
LAST TIME OUT
When the teams met in the WSL in November at Emirates Stadium, Arsenal ran out 5-0 winners with goals from Beth Mead, Caitlin Foord, Frida Maanum, Lina Hurtig and Alessia Russo. Last season when the teams met in Crawley in November 2023, Arsenal won 3-0 thanks to goals from Stina Blackstenius, Frida Maanum and Caitlin Foord.
THE OPPOSITION
Having been promoted to the WSL in 2018, Brighton are now attempting to become ‘disruptors’ in the WSL and to challenge the ‘big four.’ With recent signings like Nikita Parris, Fran Kirby and Vicky Losada, they have plenty of top-level experience in their squad but there is still a reality and a ceiling for the WSL ‘disruptor’ clubs. Brighton lost their top scorer from last season, Elisabeth Terland, to Manchester United in the summer.
Dario Vidosic has come to the club with a pledge not to compromise on their high pressing approach but Arsenal pulled it apart very easily at the Emirates, so it will be interesting to see whether they persist in this game or whether they adapt. It’s always an interesting quandary for the WSL’s middle class, do you compromise your game model against the bigger clubs in pursuit of a better short-term result but risk muddying your message long-term?
Of course, conditions at Crawley will not be quite as favourable as they were at the Emirates in November, but Arsenal do have a good record at the Broadfield Stadium, save, of course, for a 0-0 draw and a penalty shootout defeat in the Conti Cup group stages in November 2019. Brighton are comfortably midtable in the WSL, there is the carrot of a home tie in the semi-final, they should go for this with everything they have.
PLAYER TO WATCH
Caitlin Foord started on the bench against Crystal Palace on Sunday. Arsenal had a plan to attack down their right-hand side with fast combination play and trying to drag Palace’s centre-backs out of position. That assignment was better suited to Beth Mead on the day but Foord, with her penchant for holding the width and engaging full-backs, made a real difference when she was introduced on 57 minutes.
Foord has been a key attacker for the Gunners this season because her profile offers variety and consistency and, if anything, her cameo probably sealed her status as a regular starter. She will likely return to the team on Wednesday and we saw at the game at the Emirates that Brighton’s wide players had real issues tracking back.
Foord has also formed strong relationships with Emily Fox on the right and already has existing on-pitch relationships with Catley and McCabe. In other words, no matter the composition of the team, Caitlin has few issues slotting in on the right or left flanks and offers a strong counter-balance to either Mead or Mariona on the opposite flank. A team needs its glue players and Foord is one of Arsenal’s most adhesive.
PREDICTED LINE UP
Subs: 2.Fox 8.Mariona 10.Little 11.McCabe 14.van Domselaar 16.Kafaji 23.Russo 26.Wienroither 62.Reid
HOW TO CATCH THE GAME
The match takes place at the Broadfield Stadium at 7.15pm on Wednesday evening. It will be streamed live on the Barclays WSL YouTube channel.
COMING UP
We will have every word of Renee Slegers’ post-match press conference on the site around an hour after the final whistle, as well as Aidan Gibson’s on the whistle match report.
