Introduction:

As Arsenal play out their final fixtures of the WSL season, they came up against Leicester City at the Emirates. Arsenal looked to carry on playing with confidence after their dominant 5-0 victory against Bristol City, with Leicester aiming to bounce back from defeat against Tottenham Hotspur in the FA Cup semi-final.

Lineups:

Arsenal: Zinsberger; McCabe, Catley, Williamson, Fox; Little, Pelova; Foord, Russo, Mead; Blackstenius.

Leicester City: Kop; Cayman, Howard, Thibaud, Bott; Momiki, Takarada, Tierney; Rantala, Petermann, Rose.

Arsenal made just two changes from their 5-0 victory against Bristol City, with Katie McCabe coming in for Lotte Wubben-Moy and Manu Zinsberger for Sabrina D’Angelo in goal. Vivianne Miedema and Frida Maanum both returned to the bench. 

Leicester City made just one change following their 2-1 defeat to Spurs, with Julie Thibuad coming in for Josie Green.

Arsenal’s dynamic and versatile attacks:

Similar to the Bristol City match, Arsenal started the game with a high intensity, looking to test Leicester right from the offset.

Arsenal changed little about the build up play they utilised against Bristol City, notably the use of Alessia Russo as a deep playmaker, with Stina Blackstenius further forward. Despite the lack of positional play in the Arsenal team, Russo often played in the midfield region, looking to hold up the ball and play it forward.

An attacking option for Arsenal often came from runs in behind the backline, with various players looking to make these runs when the opportunity presented itself.

Although they had a significant amount of possession, Arsenal could also look to counter attack Leicester. After confidently defending the Leicester corners, Zinsberger could claim and set Arsenal away, looking to expose the Leicester players out of position. The one fault often came from the final decision; delaying the pass allowed Leicester to get back and forced Arsenal away from the goal.

Arsenal’s intelligent lack of positional play:

A key aspect of Arsenal’s play, especially in recent matches, has been their lack of positional play, allowing players to have more freedom on the pitch. Very few players stuck to a fixed position throughout the match, notably in the front and backline.

Although two to three players were required to stay back to provide defensive stability, during build up play this would alternate depending on the opportunity presented and who chose to go forward. This provided a difficult challenge for Leicester, as knowing who to defend had to be recognised quickly and caught them out on a number of occasions.

Kim Little, able to get forward but mainly positioned as the deep midfielder, was often required to drop deep and look to move the ball from one side of the pitch to the other. This benefitted Arsenal in getting forward when Leicester looked to press higher up the pitch. Little’s intelligent runs would also drag midfielders out of position, and this would allow Williamson to find Beth Mead with a ball through the lines.

Foord could move in-field, allowing McCabe to make the run in behind out wide, yet Leicester recognised this and intercepted well. This also happened on the opposite flank, with Mead dropping in-field to drag the Leicester player out of position and open up space for Emily Fox out wide. Fox would then have time and space to pick out a pass into the box.

With the Arsenal players not sticking to their positions and instead recognising space, they were able to overload one side of the Leicester box. Both Caitlin Foord and Mead positioned themselves on the right side, and the run in behind from Mead awarded Arsenal the first goal.

On a different occasion, Victoria Pelova looked to overload one side of the box, supporting Mead with the underlapping run. Catching the Leicester backline out with the cross, the goalkeeper was forced into a reflex save, yet Mead was there to put the follow up shot away. 

Mead’s presence in the box has benefitted Arsenal in the past two games, being in the right place at the right time to allow Arsenal to extend their lead.

With Catley recognising the opportunity to step out of her position in the backline and win the loose ball, she got Arsenal forward and was able to lay it off for Russo, who slotted past the goalkeeper for Arsenal’s second goal.

Every player knew their role in this system, and this meant that even when Arsenal looked to make substitutes, their tactics remained and were just as effective.

Arsenal’s synchronous defensive work:

With Leicester often looking to play long balls, it was important that the Arsenal backline remained confident and in-sync throughout, and they did this effectively. Both Catley and Williamson stepped out of the backline when required to clear or win the loose balls.

When Leicester were in possession Arsenal did well to force them back. As a defensive unit Arsenal remained solid for the entire match; they knew who was required to step out or stay back to support at all times.

Closing thoughts:

This match reflected another dominant performance from Arsenal, as they look to finish this WSL season on a high. It also secured them Champions League football, a major boost to their season. Arsenal will look for continuity in their remaining three fixtures; no matter the opponent they need to be able to perform at the highest level and get the important result.

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