The Arsenal Women Journal – Gunners win well ahead of the biggest night yet! [ARS 4-0 LIV]

03/25/2025 08:58 AM

Hello, Arsenal Women aficionados!

The first question after the 4-0 win against Liverpool is simple: how could we lose to this very same side in the FA Cup quarter-final?

I don't mean to be disrespectful towards Liverpool, of course, but the difference between the two games is quite appalling. Were we a bit too confident in the FA Cup? Have we underestimated our opponents, back then? Was the Emirates Stadium too big of a venue for the players and the newly appointed Liverpool manager?

One thing is sure, we should have qualified for the semi-final- The pitch told a very clear story of a better team picking apart an inferior opponent time after time, with the scoreline flattering the visitors. We scored four goals, hit the woodwork twice and had countless opportunities to open an even bigger gap, so I truly don't explain how we lost to this Liverpool side, two weeks ago.

Anyway, we cannot change the past, so we better focus on the future. Our immediate future is an epic European night at the Emirates Stadium, on Wednesday, when we will host Real Madrid for a place in the UWCL semi-finals. Having lost 2-0 in Spain, we find ourselves with our backs to the wall, especially if we consider how good Real Madrid are when counterattacking and exploiting space in behind, but this team has the mental fortitude and technical qualities to make it a very exciting, hopefully joyful night.

RENÉE'S WORDS

Renée Slegers was understandably jubilant after the game, but not many would have guessed the reason for it. Despite winning 4-0, consolidating the second place in the league standing behind Chelsea and becoming the first side in the WSL history to score 4+ goals in six consecutive home games, the head coach had something else to celebrate, first:

"She (Victoria Pelova) has been training with the group for a while now. She’s worked so hard. It’s a lonely place sometimes when you’re away from the team for so long. But she’s worked so hard. She’s had the right support as well from the medical and performance team […] I’m so happy for Vic. She can do it at the Emirates with so many fans seeing it as well, so that was great"

The former Ajax midfielder, one of the few shining lights in last year's disappointing campaign, finally made her comeback after rupturing her ACL to add a little gloss to a comprehensive, entertaining win. This was made possible by the lessons learned in the cup game, not long ago, and one big change made by Renée Slegers:

"I’m very happy with it (the performance). I think we started really well, so we set ourselves up really well. I think we dictated the tempo in the game today. Last game we played against Liverpool, they dictated the tempo of the game. That was going to be key for us today, so I think we did that really well. It’s always important for us to start well. I think that’s been a key area that we’ve been talking about ahead of this game. I’m really happy that we could actually transfer that to the game."

While at Meadow Park we allowed Liverpool to slow things down and get physical, we left them no chance at the Emirates Stadium and moved both the ball and the players very quickly and with purpose. That resulted in Liverpool being unable to clear the ball to take a breath, until they broke down and conceded twice in less than two minutes. Asked about the need to be ruthless, Renée Slegers was quick to point at a few factors in the win:

"It's good to create habits in a group and can we create a habit of playing with intensity, being ruthless, starting games fast and then that becomes the norm for us. So, this is what we want to do always, so it was an important one for us to do that today. We've been talking about it and of course, looking ahead to the game on Wednesday, that would be great if we could start a game like that. But I don't know what that game will look like and that's the fun of football that it's unpredictable. That's why there's so many people in the stands as well. You never know how the game is going to finish, you never know what it's going to look like. So, let's see what Real Madrid will try and do on Wednesday."

From the outside, it looks like a very easy recipe to make, but every game is different, and Real Madrid will pose different challenges. Asked about the game on Wednesday, Renée Slegers remained coy:

"There are some similarities between them (Liverpool) from a formation point of view and a couple of threats that they have. So, there’s a couple of things that we definitely can take with us, but Madrid is still a different team and different qualities and different football, and we’ll see how they go into this game. Obviously, it’s a different scenario as they have something to protect as well. So, we’ll see what they give us and how they’re going to set up. So, it might be a totally different game on Wednesday.

LESSONS LEARNED

Same city, different clubs, but there was something very familiar with the way we powered through Liverpool on Saturday. At times, it was like watching a replay of the away win at Everton, on Friday before the last one: through-balls in behind, full-backs running backwards, third man runs executed expertly and…own-goals!

Jasmine Matthew's first own-goal looked like a carbon copy of Mjelde's own goal at Everton, with Kim Little latching on a through-ball deep in the right-hand side channel and squaring it first-time, only for Matthews to divert the ball into her own net, similarly to what Mjelde did when Emily Fox replicated the exact same move in Everton's penalty area.

It is very unfortunate that both actions ended in an own goal, rather than a team goal, as this kind of actions deserve a better finish.  If this is "the Arsenal way" Renée Slegers is often referring to, though, then get me more of this, please.

Another interesting aspect of the game was seeing Renée Slegers making several early substitutions to preserve her main players' energies: by the hour mark or so, the head coach had already replaced Emily Fox, Katie McCabe and Kim Little, with Mariona Caldentey also substituted with fifteen minutes to go.

It was especially interesting to see both full backs hauled off so early in the game, although Katie McCabe was replaced to prevent her from collecting a second yellow card, because it might give some early indication of Renée Slegers' strategy for the UWCL game, on Wednesday.

It's no secret that we use our full backs a lot when attacking, but it is no secret either that Real Madrid are masters of switching play diagonally and seeking runs in behind from their wide forwards – especially Linda Caicedo – so keeping our wide defenders fresh might have a lot to do with all the backward sprinting and recovery runs we could expect from them.

Is this a hint of a very aggressive approach on Wednesday night? Will we see a very high defensive line and take the risk of leaving space in behind for Real Madrid forwards?

I don't expect our team to go full gung-ho, but I can see us trying to impose our tempo and setting up camp in the opposition half, which means that we would be exposed to long balls behind our defensive line. If so, we would need our defenders to sprint back, when required; a much better option would be to retain possession and recycle the ball higher on the pitch, which would explain why Mariona Caldentey was substituted, too.

If I were Renée Slegers, I would probably field a very technical midfield trio of Lia Wälti, Kim Little and Mariona Caldentey, with more direct wingers such as Beth Mead, Caitlin Foord or Chloe Kelly running behind the defensive lines, and Alessia Russo treading through-ball from between the lines.

Real Madrid will be in very high spirits after finally defeating Barcelona after EIGHTEEN attempts, so getting out of the blocks with purpose is going to be vital to dent their confidence and make them uncomfortable. If we manage to control the ball, the tempo and the territory, then we might have a chance to turn this tie on its own head, but we need to avoid rushing our decisions and stay organized, keep the shape both on and off the ball, and remain focused throughout the game, whether it is for 90 minutes or more.

NEXT'S UP

Champions League. Emirates Stadium. Real Madrid. That's the biggest night (yet) and the biggest game of the season (yet). I don't think I need to add anything else.

We will talk again on Thursday, in the immediate aftermath of a very special night in North London.

Speak to you soon!

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