Arsenal head coach Jonas Eidevall’s decision to start with a back three in defence backfired with damaging consequences for his team’s title hopes as they endured a torrid first half away at Manchester City in a pivotal defeat that saw the north London club drop out of the European places.
Eidevall’s visitors gave away possession at an alarmingly-frequent rate in the first 45 minutes as his three central defenders came under intense pressure from a high-energy Manchester City front three of Chloe Kelly, Bunny Shaw and Lauren Hemp, and although Arsenal improved their shape in the second half after reverting to a back four, the damage had already been done after their worst first-half showing of the season.
Arsenal had also, very unusually for them, tried a back three in Wednesday’s League Cup semi-final victory at home to Manchester City, which was a poor contest until the hour mark when Eidevall switched to his team’s more familiar back four and Arsenal eventually won that tie in extra time.
But eyebrows were raised when his team lined up with Leah Williamson, Lotte Wubben-Moy and Brazil’s Rafaelle Souza across the back on Saturday. Inside four minutes, Arsenal’s right-wing-back, Noelle Maritz, was caught flat-footed at the back post as Hemp ghosted past her to meet Kelly’s low cross and open the scoring with her 50th Manchester City goal.
The visitors’ erratic display was at odds with their defensive solidity which had seen them keep 16 clean sheets in their previous 21 away WSL fixtures. After Shaw stole the ball from England’s Wubben-Moy and fed Kelly for the home side’s richly-deserved second goal, Eidevall changed tactics and Arsenal grew into the game and halved the deficit through Souza’s header, yet couldn’t force an equaliser. Speaking to Sky Sports afterwards, Eidevall took “100% responsibility” for the result, adding: “We lost possession way too many times, especially in dangerous areas.”
Asked in his post-match press conference if he regretted not reverting to a back four sooner, Eidevall replied: “There are a lot of things you have to consider, when we do that, like how many minutes do we have certain players available for, what does that mean for team selection and so on, and that’s why it’s sometimes hard for you to understand the full picture, why I make choices, why I choose certain things, because I’m maybe the only one in here now who has the full picture of why it is. So no, I don’t regret that, given all the information that I had beforehand.”
The final scoreline suggested a fairly even contest but in truth, the hosts could have been 4-0 or 5-0 up by half-time. Kelly also hit the post, before Shaw was denied by Manuela Zinsberger when a goal looked certain. Arsenal’s Stina Blackstenius did strike the post in the second half, but Manchester City’s in-form holding midfielder Yui Hasegawa struck the crossbar with a spectacular effort at the other end.
And it was Japan star Hasegawa who received particular praise from Manchester City head coach Gareth Taylor, who said: “She’s been top class from the minute she’s got here. We’ve changed slightly the way she plays which took some convincing. We lost a good number six in Keira Walsh [in September] and Yui has come in and taken the team’s level of performance to another level. Her quality under pressure is very, very high.”
The result lifted Taylor’s team above Arsenal and up to third, two points behind leaders Chelsea but having played an extra game. It was Arsenal’s first away league loss for 13 months. Ominously, they travel to rivals Chelsea in the FA Cup fifth round next.
Meanwhile, Aston Villa midfielder Jordan Nobbs has been called up to England camp for February’s Arnold Clark Cup fixtures, replacing Chelsea star Fran Kirby who has withdrawn from the Lionesses squad after suffering a knee injury.
