Arsenal Women vs Aston Villa Preview: The Threats, Tactics and How We Can Win

Looking ahead to Arsenal Women's WSL game against Aston Villa on Sunday, there's a temptation to glance at the league table, see Villa sitting below us and assume this ought to be a fairly straightforward afternoon, but I think that would be a mistake, because the team coming to the Emirates isn't quite the same Villa side that made such a difficult start to the season.

Brian Sørensen has taken over, Villa have won their last two league games, and they've started finding ways to hurt opponents without necessarily having lots of possession or creating chance after chance.

So this isn't going to be another match preview about everything Renée Slegers has or hasn't done over the last month. We've covered those questions properly, particularly after Benfica, and I don't intend to make you read them all over again.

Today, I want to look at how Villa might try to unsettle Arsenal, which players we need to watch, and what we should do to beat them.

We'll touch on the latest availability news and the starting eleven I'd choose, and of course I'll give you my prediction at the end, having established absolutely no reputation whatsoever for getting these things right until Wednesday night!

Right, Villa first, because there's one game in particular that tells us a lot about the opportunity and the danger on Sunday.

Aston Villa: What Sørensen Has Changed

Villa's poor start cost Natalia Arroyo her job in September, and Brian Sørensen, who Arsenal supporters will know from his time at Everton, has come in as interim manager.

Their two most recent WSL results were a 2-1 win over Liverpool and a 3-2 win against Everton, and the second of those is the one I'd spend time studying if I were in Renée's coaching team, because it tells you quite a lot about both the threat Villa carry and the things they're still struggling with.

They were 3-0 up against Everton, which shows they can be clinical when chances come, but Everton got two goals back, and Villa ended up having to protect a lead that had looked very comfortable. So I'm not going to describe them as either a transformed attacking powerhouse or a defensive disaster, because neither would be fair. They're a side with renewed belief and a manager still working out how to make the pieces fit, and that can be an awkward opponent to face when you assume they'll make life easy for you.

The player who worries me most is Amalie Vangsgaard. She scored twice against Everton and set up another goal, and what I noticed from the accounts of that performance was how much she was involved in the dangerous moments. She's capable of finding space around the box and making runs that catch defenders looking at the ball rather than the player. Arsenal can't let her get isolated one minute and then suddenly find herself unmarked in a scoring position the next, because Villa don't need a dozen chances if she's finishing the ones they do create.

Then there's Noëlle Maritz, who we know very well from her Arsenal days. She's been contributing going forward for Villa, and her relationship with the players ahead of her is worth watching, particularly if Sørensen uses her down the left. Lucia Kendall can operate between midfield and attack, where she'll look for space that forces a holding midfielder to make a difficult decision, while Chasity Grant gives Villa the option to carry the ball forward quickly rather than patiently passing their way through us.

Against Everton, Sørensen used three centre-backs with wing-backs outside them and support behind the forwards. I wouldn't assume he'll use exactly the same arrangement at the Emirates, but it's a useful starting point. The wing-backs can give Villa width in attack and an extra line of protection in defence, so the danger for Arsenal is that we commit players forward, lose the ball in a bad area, and suddenly find Villa breaking into the spaces outside our centre-backs. That's where Vangsgaard and the runners around her could make us pay.

There is a reason not to panic about Villa's recent goals, though. Their underlying chance creation across the season has been modest, with reports putting them at around 5.6 expected goals after seven WSL games. That's not the profile of a side routinely creating chance after chance, even if their recent finishing has been good. So my reading is that Arsenal should aim to limit the quality of Villa's few opportunities, rather than obsessing over preventing them from crossing the halfway line at all. If we control where they receive the ball and don't give them cheap transitions, we take away much of what makes them dangerous.

How Arsenal Can Win By Making Villa Defend The Space

If Villa use that back three again, I'd like Arsenal to make their outside centre-backs work. When an Arsenal winger receives the ball out wide, and our full-back arrives in support, someone in Villa's defence has to decide whether to step out or hold the line. Step out and you leave a gap for a runner; stay narrow, and you give the winger room to attack. That's the decision I want us forcing again and again, because a team that's still settling into a new system can find those repeated choices very uncomfortable.

Caitlin Foord would be important to that approach for me. I'd look to get her facing her defender with the ball at her feet, not receiving it so deep that she has to beat three people before she can threaten the penalty area. And whichever flank she's operating on, I want the player closest to her making a run that gives the defender a second problem to solve. There's no great mystery here, but the timing matters: move the ball quickly enough, and the opposition have to react; take too many touches and the whole defensive line has time to get organised.

At the other end of the same move, we need to be sensible about the protection behind the ball. If Ona Batlle or Emily Fox join an attack, someone has to cover the space she's vacated, particularly with Villa's left-sided options ready to break. I'd keep Kyra Cooney-Cross available in deeper midfield (though I am not opposed to resting her and starting Kim Little) to help deal with those moments, and I'd ask our centre-backs to keep talking to one another rather than letting Vangsgaard drift out of sight. We don't need to be timid going forward, but we do need a plan for when our first pass doesn't come off.

In terms of selection, I'd be reluctant to disturb the defensive shape that worked against Benfica without a fitness reason, although Leah Williamson and Élisa de Almeida give Renée a genuine choice in central defence. Kim Little's return gives us an option if we need someone to steady the midfield or take the heat out of a frantic spell, and Frida Maanum has been mentioned as a possible returnee, subject to final confirmation. Katie Reid's fresh ankle setback is disappointing, Chloe Kelly remains unavailable, and several others are still working their way back, so we'll need to see the teamsheet before making any definite assumptions about who can contribute.

And yes, I'd like Géraldine Reuteler to get another opportunity, but not because I want to replay our entire Benfica discussion. Against a side with wing-backs and defenders who may be drawn out of position, a player who can find space and recognise a pass early could be especially useful. The same goes for Alessia Russo, who's coming into this game in excellent scoring form. The aim isn't to squeeze every favourite player into a formation for its own sake; it's to find the combinations that ask Villa the hardest questions.

One final thing: I wouldn't want Arsenal becoming impatient if Villa are compact for the opening half-hour. We can move them around without forcing a hopeful shot every time there's a glimpse of goal, and I'd be looking for the moment when a defender has to choose between following a runner and holding her position. That's where the best openings should come. And if Arsenal go ahead, I'd like the emphasis to stay on making Villa solve problems rather than handing them the ball and inviting them to show us how well they can counterattack.

What Do We Want To Learn On Sunday?

So, having spent some time looking at Villa, I can understand why Sørensen will feel encouraged by their recent results, and I can see why Vangsgaard in particular will arrive believing she can cause Arsenal problems. But I still think this is a game we should win, because if we use the spaces around Villa's defensive shape well and take care of the ball when our full-backs push forward, we ought to create better opportunities.

I'm going for Arsenal 3-1 Aston Villa. I can imagine Villa scoring if we give them one of those quick breaks they've been enjoying recently, but I think Arsenal have enough variety in attack to make their defenders work for most of the afternoon. More important than getting another score prediction right is seeing whether we can identify what an opponent is trying to do and respond to it during the game, rather than needing a half-time reset to sort everything out.

And that's what I'll be watching on Sunday: whether we can stop Vangsgaard receiving in dangerous areas, exploit the space around Villa's wing-backs, and make defenders choose between two threats instead of letting them sit comfortably in position. Those are specific questions, and by the final whistle, we'll have some answers, regardless of the score.