Chelsea Women vs Arsenal Women: Is This Exactly the Game Arsenal Need?

Chelsea away probably isn't the fixture you'd normally choose next when you've dropped four points in your opening three league games and only scored two goals, but I have a strange feeling this might be the exact game Arsenal need right now.

Now you are probably shouting at your screen thinking I’ve gone completely mad, but think about what we've been watching for the last couple of weeks.

Crystal Palace came to the Emirates, gave Arsenal huge amounts of the ball and concentrated on closing the spaces we wanted to play into.

Manchester United did something similar to us after they were beaten 5-0 by Chelsea the week before, and we spent most of that game trying to find a way through them.

Then Køge on Tuesday night were a bit different because they weren't sitting in a permanent low block, but they were incredibly organised, defended their spaces really well and once again Arsenal had huge amounts of possession, 21 shots and only 2 of them ended up on target.

The likelihood is that Chelsea aren't going to play like that.

Renée Slegers said pretty much that in her press conference yesterday. She expects this game to look very different. Her words were that she expects to see two teams who really want to go against each other, rather than one team sitting off and looking to hit the other on the break.

That could be really important for Arsenal.

Because for all the conversation we've had about the attack over the last couple of weeks, I'm not sure that what Arsenal need right now is another game where they have 70 or 75 per cent of the ball and spend 90 minutes staring at ten players between them and the goal.

I want to see what this attack looks like when there’s space.

I want to see Olivia Smith running at people, what Chloe Kelly can do when the defender in front of her isn't pretty much shoulder to shoulder with another defender. I want to see Alessia Russo making those runs when there is actually somewhere to run into and, after what we saw on Tuesday, I definitely want to see what Selina Cerci can do if this game starts opening up.

And there are reasons to think it might.

Chelsea have had a pretty interesting week themselves.

They beat Birmingham 2-0 last Saturday and then played Austria Wien in the Champions League on Wednesday night, where they won 1-0 through a brilliant Wieke Kaptein goal, but I watched that game and Chelsea certainly didn't have everything go their way.

Austria Wien hit the post, Chelsea couldn't find the second goal and someone I know who was at the game messaged me afterwards and their description of Chelsea was simply, “they look shattered”.

Now, that's one person's impression from inside the stadium, so I'm not going to sit here and tell you Chelsea definitely are exhausted, but it did make me curious.

So I went back and looked at what Chelsea have been doing with their squad and there is something worth talking about.

Sonia Bompastor made only three changes between the Birmingham and Austria Wien games.

Arsenal had a very different week.

Renée made eight changes against Køge on Tuesday night and, importantly, Arsenal didn't fade during that game, as helpfully pointed out to me by head of the Irish Trailblazers Ciara Mallon. Ciara pointed out that if anything, Arsenal were still pushing just as hard in stoppage time and we had been able to bring Alessia Russo, Mariona Caldentey, Lisa Baum, Selina Cerci and Olivia Smith into the game just as Køge were starting to feel a bit of tiredness in their legs.

And eventually one of those fresh players, Selina Cerci, drove into the penalty area and forced the mistake that gave Arsenal the penalty.

We can't emphatically state that Køge conceded because they were tired, because there’s no way of ever knowing that for sure, but we can say Arsenal were still able to attack them with pretty much maximum energy and effort in the 92nd minute.

Now they go to Stamford Bridge with everyone available.

Chelsea, meantime, still don't know if Keira Walsh or Lauren James will be able to start.

Walsh came off after about 20 minutes on Wednesday with pain in her calf. James missed the game altogether after picking up a knock in training. Sonia Bompastor said today that both are still being assessed and she'll know more after Chelsea train today.

So I'm not suggesting for a second that Arsenal are going to Stamford Bridge to play some exhausted, injury-ravaged Chelsea team because they're not - this is Chelsea after all.

They've got an absurd amount of quality, decent depth and they've taken seven points from their opening three league games, scoring eight goals and conceded just one in the process.

But Arsenal have got quality and depth too, and for the first time in a couple of weeks we're going into a game where the problem might not be finding a way through eleven players who are perfectly happy for us to have the ball.

This game could be quick, it could be physical. There could be space.

There are certainly going to be transitions and there are going to be moments where both teams have to focus and defend properly because the other one is coming right at them.

Renée called it a fight and she said she loves these games.

I think Arsenal will be totally up for it.

The space Arsenal want comes with a risk

So if we're expecting a more open game, the next question is probably what Chelsea are going to bring to it, because while I've spent the last few minutes finding reasons for us Arsenal supporters to be positive, I'm not going to pretend that we're going to Stamford Bridge to play a Chelsea side with loads of problems.

They've started the league season with seven points from nine, scored eight goals and five of those came away at Manchester United, worth remembering because we found out ourselves a week later how difficult United can make life for you when they decide they're going to be compact and difficult to play through.

Chelsea absolutely destroyed them. Fair enough the version of Manchester United they played that weekend wasn’t the defensively upgraded version that came to the Emirates a week later, but still.

That result gives us a pretty good warning about what can happen on Sunday if Arsenal don't get certain things right, because Chelsea don't necessarily need to dominate possession for long periods to hurt you.

They've got pace, they've got players who can carry the ball and they've got players who make really good, quick decisions when a game suddenly opens up in front of them.

That last bit is probably especially relevant after everything we've been talking about with Arsenal, because Arsenal’s problem recently hasn't been getting into the opposition half or getting shots away.

Renée spoke about this in her press conference yesterday and I thought what she said was quite interesting. She questioned whether the chances Arsenal are creating are open and clear enough to give the player taking the shot a relatively easy finish, but she also talked about the pass before the shot, how we set each other up and whether we're calm enough to see the right option when we get into those situations.

Chelsea have been much better at that so far.

And obviously the big danger with saying, “Great, Chelsea are going to attack us, we'll finally have some space”, is that the reason there's space is because Arsenal are going to have to give some up as well.

This works both ways. If Emily Fox, assuming she starts, goes forward, what's behind her?

If Ona Batlle goes forward on the other side, which she definitely will, who is moving over or dropping back to protect that space?

If Georgia Stanway or Kyra Cooney-Cross carry the ball forward and Arsenal lose it, where are Lauren James, Alyssa Thompson or Sandy Baltimore?

Because Chelsea can get from defending to attacking very, very quickly and Renée specifically mentioned their counter-attacking threat yesterday.

She said that's something Arsenal always have to prepare for and that, even though she expects this game to play out differently from the ones we've watched recently, Arsenal still need what she described as a really solid defence behind the attack.

I think that's probably where this game gets really interesting tactically, because Arsenal's defensive record has almost been forgotten beneath all the conversation about the lack of goals.

We've conceded just once in three WSL games. Once! 

And that was Zigiotti's goal for Manchester United last weekend.

Misa Rodríguez has looked really assured since coming into the side, Leah Williamson looks completely comfortable (and importantly, fit) again, Steph Catley has been excellent and we've got Emily Fox going into this game fresh having had no midweek minutes at all.

So Arsenal aren't going to Stamford Bridge with a defence that's been wobbling all over the place and hoping the attack can somehow bail them out.

It’s the exact opposite. Defensively we've been very, very good.

Renée was quite pleased someone finally asked her about that yesterday because she said it's something that Arsenal pride themselves on and something they've been really focusing on going into this Chelsea game.

That's another reason why I'm feeling a bit more positive about this game than I thought I would be after the Manchester United draw. Arsenal don't necessarily have to suddenly solve every attacking problem we've been discussing over the last couple of weeks because the game itself might solve part of it for them.

If Chelsea come after Arsenal, if they press higher and if they commit more players forward, then the spaces we've spent the last few games desperately trying to create should start appearing naturally.

The challenge is going to be this: can Arsenal can exploit those spaces without giving Chelsea even better ones at the other end.

And that, probably brings us to the really difficult bit.

Who does Renée pick?

This is where I think Renée has got a really interesting problem to solve because she said that everyone is fit, everyone trained and, assuming everybody comes through the final session today, she can pretty much choose the Arsenal team she wants.

Sounds wonderful but just wait till you try to pick it!

Misa Rodríguez starts in goal for me. I don't think there's really much of a conversation to have there at the moment. Anneke Borbe did really well last Tuesday night but I think she started to give Misa a rest.

The defence is where I start tying myself in knots a bit because Emily Fox surely comes back in after being rested against Køge, Leah Williamson has to start and I think Steph Catley has been far too good to leave out, plus I feel she’ll provide the cover Ona will need when she bombs forward on that left side.

And there you go I’ve given away my left back selection - of course it’s Ona Batlle.

I know Taylor Hinds was pretty solid on Tuesday night, but this is Chelsea away and Ona gives Arsenal so much experience in a game like this. She also gives you the ability to move inside when Arsenal have the ball and help protect against exactly the transitions we've just been talking about.

So for me it's Fox, Williamson, Catley and Batlle.

Then we get to midfield and this is where it becomes really difficult.

Mariona Caldentey starts, I’m not even going to waste everybody's time pretending I'm thinking about that one. The question then is who you put around her.

Georgia Stanway has started all three WSL games so far and I think her ability to play through pressure, and play box to box could be really important against Chelsea, particularly if this becomes the sort of fast, physical game we're expecting.

But then we come to Kyra Cooney-Cross, and after Tuesday night I think Renée has a tough decision to make.

Kyra was UEFA's Player of the Match against Køge and I thought she was Arsenal's best player as well. She passed the ball really well, progressed it forward quickly, carried it herself when the space opened up and repeatedly tried to speed Arsenal up.

Renée was asked about her yesterday and you could hear how pleased she is with where Kyra is at the moment.

She talked about everything Kyra has been through, how well she kept herself physically while she was back in Australia and how she's returned not only in really good physical condition but in what Renée described as a mature, calm and really positive place mentally. Then she specifically pointed towards what we saw from her on Tuesday and said she's in a great place. 

So does she start? I think she might.

If my argument is that Arsenal could finally get a game with some space in it, then Kyra is one of the players I'd like to have finding and running into that space.

There is another option of course and that’s the captain, Kim Little.

She was excellent against Køge as well and if Renée decides this game needs a bit more control, particularly early on, putting Kim into that midfield makes a lot of sense.

This is the problem. Georgia, Kyra, Kim, Mariona, Géraldine (who is still waiting for her first competitive minutes in Arsenal shirt). There are loads of different combinations Renée can use and they don't all give Arsenal the same thing.

I think I'd start with Georgia, Kyra and Mariona.

That gives Arsenal someone in Georgia who can help control the deeper build-up, someone who can carry the ball and accelerate the game in Kyra and then you’ve got Mariona connecting everything together further forward.

But then I could very easily see Renée looking at Chelsea away and deciding that Kim Little needs to be in there, probably ahead of Kyra.

Then we get to the front three, and this is just as hard.

Alessia Russo will start through the middle, whether you think she should or not. Big game, big player and this could be exactly the game she needs right now. Again, if we're expecting more space behind Chelsea than Arsenal have been getting recently, I want Alessia's movement in there.

Then Olivia Smith has to start for me as well.

She's exactly the sort of player I want in this game because if Chelsea leave her one against one, especially if she starts on the left against Lucy Bronze, I want Arsenal giving her the ball and letting her go.

So I've got one place left.

Chloe Kelly? Caitlin Foord? Lisa Baum? Selina Cerci playing off the right which she absolutely can do?

This is where I'm probably going to annoy someone whoever I pick.

I think I'd start Chloe at right wing.

I really liked her against Køge. She played with energy, kept asking questions, worked backwards as well as forwards and she was so determined to make something happen.

But I'd be saying something very specific to Selina Cerci before the game.

Be ready.

Because if this game becomes what we think it could become and Chelsea start feeling those mid-week minutes in the second half, the last person I'd want to see coming off Arsenal's bench if I’m a tired Chelsea defender is Selina Cerci.

We saw exactly why on Tuesday.

She doesn't need five passes before deciding what she wants to do. She sees the space, gets the ball out of her feet and goes for it.

That's where Arsenal's squad depth can become really important on Sunday - Renée doesn't have to put every attacking weapon she has on the pitch straight away, she just needs a team capable of competing with Chelsea from the get go and then she needs enough quality on the bench to change the game after an hour. Which she has.

If I’m right about Chelsea's workload, that's when this could become really interesting.

So, my Arsenal team would be:

Misa Rodríguez in goal.

Emily Fox, Leah Williamson, Steph Catley and Ona Batlle.

Georgia Stanway, Kyra Cooney-Cross and Mariona Caldentey.

Chloe Kelly, Alessia Russo and Olivia Smith.

Then in the second half if we’re properly in this game and Chelsea start to tire, you’ve got Smilla Holmberg, Kim Little, Lisa Baum, Caitlin Foord, Géraldine Reuteler and Selina Cerci amongst the players Renée can turn to if she needs to change something.

One thing regarding Reuteler - we absolutely have to see her come on in the second half. It’s time. Those of you following me on Instagram will know I’ve been beating that drum all week.

We have a ridiculous amount of quality available, so for me Sunday isn't just about the eleven players Renée picks to start.

It could very well be about how she uses her substitutes once the game starts changing.

Where could this game be won?

There are a few individual battles I’m really looking forward to in this game, but the obvious place to start is Arsenal’s left side because if I’ve picked the team correctly, we could get Olivia Smith against Lucy Bronze.

Bronze has bags of experience, she’s played in pretty much every big game you can play in and nobody needs me to explain how good she’s been throughout her career, but Olivia gives her a very specific problem because she’ll run at her, and she’ll keep running at her.

We’ve already seen enough of Olivia in an Arsenal shirt to know that she doesn’t need any encouragement when she gets the ball and sees a defender in front of her, and if Chelsea are playing higher up the pitch than the teams Arsenal have faced recently, there could be space behind Bronze for Olivia and Ona to attack.

That could become a really interesting side of the pitch because Ona is 100% going to bomb forward as well. I don’t see a world where we ask Ona Batlle to spend 90 minutes staying at left-back because we’re worried about Chelsea.

But that obviously means Steph Catley and whoever is playing in midfield on that side have to be really switched on because if Olivia and Ona both go and Arsenal lose the ball, Chelsea will straight away try to attack the space they’ve left behind.

Then there’s midfield.

If Keira Walsh is fit, Chelsea have someone who can dictate the tempo of the game and help them play through pressure. If she isn’t, that changes things quite a bit, but either way I think this is where Georgia Stanway becomes really important for Arsenal.

I want Georgia properly involved in this game because of her physicality, her ability to play under pressure and because she’s someone who will be completely up for the fight if this becomes the match Renée seems to be expecting.

If Kyra starts alongside her, I think the contrast between them could work really well. Georgia can give Arsenal some of that control and aggression in midfield and Kyra can be the one who sees the opportunity to drive forward when Chelsea leave something open.

There is one other battle we probably have to talk about, although I’m not entirely sure “battle” is the right word for it.

Katie McCabe against Arsenal.

That is going to be so weird.

Renée was asked about Katie yesterday and she was pretty matter of fact about it. Katie is a Chelsea player now, Arsenal know her extremely well and they’ll prepare for her in exactly the same way they prepare for any other opponent. When Renée was asked whether Katie might be particularly fired up for this one, her answer was basically, “ask Katie”. 

Arsenal know what McCabe does well because for years we watched her doing it for us. We know about her delivery, how aggressive she can be in the challenge and we know that if this game becomes emotional and physical, Katie is likely to be right there in the thick of it.

But just as Arsenal also know Katie, it works the other way as well.

Katie knows Arsenal. She knows a lot of these players extremely well, she knows the way they move and she knows what certain players are going to want to do before they do it.

So that little subplot is going to be fascinating, especially if Chloe Kelly starts on Arsenal’s right up against Katie on Chelsea’s left.

And then there’s Alessia Russo.

I mentioned earlier that this could be exactly the game she needs and I come back to that because I don’t think Alessia suddenly needs to become a different centre-forward. She needs the players around her to find her in better situations and she needs a little bit more room for the movements she’s so good at making.

If Chelsea give her that room, even occasionally, Arsenal have to find her.

We can talk about having 21 shots against Køge or 30 shots against Palace as much as we want, but on Sunday I’d happily swap a lot of those for three or four really good chances created for Alessia Russo.

That comes back to what Renée was talking about yesterday, it’s not just about getting the shot away. It’s going to be about making the pass before it better, setting the next player up properly and being calm enough when the moment arrives to see what’s on.

Arsenal probably won’t get as many of those moments against Chelsea, but the ones they do get might be much better than they’ve had in recent games.

Then it just becomes a question of whether or not they’re ready to take them.

What do Arsenal need to do to win?

So after all of that, what do Arsenal need to do to come away from Stamford Bridge with all three points?

For me the biggest thing is that when the opportunities come, Arsenal have to play quickly.

That doesn't mean rushing everything or making the game chaotic, because if you do that against Chelsea they'll quite happily play that game with you and they're very good at punishing you for it. But if Arsenal win the ball and suddenly Olivia Smith has space ahead of her, or Alessia Russo has started making a run between the centre-backs, I don't want us taking another two or three touches and allowing Chelsea to get everybody back into position.

That first decision has to be good and it has to be quick.

And I think Arsenal have to be brave enough to trust their attacking players in those situations as well. If Olivia is one against one with Lucy Bronze, give her the ball. If Chloe Kelly has space on the other side, find her. If Alessia makes the run, make the pass.

We've spent the last few games trying to create those situations against teams who didn't want to give them to us. Chelsea might.

The other thing is that Arsenal can't get so excited by those spaces opening up that we completely lose our shape behind the ball. Ona is going to go forward, Fox will go forward and whoever plays in midfield is going to have moments where they want to join the attack, but someone has to be thinking about what happens if the move breaks down.

That's where I think the balance of the team Renée picks becomes so important.

I want Arsenal to stay in the game.

That sounds ridiculously obvious, but I mean especially during the periods when Chelsea are on top because they're going to have those. We're not going to Stamford Bridge and controlling this game for 90 minutes.

There'll be ten minutes where Chelsea have us pegged back, and it feels like they're coming at us from everywhere. Arsenal have to be comfortable with that and defend those moments properly rather than feeling like something has gone horribly wrong because we haven't got the ball.

We've conceded just one league goal this season, we must trust the defence.

Then, if Arsenal are still properly in this game after an hour, if Chelsea show any signs of energy drop-off, that’s when I start looking at our bench.

That's when Selina Cerci and Caitlin Foord become really interesting options. That's when Lisa Baum's energy becomes important and, yes, I'm going to say it again, that's when I want to see Géraldine Reuteler.

Chelsea played on Wednesday and rotated three players. Arsenal played on Tuesday and rotated eight. If there is any advantage to be taken from that difference, I expect we're much more likely to see it in the final half hour than the first.

So I don't think Arsenal need to go there and become a completely different version of ourselves - defensively we've been good. We've got plenty of quality, we’ve got everyone available and we might finally be playing an opponent who will give our attacking players the kind of game they've been waiting for.

We just need to make better decisions when those moments arrive.

And speaking of moments arriving, this is the bit where I have to put my neck on the line and give you a prediction.

Prediction

Right, prediction time.

I’ve gone backwards and forwards on this because there are perfectly good reasons to think Arsenal can win this game, which I’ve just spent however long explaining to you, but Chelsea are still Chelsea and we’re going to Stamford Bridge.

I don’t think there’ll be much in it.

I think Arsenal will score. In fact, I think we might look better going forward than we have in any of the last three games, simply because Chelsea are going to give us a completely different problem to solve and with that, hopefully, finally comes some space to attack.

But I also find it difficult to look at the attacking players Chelsea have and convince myself that we’re keeping them out for 90 minutes.

But we did beat them twice last season, I believe we have the better team overall and Sonia Bompastor is still Sonia Bompastor, so I’m going 1-2 to the Arsenal.

Which would leave Arsenal with eight points from the opening four games, kind of negate our bumpy start and send us into those away games against Paris FC and Manchester City with some confidence and positivity.

I did say to Ciara yesterday when she asked for my prediction I’d just go 5-0 Arsenal, and keep predicting that for every game this season until it comes true.

But for now, I’ll stick with what I told you - Chelsea 1, Arsenal 2.

Let me know your thoughts and predictions in the comments below!

You can listen to the audio version of this article on the Trailblazers podcast, on this site or wherever you like to get your podcasts.

You can also read my official match previews, reports and coverage of Arsenal Women in the Trailblazers column at Impetus Football.