Arsenal commenced their 2024/25 Barclays Women’s Super League campaign on Sunday, as a close battle with Manchester City at Emirates Stadium saw both sides settle for a 2-2 stalemate following a dramatic display of end-to-end football. The Halfway Line had the chance to Lotte Wubben-Moy following the draw, as the defender reflected on the shift put in by her side in N5.
Last Wednesday, the Gunners fell to a disappointing defeat in Gotenburg, as BK Häcken ran away with the 1-0 advantage heading into the second leg of the head-to-head UEFA Women’s Champions League qualifiers this Thursday at Meadow Park. The away loss saw Arsenal appear disorganised at the back, as a ball over-the-top was enough for the Swedish side to convert their low-block display into a victory on home soil.
The defensive display was a tiresome one at best, something that was quite the opposite at the Emirates yesterday. Starting alongside Laia Codina as dual centre-backs, Wubben-Moy expressed her thoughts on how the pairing- as well as Katie McCabe and Emily Fox- improved their performance against a threatening Manchester City side in the league encounter.
Wubben-Moy said, “When you know how a team plays, obviously we play Man City every year twice if not three teams, you can anticipate that. Against a team like Häcken, and against any team in the Champions League, you never really know what you’re going to come up against, and that’s the beauty the competition, and it’s the beauty for the fans, too.”
But if we look at today [Man City], in terms of accepting runners, I think us in the back line, we put in a shift. We were really communicating well, accepting runners, we know that Bunny Shaw is going to drop deep and Viv [Miedema] is likely going to make the B-run from the 10. So [it was] really important for us to be working well, gelling well, again this is the start of the season, so looking at what’s to come, it’s good to build on.”
Khadija (Bunny) Shaw has rightfully coined herself as a Barclays WSL powerhouse, wreaking havoc on defences whilst catapulting Manchester City to victory week-in and week-out. But against the Gunners, it has been a different story in recent times. Managing to keep Shaw almost-anonymous across three consecutive league meetings, Wubben-Moy, and now Codina, did the job once again against the star striker.
Speaking in regards to how the side have worked to nullify the threat, Wubben Moy first packed on the praise for Shaw: “Credit to Bunny, she had a great season last year, I think she was named PFA Player of the Year. That’s a credit to her, but also a credit to Man City and the way they play- they need that kind of talisman up top.”
The defender then continued, “But, if you flip that on it’s head, credit to us to be able to sort of nullify her. They didn’t really get as many crosses in the box as probably they hoped, and we were touch-tight [so] she really didn’t get any room to work. So, in terms of the way we dealt with it, job done.”
Young academy product, Katie Reid, was included in the match day squad to face the Cityzens, after Jonas Eidevall confirmed the defender would be staying with the first team for (at least) the start of the 2024/25 campaign. The pair themselves have much in common, both being centre backs, and Arsenal’s own.
When asked whether she is taking the leadership over the young defender, Wubben-Moy admitted “I can’t say that I’m taking the leadership over Katie, she is someone who is soaking up every single person’s wisdom and advice. She’s a special player!”
The defender also touched on the Arsenal academy, and it’s persistent devotion to developing players from grassroots to glory. She said, “I think the Arsenal academy has continued to bring out the best in young players, but in particular it seems to be a lot of centre-backs- I’m not sure if that’s a coincidence!”
Wubben-Moy continued, “But when you have the likes of myself, Leah [Williamson], obviously Anna Patten, and Teyah Goldie having come through, I think it creates a nice sort of pathway. Credit to Katie, she’s soaking every single moment in, and to be honest, if she had been needed today I have no doubt in her being able to step into our boots and put in a good shift as well.”
Lotte Wubben-Moy and the Gunners will be back in action this Wednesday night, as Arsenal take on BK Häcken in the second leg of the UEFA Women’s Champions League qualifiers. Proceedings will head underway at 19:30 BST, as the Gunners return Meadow Park for the must-win clash.
