Emily Fox is back in contention to play for Arsenal against Chelsea this weekend, head coach Renée Slegers confirmed.
Arsenal play second-place Chelsea this weekend in a crucial battle for the UEFA Women’s Champions League qualifying spots. Just four points separate the two sides going into the match on Saturday. Tottenham Hotspur have the same amount of points as Arsenal but a lesser goal difference.
Emily Fox will be back with the squad after being subbed off early in Arsenal’s FA Cup match against Aston Villa on Sunday. Chloe Kelly and Leah Williamson are progressing well, but the match will come too soon for them.
Kyra Cooney-Cross has returned to London after taking time off to be with her Mum Jess, who received a devastating cancer diagnosis earlier this month. Everyone at The Halfway Line are thinking of Cooney-Cross and her family.
The manager says that Cooney-Cross is not ready for a match day appearance yet. “She was with us when we restarted in January, but only had two sessions and travelled back to Australia to be with her family. So she needs to build fitness to be ready to play games.”
Goal scoring issues for Arsenal
Arsenal have failed to convert their dominance on the pitch into goals scored so far this season. In their equivalent WSL fixtures last season (excluding promoted London City Lionesses), Arsenal scored 31 goals. This season they have only scored 18 in those same fixtures.
The Gunners went out of the Subway League Cup against Manchester United on Wednesday. They were the dominant party for most of the game. They got themselves in good positions in front of Tullis-Joyce’s goal, but essentially failed to convert any of their 21 shots into goals. Only three shots went on target for the American goalkeeper to save.
On Arsenal’s goalscoring struggles, Slegers considered, “If we are really clear on how we want to structure things and what the plans are going into games, then there needs to be Freedom of decision making for players to follow their instincts as well.
“Because I believe that if you play on the intuition, especially in moments where we know there’s a structure, but there are chaotic moments, then you have to make quick decisions and you do that best on intuition.
“So we try to find that perfect balance of giving structure and control the controllables, and then also allowing players to play on their intuition and make sure they believe in themselves. And we show that we believe in them, because we all do.”
Olivia Smith’s red card
Olivia Smith was sent off during the match in midweek, so she is suspended for Arsenal’s match against Chelsea this weekend. Slegers says Smith has taken a lot of learnings from that moment.
“She’s the type of player plays on the edge. That’s her super strength and it causes a lot of issues for opposition. I think she takes some knocks in games and that’s not always easy for her. It’s a style of play,” Slegers said.
“So that’s what we spoke about. You need to accept the way you’re playing and take the knocks as well, if that’s the way you play. I think, of course it is hard for her because opposition goes really tough on her in all possible ways, not only physical. And that got to her a little bit and that’s when she took the second yellow,” Slegers continued.
The role of Arsenal’s number 10
The number 10 position has been occupied by a number of players this season. Frida Maanum has yet to make a goal contribution since November. Alessia Russo is being deployed in the number 10 at times, with Stina Blackstenius up top, but one could argue Russo does not provide enough creativity.
While doing well to hold the ball up. Mariona Caldentey could be the best candidate, but she is being used in the midfield double pivot. The Halfway Line asked Slegers about her thoughts on the 10 position.
“Yeah, so we’ve played different players in that position. Of course, it’s been Frida, Alessia, Mariona, Vic has played in that position. I think it’s a very demanding position for us.
“Yes, we want to produce goals and points from that position, but there’s also a lot of other things that we ask from the 10.
“If you look at goal scoring contribution, we have a spread in the team, so we score from different positions and sometimes we are forced into decisions in who plays where and sometimes we can make decisions. So that’s also a luxury position,” Slegers reflected ahead of the decisive tie.
Arsenal will face their rivals Chelsea away at Stamford Bridge on Saturday. The match kicks off at 12:30 GMT and will be shown live on BBC One.
