Happy New Year Everyone! 2022 is finally upon us, a chance for a fresh start, to make promises we won’t end up keeping (my resolution to lose weight will be over before we hit February), and hope that things turn out for the better this year, especially in Arsenal Women’s case. Here’s a quick recap of the highs (few) and lows (many) of the year just past. This is a follow up to my mid-term review (which I know caused some controversy!), which will instead encompass the entire year, rather than just the last 4 months, and focus on the key moments that defined last year.
Let us start at the very start itself. January. Arsenal began it on the back foot, two defeats to the Manchester clubs knocking them off the top of the tree and into the chasing pack. The fallout Dubai-gate fiasco had added more fuel to the fire of a season threatening to spin out of control. Alarm bells rang when a patched-up Arsenal, blighted by injury and COVID, went to the Madejski Stadium and put in a shocker of a performance and came away with a 1-1 draw. Further ground on the top was lost, as ‘winnable games’ were postponed due to snow and frozen pitches, meaning Arsenal went into the Man City-Chelsea double-header cold (figuratively and literally) and out of form. It was a disaster. Man City’s pace and pressing ran Arsenal ragged to clock up a 2-1 win, which was followed by a meek surrender at Kingsmeadow as Chelsea clocked up a comfortable 3-0 win. Those hoping that the New Year would bring about an upturn in form were left devasted. Arsenal had gone from title contenders, to challengers, to out of contention altogether. Now, even Europe looked beyond them.
March. Arsenal face Man United under the lights at Meadow Park. It’s last chance saloon. The winner will be in prime position to claim the last ticket to Europe. The loser faces missing out on the biggest party on the continent. Throughout the season, these were the games Arsenal had fallen short, but this time around, sensing the sheer jeopardy of the situation, Arsenal dug deep into their reserves of courage and character, to fight tooth and nail for 3 vital points. Things looked ominous with Arsenal being forced to use a patchwork defence of Lia Walti and Lotte Wubben-Moy, but it would instead provide the bedrock of a run of form which would change Arsenal’s fortunes. An early won goal and a thumping header gave Arsenal a 2-0 lead. Luck was on their side, as Man United were guilty of missing a hatful of chances, but they were also given a boost when Beth Mead was sent off in the second half for 2 bookings. However, Arsenal stood firm, and the win saw them ultimately put together a run of 8 successive wins to catapult them back into third place. At Everton, a last-minute Kim Little penalty all but sealed their place in Europe. A final day draw at home to Aston Villa confirmed it. Arsenal were back in Europe, by a single point. The barest of margins.
In the cups, Arsenal missed out on the Conti Cup, after exiting the group stage the previous year. But they progressed through the early stages of the delayed FA Cup, with 10-0 and 9-0 wins over Gillingham and Crystal Palace respectively. These games would be the last for Joe Montemurro, who chose to step down as the season. It left Arsenal fans suffering a very uncertain summer, with no manager at the helm, players leaving, others eying the exit door, and questions over the ambitions of the club following another trophyless and disappointing season.
Jonas who? Those were thoughts of many when Arsenal’s new Swedish coach strolled through the doors at London Colney. First impressions are everything though (just look at Arteta), and Jonas Eidevall was certainly ticking all the right boxes in his first interview for the fans, when he spoke about the need to combat high pressing teams and becoming more competitive in the ‘big games’. Actions, of course, speak louder than words, and with season critical European pre-qualifiers on the horizon, fans were given an early glimpse into their new head coach’s philosophy. A loss at this stage would undo all the hard work put in last season’s run-in to salvage what remained of a damaged campaign. But triumph they did, and again in the play-off, to secure safe passage into the group stage.
September. There was a new broadcaster in town, with Sky taking the helm of the WSL broadcast rights, aided by the BBC. And for the opening weekend, they aired a blockbuster tie to the masses. Arsenal vs Chelsea. The new guy on the block against the reigning champions and most successful manager in WSL history. At Emirates Stadium in the late summer sunshine. And what a show they put on. Arsenal took an early lead through Miedema, Chelsea roared back with a late first half equaliser from Cuthbert. Arsenal responded with a second half brace from Mead, but Chelsea quickly hit back through Harder, setting up an anxious, nail-biting, nerve wracking 25 minutes as Chelsea desperately pressed for the equaliser. But Arsenal, uncharacteristically, stood strong and held out for a memorable win, and a provided a brilliant advert for the WSL and for new fans tuning in to the new coverage. Was this a one-off, or the start of a promising new dawn? Arsenal would be tested once again when Man City arrived at Meadow Park to provide another potentially stern test of this new Arsenal’s title credentials. Yet, in one of the most one-sided ‘top-of-the-table’ clashes of recent seasons, Arsenal brushed them aside with an ease totally at odds with performances past. They were, of course, aided by an injury crisis in the Man City to rival their own, but Arsenal took full advantage, racking up a memorable 5-0 win with goals form Miedema, McCabe, Williamson and a brace from Little. With the ‘big sides’ now disposed of; Arsenal now had a clear run to the Christmas break to cement their title challenge. What followed was win after win after win. By December, as the players headed off for their holidays, Arsenal were 4 points clear at the top, their only stumble a 1-1 draw against Spurs at the Hive, with Rachael Williams’ scrambled effort cancelled out by a last gasp Vivianne Miedema header. 2021 started with Arsenal falling behind the pack. By the end of it, they were the ones leading it.
However, whilst the resurgence in the WSL showed signs of promise for the future, in the cup competitions, old signs of previous ills persevered. The Champions’ League group stage started well enough, with 3 wins from the first 4 games, especially in a group with reigning champions Barcelona. But a collapse at the tail end almost undid all their good work. Arsenal lost their games against Barca, as expected, but a 4-1 defeat at Hoffenheim on the final day nearly ruined everything, and showed that, despite the good league form, the problems at the back still existed, especially against the better sides. The conclusion of last season’s FA Cup also brutally exposed the shortcomings that still existed with the team. Having got to the final, Arsenal were brutally dismantled by a Chelsea side out to avenge their opening day disappointment. The 3-0 defeat underplayed the dominance they exerted over the Gunners, with Leah’s absence to injury exposing holes at the back that she had been able to cater for prior. Arsenal ultimately ended 2021 trophyless once again. However, I have some awards of my own to bestow upon them, to acknowledge some of the best (and worst) moments of the year just gone.
Performance of the Year: Arsenal 2-0 Man United. Arsenal’s backs were against the wall going into this yet put in a performance that was at odds with anything we had seen that season. At the heart of it was Lotte Wubben-Moy, the young defender brought back from America the previous summer, alongside Lia Walti, covering for the injured Leah Williamson and Jen Beattie. Arsenal even sacrificed the thing most sacred to them under Montemurro, possession (38%), to achieve victory. This one result changed Arsenal’s season completely and rescued European Football from a season where everything else was lost.
Disappointment of the Year: The FA Cup Final. 2021 was a very disappointing year for Arsenal Women fans, but the FA Cup Final against Chelsea was the moment that capped it all off. It was a chance to finally win a first trophy of the Jonas Eidevall era, but the chance was blown in spectacular fashion. Arsenal didn’t turn up; the midfield was overrun and Chelsea’ Kerr-by axis ripped apart a backline consisting of an ageing Beattie and an inexperienced Wubben-Moy. Any trip to Wembley was memorable, but sadly, this was memorable for all the wrong seasons. Fans in the stadium were hoping for a repeat of the exciting win at Emirates Stadium back in September, but what they were forced to experience was a mauling that exposed the gulf in class that still remained between the two sides. The final goal, an exquisite Kerr lob over Manu to seal the game, was as beautiful as it was devasting to the fans, with Emma Hayes’ ‘purring’ comments in the post-match interview the final dagger to the heart. A painful, painful afternoon, and the icing on the disappointing cake that was 2021.
Player of the Year: Manuela Zinsberger: What a difference a year makes. As 2020 came to a close, Manuela Zinsberger was low down in my estimations. The Austrian shot stopper had yet to assert herself under Joe Montemurro, being constantly rotated out with PPM and Williams. And when given the chance to start, her performances would be tinged with moments of rashness and poor judgement, be it dallying on the ball, slow to react to shots, or charges from her penalty area leaving the goal poorly exposed. At the start of 2021, she signed an extension to her contract to stay at the club for the long term, raising eyebrows amongst fans over the logic behind keeping hold of such an erratic keeper, especially now that the standard of keepers has increased exponentially over previous seasons. Thankfully, all of us have been forced to eat the most delicious slice of humble pie, as Manu’s ascension as the year has progressed has been stratospheric. Confident on the ball, focused for the full 90 minutes, we now have a new Manu between the sticks, and the impact has been noticeable. During last season’s 3-0 win in the North London Derby, she made an incredible triple-save late on to preserve her clean sheet. In fact, she only conceded one more goal for the remainder of the season, and only 3 goals this season. In the games which Arsenal have lost, against Chelsea in the FA Cup and Barcelona in the Champions League, she has been our best player, with a string of remarkable reaction saves to keep the scoreline down, a particular highlight being her late penalty save against Ballon D’or winner Alexia Puttelas. Many have acknowledged that the best keepers in the WSL are Chelsea’s Ann-Katrin Berger and Chelsea’s Ellie Roebuck. But if Manu’s form and consistency continues in this manner, there’s no reason why she cannot be held in this contention as well. Well done Manu!
Flop of the Year: Jill Roord/Nikita Parris. Given the turnaround of players over the summer, this will be a joint award. In a year of disappointments, there have been players who have to take their share the blame, having failed to live up to expectations, to the detriment of the side. Daniëlle van de Donk had a stinker of a final season, when compared to her very high standards, impeded by carrying an injury throughout and being played out of position most of the time. Tobin Heath has barely done anything since arriving, bar a neat volley against Hoffenheim and a handful of assists. However, injury has prevented her from being able to showcase her talents, likewise regarding Mana. However, in the case of Jill Roord and Nikita Parris, these are two players who possess talent that would greatly benefit Arsenal, yet despite both having clear runs in the starting 11, neither of them was able to express it fully throughout the year, to the detriment of the team as whole.
- The first winner of this award is Jill Roord. She arrived back in 2019 with much expectation and excitement, being one the promising young attacking midfielders in a talented Dutch side. Yet over the two seasons at the club, she failed to leave up to the hype. Her double hat-tricks against Reading and West Ham at the start of last season was merely a false dawn. In 2021, she failed to score a single goal in the league, although did clock up 4 goals against Gillingham and Crystal Palace in the FA Cup. Joe Montemurro struggled to find the ideal position for her in the team, trying to squeeze her into the team alongside too many other attacking midfielders, such as Nobbs and DVD. In the summer, she moved on to Wolfsburg, where it appears she has found her fire once again, which is great to see.
- The second winner of this award sadly is Nikita Parris. And I feel I need to come clean here. When the signing of Parris was confirmed, I was concerned, as she is not a player I had confidence in. The 2019 World Cup was not a great showcase of her talents with England, and whilst she did have success at Lyon, including winning the Champions League, the truth is that anyone can go to Lyon and be successful, such is the nature of the team, so that is not an accurate barometer of success. However, I don’t want her not to be a success at Arsenal. Quite the opposite, in fact. I want her to prove me wrong, I want her to be a star in this side, to justify the record fee Arsenal spent in acquiring her. And whilst I didn’t have confidence in her, I acknowledged that she does have talent in front of goal, as before departing for France, she was the WSL record scorer with 49 goals, before Miedema overtook her last season. The goals in the early European Qualifiers hinted that she would be a strong addition, but in the League, it simply hasn’t happened. There have been some comical misses combined with the bad luck of some superb saves to deny Nikita the chance to hit the magic 50th goal. And the longer this has carried on, the more it appears to be eating at her confidence, as everything appears to be forced and overthought, rather than coming naturally. However, against Leicester City, Arsenal’s final game before the Christmas break, she did show signs of her talents, with her running in behind forcing the red card and setting up Miedema’s goal, providing an end product which beforehand she had struggled to provide. Hopefully, if she can find her 50th WSL goal in the New Year, it will allow her to relax and repay the investment Arsenal have placed in her.
Moment of the Year: Kim Little’s late, late, late penalty. There have been some memorable moments throughout the year, Mead scoring against Chelsea to raise the roof at Emirates Stadium, or Miedema scoring a hat-trick against Slavia Praha to rack up 100 goals for Arsenal. But the most critical, most important, most season defining of them all, was Kim Little’s penalty with the final kick of the ball at Everton. As Arsenal’s season slowly began to draw to a close, the strain of having to sustain the moment required to clinch 3rd place was beginning to show. The games that had been postponed earlier in the year were now stacking up at the tail, generating fixture congestion that Arsenal had to circumnavigate successfully to achieve some level of success. On the pitch, performances had gone from comfortable to strained. 2-0 wins against West Ham and Brighton were dogged rather than fluent. Miedema, so often the source of Arsenal’s goals, was being to show the strain under the necessity of being Arsenal’s primary outlet. In a 4-0 over Bristol City, she missed a hatful of chances that would have certainly clinched her the Golden Boot (an award that was ultimately won by Chelsea’s Sam Kerr). As much as the team was noticeably beginning to struggle, the required results were still being achieved. By the time Arsenal arrived at Walton Hall Park to face a notoriously stubborn Everton side, they knew 3 points would more or less secure 3rd place. At half time, a clever McCabe lob had given them a 1-0 win. But the in the second half, Arsenal stopped playing, trying to see out the result required. But on 74 minutes, the nightmare scenario happened, as Finnigan nodded home a lobbed pass to level the game. All of the hard work over the last few months looked to have been in tatters. Man United had been keeping Arsenal honest throughout, waiting for the opportunity to pounce on any slip-up, and it looked like their moment had finally arrived. The clock passed 90 with both teams all-square. As the final minute of added time ticked by, Arsenal launched one final desperate assault on the Everton goal, and in the final seconds, McCabe had her legs swept away from her in the box. Penalty. The ever-reliable Kim Little stepped up to take one of the most critical penalties of her Arsenal career. With the team’s entire season on the line, Captain Kim stepped up and blasted the ball into the top corner, to send the players and the fans watching on at home into ecstasy. The victory achieved; the 3 points secured. Arsenal were back in Europe.
Game of the Year: Arsenal 3-2 Chelsea. It’s difficult to summarise just what an occasion this was at Emirates Stadium, but I shall try! Chelsea, reigning champions, had been a thorn in the side over the previous seasons, particularly under Joe Montemurro. There were signs of promise, with a win over Emma Hayes’ side in the ‘Mind Series’ pre-season friendly giving hope that maybe we could triumph again. And the hope got stronger, when it was revealed that Chelsea would be starting without Kerr and Kirby. With the game coming so close to the end of the Olympics, Emma had opted to rest her star forwards. It would prove to be a decision that would backfire badly. Arsenal started the stronger, exploiting spaces on the wingers as Hayes’ experimental 3-5-2 failed to defend properly. Vivianne Miedema kicked off the festivities, twisting Jess Carter inside and out, before striking the ball through her legs and past Berger at her near post. But Chelsea fought back, pushing Arsenal back into their own half. With the halftime whistle imminent, they kept a set piece alive, and Leupolz’s low cross was converted by Cuthbert to end half all squared. It was a blow to the abdomen to all of us in the stands. Surely now, in the second half, Chelsea would have all the momentum, especially with the likes of Kerr and Kirby to come off the bench. They very nearly took the lead, with Reiten’s cross looping over Manu and off the crossbar. But then Beth Mead turned the tide of the contest. Walti intercepted Ji’s pass, Miedema threaded the pass through the high line, and Beth Mead raced clear. Magda managed to slow her up on the edge of the box, but then Mead hit a rocket with her weaker foot past her and Berger and into the back of the net. Cue bedlam. Arsenal had their lead back, and with it, the game swung back their way. Mead’s pace behind an unsettle back three caused problems, with only the alertness of Berger foiling her attempts to break free to score. Realising the game was slipping from her, Hayes’ summoned her deadly duo from the bench, to try and retake control. But she was too late. Miedema and Iwabuchi combined to thread Mead in behind. Berger came out to meet her, but this time she was too late. From the stands, it looked like a penalty might be imminent, but instead, Mead rounded her and slotted it into an empty net, to give the Gunners a 3-1 lead. Replays showed she was offside, but with no VAR, the goal stood. Unfortunately, the fans were given little chance to revel in the extraordinary position they found themselves in, as Chelsea went straight back up the other end to reduce the deficit, with Cuthbert swinging over a cross for Harder to head home. Suddenly, it was Chelsea in the driving seat, and with 25 minutes left, there was plenty of time to draw level and rob Arsenal of the most glorious of Sunday afternoons. Chelsea went aerial, but Arsenal stood firm, heading clear and blocking everything in sight. The clock’s speed became excruciating slow, seconds becoming minutes, and minutes becoming hours. Eventually, with our nerves shredded and our voices long gone, the referee finally blew her whistle to end a titanic encounter, that for once had gone the way of the Gunners. Arsenal had triumphed, in one of the finest games ever played at Emirates Stadium. And breathe.
