By Cameron Sheath

Arsenal’s sluggish start to the season continued with a bitterly disappointing 1-1- draw with a Birmingham City side that sat 13th in the table this morning.

If you could have predicted the way this game would go, taking all loyalty and emotion out of it, it would have taken little imagination to forecast what went on at the Emirates this afternoon. Arsenal dominated possession, but tested Birmingham’s goal sporadically, an inefficiency which again left them vulnerable.

Lineup

Misa Rodriguez started in goal. with Ona Batlle, Lotte Wubben-Moy, and Leah Williamson the obvious starts at the back, and Smilla Holmberg the first surprising start. Kyra Cooney-Cross and Georgia Stanway remained Arsenal’s holding midfield duo, with Lisa Baum and Olivia Smith starting on the right and left, respectively.

The big question mark was how Renee Slegers would replace Mariona Caldentey in the No. 10, and it was Alessia Russo who dropped back, making room for Stina Blackstenius to start up top.

First Half

Russo, Blackstenius, and Smith tallied eight goals between them over the international break, but any hope of that form seamlessly transitioning into club football quickly faded. Arsenal could ill afford to allow the Emirates to get nervous, but Misa’s rash decision to come for a ball on the halfway line early on accelerated any nerves the crowd might be feeling.

Things didn’t improve when Birmingham striker Lily Crosthwaite burst through on goal, but the 23-year-old rushed into an early finish with Williamson applying pressure, dragging her shot well wide. The striker found space in front of goal again minutes later, but her reverse pass to Miyagawa let her down.

I was surprised to see Holmberg start ahead of Emily Fox at right back, but the Swede’s continuous runs down the right hand side forced Birmingham’s key attacking threat, Oceane Hurtre, to track back into her own box. The result of this was Hurtre switching over to the right side before the 20-minute mark.

Arsenal had again started slowly and were frustratingly disjointed in the final third, but by the half-hour mark, Stanway and Cooney-Cross had settled into the game and were finding progressive passes at will. One such pass found Smith in space down the left, but the young winger did too much, and the chance was all but gone by the time she squared to Blackstenius, who couldn’t turn it goalwards.

Two long-range shots from Cooney-Cross then got the crowd going and there was a feeling that Arsenal were about to press on and make use of their dominance. Still, it was almost 10 minutes later that the home side finally worked a real opportunity. A scrappy interchange between Baum and Holmberg on the right finally fell to Williamson in her typical inside midfield position. Her cross was met by Russo who set a header crashing against Sophie Baggaley’s left-hand post.

No score at the break, but Birmingham City had done more than enough to suggest they could cause an upset in North London.

Second Half

What was threatening to become another frustrating afternoon looked considerably worse just seven minutes into the second half. Lisa Baum cut inside and in her attempt to work a shooting chance, was bundled off the ball just inside the box, but there was no appeal from anyone else in red and white.

Full back Neve Herron, who was later named player of the match by Izzy Christianson, picked up the ball and strode forward before playing a direct pass in behind for Hurtre. After Wubben-Moy failed to intercept the pass, the French forward strode into the Arsenal box and nonchalantly dinked the ball beyond a helpless Misa to put the visitors ahead. 0-1.

It would be a stretch to suggest that Birmingham deserved their lead, but based on the chances created by both sides, Arsenal could have no complaints about finding themselves behind.

Ten minutes later, Olivia Smith burst into life down the left, winning a free kick with her typical blend of pace, trickery, and persistence. That was followed by more good work down the left which saw Batlle in acres of space, her high, hanging cross found Baum at the far post, but the German’s timid header was straight at Baggaley.

Just a minute later, though, Baum produced her best piece of play of the game, jinking left and right before fizzing in a left-footed cross. The clearance was pounced upon by Arsenal and the ball found its way to Smith, who pushed the ball out of her feet before firing a rocket of a shot high into the Birmingham City net from 25 yards.

Smith’s celebration was muted, with Arsenal still desperately needing more, and the winger in visible discomfort after landing awkwardly on her shoulder moments earlier.

The pace of the game noticeably increased following the equalizer and Arsenal were winning a lot of free kicks in promising positions. Holmberg was tasked with swinging those free kicks into the box and it wasn’t long before she found Wubben-Moy at the far post, with the defender forcing a brilliant save from Baggaley. Baum and Smith both went for the follow-up, with the German firing into the stands.

Smith got her chance shortly after, again from a Holmberg free kick, but she too fired over on the half volley. Arsenal were doing a great job of winning the second balls, but were running out of time to make it count. If Birmingham City were thinking about shutting up shop, that decision got a lot easier in the 79th minute when Hurtre left the game with an injury.

Some neat play down the right saw Geraldine Reuteler find dangerous positions twice as the clock wound down. First, the German took a second too long to get her shot away, which was subsequently blocked. Minutes later, the new signing flashed a wicked ball right the way across the six-yard box, but no one in an Arsenal shirt was there to turn it home.

The full-time whistle was greeted with boos from the home crowd, who are growing increasingly frustrated with their team’s flat performances.

Final Thoughts

Despite carrying plenty of optimism out of the international break, it’s clear that this attacking group just aren’t clicking. Blackstenius was a non-factor for the 76 minutes that she was on the field, with Arsenal consistently struggling to work the ball from outside to in with any success.

One deep cross from Williamson created Arsenal’s only real chance of the first half, and most of the hosts’ second-half opportunities came in the same way. Beyond that, the only moments of quality came from Smith on the left, and Cooney-Cross and Stanway, who needed far more from those in front of them.

Any team can score in this division, and Arsenal’s careful, almost perfectionist-like approach puts them under real pressure when they don’t make the most of their limited chances. On reflection, it’s perhaps not a surprise that Arsenal’s better defensive record hasn’t been enough to outdo Man City and Chelsea’s more free-scoring approach in recent seasons.

Beyond that, I really hope Olivia Smith’s shoulder injury isn’t serious. The Canadian’s goal was outstanding and her individuality will likely be crucial in Arsenal’s search for more attacking output. Elsewhere, Geraldine Reuteler’s movement into the channels caused Birmingham City real problems late on, and she could be the catalyst if given a start in the North London derby next weekend.