By Cameron Sheath

What a difference a week makes.

Arsenal went into Week 7 of the WSL season in the bottom half of the table after a 1-1 draw with then-13th-placed Birmingham City followed defeats to both Chelsea and Manchester City. Just eight days later, the Gunners could end the weekend in fourth place, just four points off London City Lionesses, who they play in a fortnight.

Results will have to go their way, of course, but a win would see Renee Slegers’ side leapfrog both Everton and Manchester United, with Spurs facing a tough trip to the aforementioned Birmingham and London City hosting Manchester City.

Standing in their way of three points today is an in-form Aston Villa side who are unbeaten in five games under interim head coach Brian Sorensen, with two wins and a draw from his three WSL games in charge.

Team News

The big news for Arsenal this week is that Katie Reid, who had been back training with the team, is now set to be out until after Christmas with an ankle injury. In more positive news, Slegers revealed that there ‘might be a chance’ that Frida Maanum makes her return this afternoon. Either way, the midfielder is clearly there or thereabouts regarding her fitness.

The manager also noted that Daphne van Domselaar is getting ‘closer and closer,’ but that this one ‘may be a game too early.’

For the visitors, the only injury news since their penalty-shootout loss to Birmingham in midweek is that Lucy Barker is back after missing all five of Sorensen’s games so far. The central midfielder came off injured in the 29th minute of Villa’s 4-0 loss to Spurs, Natalia Arroyo’s final game in charge before being relieved of her duties at the end of September.

Ones to Watch

Georgia Stanway and Kyra Cooney-Cross seem to have found a nice balance in recent games, with the Australian excelling as a deep-lying playmaker, and Stanway offering more of a goal threat as a box-to-box midfielder. Cooney-Cross’ ability to break the lines with her passing has really shone in the last two games and Stanway’s baked-in understanding with Alessia Russo is paying dividends.

Beyond that, I’m intrigued by Villa’s tactical shape under Sorensen, and the way it plays perfectly into the way Arsenal build their attacks. Slegers mentioned in her pre-match press conference that teams often change things up when they play Arsenal, but Sorensen is already deploying three centre backs as standard.

Sorensen’s 3-4-2-1 setup has clearly been working for him, but the way his wing backs are asked to go tight against opposing wingers leaves the rest of the team exposed. The image below captures this perfectly. Villa have dropped into a back-five with Liverpool in possession, but the width has created huge spaces between the wing back and the centre-half, and also between the two central midfielders.

Villa have played three games since then, and were playing a standard back-four under Arroyo, so there’s going to be some growing pains in a new system, but Arsenal have the players to exploit those spaces. Russo made a run into exactly that channel (albeit on the opposite side) to set up Stanway’s equaliser against Spurs, while Olivia Smith, Caitlin Foord, and Ona Batlle all exploited similar areas against Benfica.

Villa have conceded three goals in their last two games, with all three coming late (’79, ’90, ’90+4) and all three coming from the wide areas. Per Flashscore, Arsenal recorded 28 crosses against Benfica on Wednesday night, and all three of their non-penalty goals in the past eight days have originated out wide.

In their last WSL outing, they scored three against a hapless Everton defence, before almost throwing it away in the final 12 minutes, escaping with a 3-2 victory. Before that, Sorensen’s team were dominated by Liverpool, mustering only 32% possession and 0.38 XG, but a counter-attack goal from nowhere and a Liverpool own goal handed them a 2-1 win.

Arsenal won’t give away the kind of goals that Everton did, but Villa’s counter-attack goal against Liverpool is something they’ll have to take note of. Top scorer Amalie Vangsgaard won’t trouble Arsenal in behind, but she is a big target to play off of, and Dutch winger Chastity Grant has the pace and power to be a threat on the break.

Final Thoughts

Arsenal looked to have rediscovered their mojo in the second half of the Benfica win, and while their troubles in front of goal have been the big talking point, Wednesday night was only their second clean sheet since September 13.

While Villa have been on a respectable run, this is by far the biggest test they’ve faced since Sorensen took over. A week or two ago, I wouldn’t have felt confident, regardless of who Arsenal were playing, but with a new-found confidence, I fully expect them to dominate this one and win comfortably.

I don’t expect Slegers to change too much, with things finally going her way, but I’d like to see Lisa Baum return to the starting line-up. Firstly, because she is an exciting player to watch, and although I’ve campaigned for Geraldine Reuteler to get more minutes, the right wing is not what I had in mind.

Secondly, Arsenal have scored the first goal in only two of their seven WSL games so far this season, with Baum responsible for both openers (Brighton and Man City). I know that’s not how it works, but it would be really nice to see the team just take the lead and run away with one, and today is a great opportunity.

Prediction: Arsenal 4-0 Aston Villa

That’s it for this one. I’ll be back in the not-too-distant future with a review of this game, before starting next week with another ‘Monday Musings’. Paul has previewed the men’s game at Anfield, and will be providing a review of that one in due course. Fingers crossed for six points!