For the second time in the space of a week, Arsenal have been held to a hugely frustrating draw at Emirates Stadium; Smilla Holmberg’s late leveller ultimately rescuing a point at the death against a Manchester United side who picked up their first point under new head coach Eva Olid.
Arsenal boss Renée Slegers cast a downbeat figure post-match as her side dropped more points in the opening weeks of the season. It’s a pattern fans are all too familiar with at this point.
Here are five things that hindered the Gunners on the day.
Showing United too much respect
Coming off the back of a damaging draw against newly promoted opposition last time out, the visit of an out-of-sorts Manchester United – who had conceded seven goals in their opening two WSL matches this season – felt like the perfect opportunity for Arsenal to regain some momentum ahead of back-to-back away trips to their would-be title rivals.
In their first couple of WSL matches, United were pinned back, averaging 39% possession. Despite arriving with a more defensive setup at the Emirates – a conscious tactical choice that Olid referenced post-match – they enjoyed a steady start, commanding the majority of possession inside the opening 20 minutes.
Arsenal would grow into the game from here – the full-time possession stats read 59% to 41% in Arsenal’s favour – but an Arsenal side in desperate need of goals wasted an opportunity to go at the throats of their opponents right from the off.
A lack of box presence
Arsenal prioritised width in this match. Having inverted her wingers against Crystal Palace, Slegers opted to start Lisa Baum and Olivia Smith on their dominant sides this time around and a theme of the first half was Smith’s tendency to go down the outside of United left-back Anna Sandberg.
She had some success here, recording 12 carries all-in-all in her 58 minutes on the pitch, but her efforts were hindered by a lack of box presence from an Arsenal perspective. If we look at the inaccurate passes made by Smith in the match, we can see a cluster of balls played from the byline that weren’t met. One of the players failing to get on the end of these passes was Alessia Russo, who lined up in the number 10 position.
The role isn’t new to the England international – she started nine WSL games there last season – but playing the position comes with a trade-off. While at her best, Russo can offer connectivity from deep, but an inability to get shots away can be an issue against deep defences. She mustered only two last night, the first of which came in the 64th minute. As a result, the initial danger Smith created by getting to the byline counted for very little.
