Liv Smith shines as Arsenal end Manchester City's winning run
Smith's runs in behind and a resilient defence secured 1-0 win for the Gunners
Arsenal ended Manchester City’s 13-match winning streak in the WSL with a 1-0 victory at the Emirates on Sunday.
Olivia Smith’s goal in the 17th minute was enough to see off a lacklustre City team and inflict a first defeat on the league leaders since the opening day of the season.
Coming into the match fresh off the back of being crowned the inaugural winners of the Fifa Champions Cup, Arsenal showed multiple facets to their game, blending attacking ruthlessness with defensive resilience.
With a game in hand over Manchester United and Chelsea, the win means that the Gunners have now picked up seven points from a possible nine in their three games against their WSL rivals since the turn of the year.
Smith springs a surprise
Ahead of the match, many people would have anticipated Renee Slegers to continue with Stina Blackstenius up front. The Swede has regularly been favoured in matches against WSL sides that offer space in behind – a principle that certainly applies to City, with Andree Jeglertz favouring a high defensive line.
However, when the team news dropped, Blackstenius’ name was nowhere to be seen, with the centre-forward picking up a calf injury which Slegers later revealed had “built during the week”. With Arsenal’s gameplan clearly hinging on speed in behind, Slegers looked to Olivia Smith to fill a Blackstenius-shaped hole.
It didn’t take long for the plan to be vindicated. With 17 minutes on the clock, it was Smith who ran in behind Rebecca Knaak and into acres of green grass left behind the City backline. Smith then rounded the onrushing Ayaka Yamashita and guided the ball into an unguarded net.
Smith’s performance marked a clear indication that Arsenal have found a true Blackstenius alternative, but it would be reductive to call Smith an exact analogue for the Swede. While both have now put in effective centre-forward performances defined by running in behind, Blackstenius is better known for her volume of runs and speed over a longer distance, while Smith’s game against City was characterised by short, sharp bursts off the shoulder of defenders, with Knaak clearly targeted in the first half.
Another interesting detail to Smith’s performance was her fluidity, Slegers noted after the match that she had given her creative licence, saying that while the player had been given instructions by coaches in the week, she wanted her to “play on intuition” and make her own decisions rather than stick to a rigid plan. Beyond simply running in behind, the Canadian was also happy to float out to the flanks, where she would be typically deployed, attempting to confuse the City backline and drag players out of position.
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