shock of the moment as zinsberberger…..

REVIEW:It was difficult for our Arsenal Women and our supporters to watch the match against Chelsea Women, but we knew what had to be done and lost the opportunity to get closer to the Blues for the Women’s Super League Title this year.

I experienced a lot of problems, and everything seemed to happen really quickly. We could have been thoroughly disgraced at Stamford Bridge if Manuela Zinsberger hadn’t made some outstanding saves to keep the score lower than it could have been. I believe the following went wrong.

First of all, I believe Jonas Eidevall made a mistake in line-up selection. Our squad was undoubtedly strong, but in my opinion, Russo and Blackstenius ought to have started together. We needed that extra offensive punch, and I didn’t understand why Russo was substituted for Blackstenius so early in the second half. Our lack of opportunities in the first half wasn’t Blackstenius’ fault, and this season, she hasn’t often blown opportunities.

Then, Russo was put into a game when nearly the entire squad had given up on winning, and she typically struggles in circumstances like that. The Chelsea Women’s team has been really well-drilled by Emma Hayes, so they would have been observing our tendencies and figuring us out for a time. I believe Eidevall proceeded with what he knew had been successful in previous matches.

We ought to have taken Chelsea by surprise by employing alternative strategies and making the most of our advantages, but instead we appeared very much like we do every time. Heads dropped as soon as the first goal was scored, and our defense suffered from losing Catley early in the second half, which caused us to appear distorted.

Chelsea scored goals quickly against us, and before we knew it, we were behind 3-0 against a team that was obviously motivated by the enthusiasm of the supporters. Our spirits dropped, and it seemed impossible for us to win the game again.

Even though it was a deflected goal, scoring late gave the impression that the game was much better than it actually was, but in my opinion, we didn’t fight hard enough. As previously stated, the game might have been really embarrassing if Zinsberger hadn’t made some amazing and timely saves, but she managed to keep us looking respectable.

Additionally, I believe that Eidevall made the incorrect substitutions in the wrong spots; it appeared as though he panicked and threw the kitchen sink at the problem without thinking through the tactical options.

The disappointment stems from the fact that, barring a miracle, we appear to have lost the race against Chelsea, Manchester City, and ourselves. Although the season has been nice, we feel that we could and should have done more.