Twelve months is a short while in soccer. Journey again to this weekend a yr in the past, Arsenal had simply issued essentially the most compelling of Girls’s Tremendous League title statements, sweeping apart unbeaten Manchester Metropolis regardless of lacking a penalty.
That sparked a four-match successful streak, the place they scored a complete of 16 objectives, together with a positively-charged 4-1 win over eventual champions Chelsea. Momentum was constructing on and off the pitch, and crowds had been flocking to witness standard-setting Arsenal gentle up the Emirates.
One other attendance report was damaged that day in opposition to Emma Hayes’ Chelsea, and the Gunners had been projecting comprehensible angle: ‘Arsenal are again’ was the headline of the second. They turned the envy of the league.
However more durable instances had been to comply with. Optimism started to wane, confidence slowly drained from the beforehand jubilant stands after a collection of dour shows, earlier than all of it culminated in supervisor Jonas Eidevall shedding his job.
The Swede maintained that performances had been higher than outcomes – a defence that failed to face up – however in actuality Arsenal had misplaced identification and had been susceptible to being minimize adrift. Confidence stays brittle in N5 regardless of two wins since Eidevall walked.
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Highlights of the Girls’s Tremendous League match between West Ham United and Arsenal.
The state of affairs is just not too dissimilar from the frustration felt at Manchester United all through final yr’s turbulent marketing campaign. Marc Skinner’s facet – by his personal admission – had been “bloated by the success” of the season earlier, and requirements slipped.
Many known as for Skinner to go within the wake of such underperformance. Noise grew loud however by no means reached a full crescendo as United completed fifth, finally saved by the solace of silverware after rounding off a poor season by successful the FA Cup.
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Highlights of the Girls’s Tremendous League match between Brighton and Manchester United.
And now, a month in to 2024-25, fortune seems to have flipped. Man Utd are on a gradual incline after an unbeaten begin – one in every of three groups, alongside Man Metropolis and Chelsea, but to style defeat. The ship has steadied and is heading in the right direction for surer waters, whereas managerless Arsenal search frantically for some clear path.
In some ways, then, this weekend’s encounter is serendipitous – two groups on seemingly reverse trajectories assembly at this specific juncture holds significance. For Arsenal, it is an opportunity to show this latest blip is just not indicative of a wider, extra worrying decline.
And for Man Utd – who’ve solely misplaced one in every of their final 4 residence video games in opposition to Arsenal within the WSL – a possibility to showcase significant progress, and cement themselves amongst title hopefuls.
Few statistics summarise the backdrop higher than this one: Arsenal have made a league-high 12 adjustments to beginning XIs up to now this season, as they seek for kind, whereas Man Utd have made the joint-fewest (3).
Grace Clinton is the primary participant to attain in three of her first 4 WSL appearances for Man Utd
A settled crew is all the time a broader indication of content material inside camp. And this, Skinner’s a centesimal recreation answerable for Man Utd in all competitions, is the proper time to show success remains to be doable whereas he runs level.
Following dominant 3-0 wins over West Ham and Tottenham, the hosts want to win their opening three residence video games of a WSL season for the primary time. They’ve solely conceded as soon as in 4, and possess the second-best xG efficiency (behind Chelsea) of any facet within the league, epitomised by the genius of Grace Clinton, who is popping right into a goal-scoring drive.
Momentum is a sound sufficient barometer, however soccer usually has a humorous means of unusual us.
Win or lose this weekend, Arsenal stay essentially the most marketable membership within the WSL, and have the solace of a Champions League marketing campaign to service expectant followers. Ache can solely ever actually be momentary at a membership so effectively entrenched within the cloth of the ladies’s recreation.
However ache also can worsen earlier than it will get higher. And Man Utd have the power to delay the struggling for a minimum of yet one more week, which might all however eradicate the Gunners from the race and beg the bigger-picture query: Have Man Utd and Arsenal swapped locations within the WSL pecking order?
