As we move into February of the 2019/20 FAWSL campaign, the title race could not be more perfectly poised for a grand-stand finish. This weekend, a massive encounter between the top two Manchester City Women and Arsenal Women could have a major say in where the title ends up this year.
Joe Montemurro’s side were sucker-punched two weeks ago, falling to a 4-1 defeat to Chelsea Women. Since then, they have reacted well, with two cup victories in succession, the last one being a 2-1 victory over tomorrow’s opponent. In the league, they will be looking to establish their dominance once more. However, Arsenal are now the only side of the three now that must rely on results out of their control going in their favour.
In Manchester, the side are preparing for life after Nick Cushing. The manager has been with the squad for six years and leaves for a role with New York City FC in the MLS after this match. Manchester City Women have been in scintillating form in recent weeks, blitzing their league opponents, and then winning their second Manchester derby on the year in the Women’s FA Cup over last weekend. They will be looking for revenge against an Arsenal side that has beaten them by a one-goal scoreline in each of the two encounters between the sides this campaign.
In this tactical analysis preview, we will look at both of these sides. We will discuss their usual set-ups and what to expect there, before going into specific tactics that could make the difference in this clash of the titans on Sunday.
Arsenal Women style of play
Montemurro’s Arsenal Women side are best know for their fluidity in their tactics. Possession based, interchanging, and attacking football is often what the Gunners bring to the table. While we are likely to see a slightly altered approach due to the opposition in this match, along with being away from home, their key tactics will largely remain the same.
Arsenal look to build through stages of possession as they look for holes in their oppositions defence. They can often be seen passing from side to side as they carry out these searches, with Lia Wälti being essential to these tactics. The Swiss international acts as a metronome for Montemurro, with her great passing range allowing her to find a teammate anywhere on the pitch. Arsenal typically look for two options when attacking. The first are opportunities to play into their star player: Vivianne Miedema.
The Dutch striker is having yet another stellar campaign. Although the goals have dried up in recent weeks, she always poses a threat and commands a large amount of a defence’s attention and respect. If a side does not put enough emphasis on shutting her down, she can very quickly punish them with any number of goals. However, if too much emphasis is put on her, she uses her intelligence to base her movements off of creating room for teammates rather than looking for goalscoring opportunities herself.
To get the maximum possible output out of Miedema, Arsenal set their side up to have a plethora of creativity around her. One of the staples of the Gunners’ structure this campaign has been their wingers who drift inside throughout the match. As you can see in the image above, Daniëlle van de Donk and Bethany Mead both drift into the half-spaces to look for room to receive possession and combine with Miedema. Behind them, the centre-midfielders are encouraged to get forward and look for passing combinations as well, with Wälti providing defensive cover.
The second option Arsenal Women most often look for are quick combinations out wide. With the wingers occupying inside positions for large portions of matches, it is the responsibility of the full-backs to provide width. When the opportunity arises, these defenders bomb forward and link with attacking players on their side of the pitch to try and create numerical superiority in these areas, which will often lead to a chance for a cross into the box.
