FAWSL 2018/19: Arsenal Women ride the Birmingham City Women storm to win 3-1

This article originally appeared on wearethearsenal.com, our partner site that covers analysis and opinion of Arsenal.

Despite Birmingham City Women proving to be a tough test, Arsenal Women continued their 100% start to the FAWSL season with a 3-1 win.

Coming into the game in 3^rd place, Birmingham were confident which showed from the off.

In this tactical analysis, I’ll show how Birmingham have been Arsenal’s biggest test this season. I’ll also show how Arsenal overcame this after going in 0-0 at half-time.

Firstly, however, here is how Birmingham imposed themselves on the game:

Birmingham’s Confidence

The teams began the game at very different paces with Birmingham on the front foot for most of the first-half.

This could be seen through the visitors’ confidence and ability to play how they wanted to play under pressure. This saw them be quite patient in possession and look for spaces to open up further down the pitch.

Here’s a passage of play that shows just how confident they were going into the game:

With Birmingham being the more pro-active of the sides in the first-half which saw them take control. What this also showed was that Birmingham were ready to play at a great intensity whereas Arsenal quite reactionary in the first-half.

Birmingham Forcing Arsenal Out Of Central Areas

The Blues also deserve credit for how they played out of possession in the first-half.