Continental Cup 2023: How Arsenal “outwitted” Chelsea tactically to end their four-year trophy drought – tactical analysis

Chelsea Women and Arsenal Women have shared an intense rivalry in English women’s football for as long as anyone can remember, and any clash between the two is guaranteed to attract attention up and down the country. Sunday’s Continental Cup final at Selhurst Park was no different, with the latest instalment in their shared history sparking a great deal of excitement among fans, and it was certainly worth the wait when the game did get underway.

However, things didn’t pan out as many expected, with Chelsea starting well but making plenty of mistakes, whilst Arsenal looked sharp in all areas of the field and demonstrated a lot of confidence and belief in what they were doing, and this tactical analysis will look at how Jonas Eidevall set his team up to cause Chelsea problems and to take advantage of their errors. The analysis will look at the roles that their forwards played in getting the ball behind Chelsea’s back line, how they won the all-important midfield battle and how they worked hard to limit Chelsea’s key attacking threats inside their own third.

Lineups

Both Eidevall and Chelsea Women counterpart Emma Hayes opted for continuity when making their squad selections for this game, but for different reasons.

In Arsenal Women’s case, it was because they currently lack squad depth due to key players being unavailable at the current time, and the lack of alternatives means that consistent starting formations have become a constant for them in recent matches. The only change made for this game from last weekend’s FA Cup fifth-round clash, also against Chelsea (which Hayes’ side won 2-0) saw Switzerland right-back Noelle Maritz rotated in for Austria defender Laura Wienroither, who dropped to the bench.