“Like a machine”: Why “dominant” Chelsea were a class above lacklustre Arsenal in Women’s FA Cup final – tactical analysis

The 2021 Women’s FA Cup final, delayed from last season as part of the backlog of fixtures caused by the ongoing pandemic, was not one to be missed, with this season’s two best sides facing off against each other at Wembley Stadium in a highly-anticipated meeting. Arsenal Women were looking to win a first trophy under Jonas Eidevall, who had left Swedish giants Rosengard to replace Joe Montemurro (who later opted to take charge of Juventus Femmenile) in the summer, whilst Chelsea Women were seeking a domestic treble, having already secured last season’s WSL and Continental Cup titles, and a quadruple if the Community Shield win over Manchester City Women is added to that list.

This tactical analysis will pick apart the performances of both teams, looking at Arsenal’s tactics and mistakes, as well as how they needed to change as the game progressed, and also Chelsea’s pressing and general team structure, both of which proved essential in their dominant performance and eventual win.

Lineups

Arsenal Women named the same XI that started their last fixture, a 2-0 away league win at Manchester United Women. England defender Leah Williamson remains out with a hamstring injury, and is not expected back until 2022, so Lotte Wubben-Moy and Scotland’s Jennifer Beattie partnered each other once again in central defence, whilst Australia full-back Steph Catley was once again at left-back, allowing Katie McCabe, who had impressed over the last couple of weeks for the Republic of Ireland, to be deployed in the forward line, alongside in-form attackers Beth Mead and Vivianne Miedema. Having these three players at the front showed that Arsenal’s game plan was to expose Chelsea’s back three at every opportunity, just as they did when the two sides met on the opening day of this season.

Chelsea Women, meanwhile, made one alteration to the team that comfortably defeated struggling Birmingham City Women in the WSL on the same day, with Drew Spence dropping to the bench and being replaced by Wales captain Sophie Ingle, who added protection for the back three from the midfield, as Emma Hayes looked to make it harder for Arsenal to find ways through their defensive line. Denmark star Pernille Harder was still making her way back from her own injury, and so started on the bench in this game, meaning that Canada star Jessie Fleming kept her place as one of the forwards, alongside star duo Sam Kerr and Fran Kirby. Scotland’s Erin Cuthbert and Norway’s Guro Reiten were given the wing-back roles, and, with both being attack-minded players, it was clear that Chelsea wanted to play this game on the front foot.

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