Perhaps the most damaging feeling in football is not anger but apathy. At the Emirates, Arsenal have led the way with their ambition in the Women’s Super League. Their average attendance is by far the largest in the division and on the days where a sold-out stadium rocks and the home side plays with a swagger and confidence, they can seem an inevitable force.
But under Jonas Eidevall, Arsenal’s performances on the pitch look a long way from matching their momentum off of it. A 2-1 defeat to Chelsea leaves the Gunners with five points from their first four games. Four behind Chelsea, who have a game in hand, Arsenal’s dismal start may rule them out of the title race even at this early stage, in a season where they needed to challenge after Emma Hayes’ departure. “We have winning ambitions,” Eidevall conceded. “There’s no point hiding away from reality. It’s a poor start to the season.”
Already under pressure, Eidevall described the visit of rivals Chelsea as “must-win” but a second damaging defeat of the week again highlighted their glaring defensive vulnerabilities in a big game. At full-time, there were a few murmurs of boos among the crowd of 45,000 but it seemed as if the majority had given up long before then. “I am hurting, the players are hurting,” Eidevall said. “I totally understand their frustration.”
But Eidevall also said Arsenal’s second-half performance was reason for their supporters to believe. There was certainly more spirit to Arsenal than in the late collapse in the 5-2 thrashing at Bayern Munich in midweek, with the home side at least rallying following early goals from Mayra Ramirez and Sandy Baltimore inside 16 minutes, but Eidevall’s side also failed to answer the other accusation that is frequently thrown at them: they showed a familiar lack of ruthlessness in front of goal, with Stina Blackstenius sweeping their best chance for an equaliser onto the underside of the crossbar late on.
Instead, Chelsea held on and as Hayes looked down from a private box, Sonia Bompastor managed to achieve what her predecessor could not and won at the Emirates on her first attempt.
The French coach extended her winning start at Chelsea and there are already more signs of Bompastor’s imprint on her team after four games than was evident on Eidevall’s side, now into what is his fourth season in charge. The one question that remains is Chelsea have not been convincing in controlling a lead under Bompastor – like against Aston Villa and Real Madrid, Arsenal remained alive and in contention to nick something until the very end.
“We suffered,” Bompastor admitted. “But it’s a good mentality to not concede goals in the second half. It’s not a concern but there is room for improvement. We need to be more consistent, we have experienced players and we should be able to manage the tempo of the game.”
It did not feel like that kind of game, though, with Chelsea devastating in the opening quarter – or “close to perfect”, as Bompastor described. This was another afternoon in the WSL where Ramirez looked unstoppable, at one point knocking the ball down the line and beating Leah Williamson with ease despite the England captain having a five-yard head start. The sheer force of the forward could elevate any side, yet Bompastor immediately shaped her Chelsea team around her; Ramirez plays her part, occupying both centre-backs and creating space for others. Johanna Rytting Kaneryd has thrived on the right wing, here Baltimore shone as the advanced left full-back.
When they were on top, Chelsea stretched Arsenal and played through them. In the first half, the press from Eidevall’s side was non-existent and exploited the high line, with Arsenal failing to get close to Chelsea inside the first half hour. It led, indirectly, to the opening goal, with a ball through to Ramirez resulting in the corner where Arsenal hesitated and failed to clear. Ramirez did the rest, hooking an instinctive finish over her shoulder. It was the fourth goal from a corner Arsenal have conceded in two games. “It’s not sustainable, it’s not good enough,” Eidevall said.
He watched on as Arsenal’s players looked around at each other. Confusion in the defence was a theme and continued when Lauren James eased between Lia Walti and Mariona Caldentey and clipped a cross to the back post where Baltimore, left all on her own, headed past Daphne van Domselaar.
The Arsenal inquest began, with Beth Mead seeking further instructions from Eidevall after losing Baltimore. But Arsenal were second-best in their individual battles all over the pitch. At the centre of it was a particularly poor display from Williamson, tormented by Ramirez and booked for a mistimed lunge on the Colombian, later spurning a golden chance at the back post towards the end of the first half.
If there was one positive, it was the performance of Caitlin Foord on the left wing. She at least had the better of Lucy Bronze, finding a way past the England right-back on a couple of occasions before wriggling to the byline and firing a low finish from the angle past Hannah Hampton to pull one back on the stroke of half-time. Yet it may have only served to highlight another frustration for Arsenal, that for all of the attacking talent on display it was a moment of individual inspiration rather than a coherent team move that led to the route back.
Foord remained Arsenal’s only out-ball until the late introductions of Frida Maanum and Stina Blackstenius. A rather lost-looking Alessia Russo was moved to the right wing, replacing the ineffective Mead. Blackstenius could not provide the clinical edge that has often eluded her throughout her Arsenal spell, crashing a half-volley onto the bar from a Katie McCabe free-kick. In stoppage time, with Arsenal’s desperation mounting, the ball dropped to Russo but her volley was directed straight at Hampton.
The Emirates, though, did not exude the spirit or belief that Arsenal could salvage something. As in the goalless draw against Everton last week, it felt like an afternoon where Arsenal could have attacked all day and not found the equalising goal. Now, the question is how long Eidevall has left. He too may be out of time.