Arsenal vs Chelsea preview: How can Gunners break Sonia Bompastor’s incredible unbeaten run in Women’s Super League? | Football News

Arsenal v Chelsea is the most played match in WSL history. When these two titans of women’s football face off, it’s always exciting. These are often questions at the top, usually first to second. But not on this occasion.

The Gunners find themselves fifth ahead of Saturday’s match, live Aerial sportstwo points better than at this stage last season but nevertheless behind the pace.

The opportunity to close that gap against the league leaders will be fundamental to any future title challenge, if a five-point deficit is even salvageable.

So where will Saturday’s game be won and lost?

Advertisements

Saturday November 8 11:30 a.m.

Kick-off at 12:00 p.m.

Stay true to style

Arsenal are the most possession-based team in the league. It’s a title they have stripped Manchester City of, since Gareth Taylor brought his passing-centric style to Liverpool in the summer.

Renee Slegers’ team is the only team to average over 60% possession this season. Under Sonia Bompastor, Chelsea are also moving towards a structure that prioritizes possession to establish control, but the transition has, so far, been gradual. Arsenal have always played this way, only now the possession phase is slightly higher at Slegers’ request.

Arsenal tops every measure of success. They maintain the best accuracy, make the most passes and play the most successful balls in the final third. If the Gunners take the pace through their central technicians – Kim Little and Mariona Caldentey – they are very difficult to stop. No team passes and moves like that. Staying true to type surely offers the best chance of success here.

Chelsea tend to strike through the channels. This is a more direct approach but can be just as effective. They average 24 crosses per 90, more than any other team, and can swing the game from left to right and back with excellent precision. Arsenal’s attacking full-backs will need to balance risk and reward to account for Chelsea’s functionality across the board, particularly on the right.

Follow the midfield ace

Given that Arsenal spend so much time on the ball, some might be surprised that Little has racked up more possession wins (52) than any other player this season. Erin Cuthbert ranks second with 48. As has often been the case over the years, the effectiveness of each team’s midfield controller has the power to swing this game one way or the other.

Cuthbert is having an exceptional season in a higher role. It was a deliberate decision by Bompastor to place the Scotland international in positions that allowed him to influence the attacking half, with Keira Walsh tasked with playing as a single axis. It took 86 seconds for Cuthbert to latch onto a loose pass and score on goal in Chelsea’s last-gasp 2-0 win over London City Lionesses, only denied by a goal-line clearance. She should have scored.

The change works though. Cuthbert has created 13 chances this season, with only Arsenal’s Caldentey and London City’s Kosovare Asllani (21 each) generating more. She had 20 attempts on goal, surpassed only by Man City striker Khadija Shaw. His creative output currently eclipses most forwards in the league. Arsenal need a combative plan to limit their spaces.

Give freedom to the full-backs

This is a game that should be dominated by the flying full-backs. Both teams possess exceptional talent in this department, each with winning potential.

In fact, it almost seems reductive to use the term full-back, given the profile of the players in question. Arsenal’s most used duo – Katie McCabe and Emily Fox – are among the most progressive, consistently arriving in the final third with overlapping and overlapping runs. They often set the tone for the Arsenal press. Ellie Carpenter works much the same way for Chelsea.

What tends to happen with such an aggressive strategy is that gaps remain. Arsenal play with a flat back four while Chelsea have moved to a wing-back system which allows for greater flexibility if wide players are caught upfield. The Blues are conceding fewer goals than ever and have added more depth to their offensive phase. None of these developments are good news for Arsenal.

Carpenter scored her first goal since arriving at Stamford Bridge last weekend and undoubtedly the clever positioning of Lucy Bronze, playing as part of a structured trio for the first time, gave Carpenter the confidence she needed to move forward. The assist came from opposing winger Sandy Baltimore. They are luxury players in their own right but they cannot be present in two places at the same time.

Sniffing moments to exploit freed spaces with good timing will be essential.

Don’t be surprised by a quick start

Arsenal and Chelsea can jointly boast a total of eight first-half goals scored, but the latter found the net six times in the first 15 minutes of the match, double that of all others. Chelsea come out of the blocks firing and once they move forward, they rarely give up a lead.

The Gunners cannot afford for this to happen at home. They must try to weaponize the Emirates crowd to prevent their visitors from gaining early momentum. Then it’s about maintaining composure long enough to get Chelsea out.

A combination of Alessia Russo and Stina Blackstenius can achieve this. Arsenal are unbeaten in the eight league matches the pair have started together, with a team average of 2.8 goals per game. Trust them to stretch Chelsea and fill any gaps that appear. Caldentey’s creativity can then come to life. Olivia Smith is also handy in pockets.

And if that doesn’t work, Slegers has depth to fall back on. Arsenal’s record for goals scored by substitutes (four) and goals over the 75+ mark (six) is the best in the division. High-end performance remains a huge asset.

Be smart on defense

All the best-laid plans are of course also based on good game management. Slegers has proven herself to be a shrewd operator in a short time, but her team is losing too many goals to consider themselves real title contenders at the moment. Recovering points from losing positions – six this season – must be as frustrating as it is enjoyable.

Defenses win you leagues. Chelsea have conceded three times this season with an xGa performance of +4.5. Arsenal, meanwhile, have shipped seven with an xGa performance of -0.8. It’s a trend they need to break to have any chance of ending Chelsea’s unbeaten run.

Bompastor will not be beaten lightly. Slegers needs an airtight tactical plan that focuses on all of Arsenal’s good performances – and, perhaps just as importantly, some of the things they aren’t doing.

Watch Arsenal v Chelsea live on Sky Sports Main Event from 11.30am on Saturday; kick-off at 12 p.m.