Special Report - Arsenal Ladies 0-1 Man City Ladies

Last night, I had the privilege of finally being able to attend an Arsenal Ladies game. The Women’s team has long been a source of great pride at Arsenal, having won countless trophies and set the standard for women’s football throughout the country and also the wider world. Unfortunately, the last few years has seen the Arsenal team decline, coupled with a big increase in the quality of the other teams in the new Women’s Super League. The last day of the League saw amazing drama, as Liverpool stole the title from under Chelsea’s noses, with the latter losing to City and the former sneaking in to take the title on goal difference. Arsenal were not involved in the title race though, sitting down in fourth (ha!) and watching other teams scrap for the title that had been almost exclusively their’s year upon year. Last night saw further disappointment as Arsenal were robbed by City on a wet night at Wycombe Wanderers.

In an eerily similar way to the men’s team, Arsenal dominated the first half, monopolising possession, but also failing to cause any significant problems to the City defence. The City was also reminiscent of where their men’s team was six or seven years ago; they’re a team that isn’t at the elite level yet, but are very quickly finding their feet and have some star players, including former Gunner Steph Houghton and impressive striker Toni Duggan. For all Arsenal’s dominance, City defended impressively, pressing Arsenal with relentless energy and defending deep, with space at a premium on the small Adam’s park pitch. Arsenal did test City keeper Karen Bardsley, but they weren’t exactly hammering on the City door. No goals at half time and little to suggest that we were in for high scoring blockbuster of a match.

In the second half, City had a lot more of the game. Arsenal still had the best of the play, but having frustrated the Gunners in the first half, City seemed to grow in confidence and had a lot more going forward. Arsenal forward Dani Carter had a torrid night as the lone striker, which didn’t help Arsenal’s cause. Carter was isolated, tightly marked and also seemed incapable of holding the ball for any significant length of time. She was feeding on scraps all night and often was having to battle for long balls lumped out of defence as the Arsenal attack looked devoid of creativity. To be honest I couldn’t see a goal coming from anywhere, but in the 73rd minute, Arsenal were hit with a City sucker punch. City counter attacked magnificently, finishing the move with a lovely cross that was met by an even better header, sending the ball into the far corner of the net. Isobel Christiansen was the goal scorer and you could tell by the way her teammates mobbed her that City knew they’d struck a decisive blow.

Arsenal simply didn’t look like they had the key to unlock the stubborn City defence and despite some late pressure, the cup that Arsenal had won every year since it was created in 2011 was finally wrenched from their grasp. Steph Houghton haunted her former team with a quite brilliant performance in the heart of defence and was deservedly given the player of the match award before lifting the trophy. Their first major trophy and likely to be the first of many. Arsenal are certainly not the dominant force in Women’s football anymore.

While it’s a shame for us as Arsenal fans that the Ladies team no longer has the monopoly over trophies in the game, it is undoubtedly a good thing for Women’s football as a whole. City are team that offer star players a hugely attractive set up, part of the wider plan that their owners have to build a footballing empire in Manchester and across the globe. Chelsea, Liverpool, Birmingham and others are all improving and winning trophies, while the advent of the Women’s Super League seems to have breathed new life into the Women’s game. The fact is that these women are seriously good players, despite having only a fraction of the sort of set up their male counterparts enjoy. The more that clubs invest in providing the facilities and infrastructure for their women’s teams the more the quality of these teams will improve and Arsenal will need to move with the times, because complacency will lead to them being left behind. Women’s football is growing and evolving and with the proud history of our team, it would be a travesty if we didn’t evolve with it. 

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