Arseblog News

THE LOWDOWN

Arsenal travel to Brisbane Road on Sunday for a North London Derby in the WSL. The teams actually come into the game level on points after a slow beginning to autumn for Arsenal, there were good and bad elements to take from last weekend’s 1-1 draw with Chelsea. In terms of performance, there were good and bad elements in the 3-2 defeat to Bayern Munich on Wednesday.

The issue is that the result was a disaster and the order that the good and bad things arrived in in Germany, with an outstanding performance in the first half and a 2-0 lead giving way to a disastrous last 25 minutes. Already without Leah Williamson, a midfield without Kim Little has made the Gunners’ spine far too brittle.

Tottenham have moved to a much more high pressure, transitional approach under Martin Ho and when the teams met during pre-season, Spurs prevailed 4-3 in a topsy turvy game. One hopes the Arsenal staff have reviewed that game to prevent a repeat on Sunday and to assert more control over the game.

Having already dropped points against Manchester United, Manchester City, Aston Villa and Chelsea, there is no margin for error on Sunday for Arsenal. They could certainly do with a boost after a trying couple of months. A North London Derby is always must win, this is just a little more must win than usual for Arsenal.

TEAM NEWS

Kim Little won’t be available after picking up a knock in the Leicester game and she is unlikely to be available before the international break. Leah Williamson is becoming more involved in training and Renee Slegers is optimistic she can return before Christmas. Manu Zinsberger and Katie Reid (both ACL) are out.

Available squad

Goalkeepers: 14.van Domselaar, 28.Borbe, 53.Liddiard

Defenders: 2.Fox, 3.Wubben-Moy, 5.L.Codina, 7.Catley, 11.McCabe, 22.Nighswonger, 24.Hinds, 44.Harwood

Midfielders: 8.Mariona, 12.L.Maanum, 21.Pelova, 32.Cooney-Cross, 43.Peacock

Forwards: 9.Mead, 15.Smith, 18.Kelly, 19.Foord, 23.Russo, 25.Blackstenius

A WORD FROM THE BOSS

‘I think if we look at where the squad was at after Chelsea, positive, of course, very disappointed. But there was a real belief and there was a lot of positives in our performance. They turned that around in a good way, I think. You see it the first off against Bayern. I think we do a lot of really, really good things. But then, of course, you’re not happy with the second half. how we don’t manage that second half, so that’s not good enough.

‘That’s really disappointing and we’ve acknowledged that as a collective. So everyone is involved and everyone’s taking responsibilities. That’s good and actually we had a really good session with lots of energy, so the players will use this as fuel going into their North London Derby.

‘Spurs are more aggressive in the way they play. They go high, they go player for player and they want to win balls in the opposition half and that’s different from what they did last year. So they’ve been performing really well, so we have to be really smart with how we managed the game and what spaces we try to attack in the game.’

LAST TIME OUT

When the teams met at the Emirates in February the Gunners ran out 5-0 winners thanks to a Claire Hunt own goal and goals from Mariona, Frida Maanum, Alessia Russo and Emily Fox. In the away game last season, Arsenal were 3-0 winners with goals from Russo, Frida Maanum and Stina Blackstenius.

THE OPPOSITION

Spurs parted company with Swedish coach Robert Vilahamn over the summer after a poor 2024-25 season that saw them finish second from bottom. They appointed Liverpudlian coach Martin Ho, who had been Marc Skinner’s assistant at Manchester United before doing an excellent job with Brann in Norway.

Under Ho, Spurs have moved to a much more positive, front footed and high pressing brand of football, reflecting trends we are seeing across the WSL. Spurs make the highest number of tackles in the league and commit the highest number of fouls, Ho has given them teeth after some meek performances last season.

Tottenham like to bait the opposition press, they actually sit bottom of the league for progressive passes and take more touches in their own penalty area than any other in the WSL. They have some similarities to Everton in that they like to draw opponents onto them before then playing through them quickly. However, they have shown some vulnerabilities behind their full-backs and defending crosses, which London City Lionesses exploited last weekend.

PLAYER TO WATCH

Arsenal’s midfield has struggled for organisation and recovery ability without captain Kim Little. I think it is entirely reasonable for fans to be annoyed that the team is still so reliant on a 35-year-old player even if she is one of the best players in the club’s history still performing at a very high level. Alas, we are where we are.

When Arseblog News asked Renee Slegers about Arsenal’s off-ball organisation without Little she admitted she was still looking for the right personnel to finesse the midfield formula. ‘We’ve been looking at what are we doing structurally out of possession to make sure that that space isn’t too open for the opposition and then it’s, of course, also the personnel question of what player is the player that plays that role for us when Kim isn’t on the pitch.’

Arsenal have partnered Mariona with Victoria Pelova over the last two games, both of whom are players who’ve made their names playing as number 10s. Kyra Cooney-Cross is a deep lying playmaker but not a natural defender when play is behind her. In short, with Walti sold and Little (and Williamson?) injured, Arsenal don’t have a natural defensive midfield player so how Slegers reorganises in this position will be the main focus for Sunday.

MY PREDICTED LINE-UP

Subs: 5.L.Codina, 11.McCabe, 18.Kelly, 19.Foord, 22.Nighswonger, 25.Blackstenius, 28.Borbe, 32.Cooney-Cross, 44.Harwood

HOW TO CATCH THE GAME

The match takes place at Brisbane Road at 2.30pm on Sunday and will be screened live on Sky Sports in the UK. Details on how to watch it across the globe are available here.

Van Domselaar; Fox, Williamson, Catley, McCabe; Cooney-Cross, Wälti; Foord, Maanum, Mariona; Russo

Substitutes: Zinsberger, Codina, Mead, Little, Kelly, Nighswonger, Blackstenius, Ilestedt, Reid

Arsenal have beaten Tottenham (who get battered everywhere they go) 5-0 in front of 56,784 fans at the Emirates Stadium, with goals from Alessia Russo, Mariona, Frida Maanum, and Emily Fox.

Renée Slegers restored Daphne van Domselaar, Emily Fox, and Steph Catley to the back five, while Caitlin Foord returned from injury, and Alessia Russo returned to centre forward. Chloe Kelly, eligible for the first time since joining on loan, was on the bench.

Maite Oroz had an early sighter after Arsenal initially cleared a free kick.

Arsenal took the lead on 15 minutes. Cooney-Cross took possession on the right wing after Raso fell over and lost the ball. Cooney-Cross crossed for Russo, whose flicked header went into the bottom corner via a deflection from Clare Hunt. 1-0.

A minute later, Foord seized on a loose ball in the Tottenham penalty box, but Kop pushed her shot away.

Russo then turned away beautifully from Hunt in the penalty box, but her shot from the left corner of the 6 yard-box was straight at Kop. Kop then saved from Foord: Mariona’s ability in tight spaces kept the ball, and then McCabe’s cross found an open Foord, but her left footed shot was, again, straight at Kop.

Russo got ahead of Hunt to reach Catley’s cross, but Kop was able to parry behind for a corner.

Mariona made it 2-0 on 35 minutes. Maanum smartly found Mariona on the edge of the ‘D.’ Her first shot was blocked by Bartrip, but came back to back her, and her second shot went into the far corner. 2-0.

On 44 minutes, McCabe played a corner short to Mariona, and got the return in acres of space. Her cross was floated to the front of the goal, where Maanum headed over. Seconds later, Mariona and Maanum combined on the right. Maanum played the ball over the top, and Russo headed just wide. Kop then saved from Wälti on the stroke of half-time.

Arsenal should have made it 3-0 on 50 minutes. McCabe robbed Ashleigh Neville, and played into Russo. Russo’s first shot was blocked, but she got the rebound, but her second shot was too central and Kop was able to push wide.

Frida Maanum would make it 3-0 on 51 minutes. Wälti found Foord coming from the outside, and Foord passed short to Maanum. Maanum shot from the edge of the area, and the shot, on target, went in via a hefty deflection off of Hunt. 3-0.

Russo made it 4-0 with a blistering counter attack on 58 minutes. Williamson played long into midfield, where Maanum’s clever flick found Foord. Foord drove on and on through the middle of the pitch, then played to Russo on the right. Russo shot first time across the goal, and her shot went in off the post. 4-0.

Arsenal made a double substitution on the hour. Stina Blackstenius replaced Frida Maanum and Chloe Kelly replaced Caitlin Foord.

Blackstenius would test Kop after Mariona drove forward on the break.

Van Domselaar was called into action on 65 minutes, parrying away Drew Spence’s header from a corner.

Kelly’s first involvement was to play a good ball over the top for Blackstenius. She couldn’t turn Hunt, but shot, with the ball going out for a corner.

Kelly would then play a one-two with Fox, and then cross to the far post, but McCabe, coming round the back, couldn’t get power on the header.

Arsenal made a double substitution on 76 minutes, with Laia Codina and Kim Little replacing Steph Catley and Kyra Cooney-Cross.

Beth England would test van Domselaar with a shot from a narrow angle, which she comfortably held.

On 87 minutes, Jenna Nighswonger replaced Mariona. Nighswonger went to left back and McCabe pushed further forward.

A minute later, Spurs broke well. Grant chased a long ball down the left and played back to Martha Thomas. Her cross found Holdt in the centre, but the header was wide.

Emily Fox’s first WSL goal made it 5-0 on 90 minutes. Little set the American up, and from the inside right channel, 25 yards from goal, Fox’s shot arrowed into the top left corner. 5-0.

There was still time for one more effort. Chloe Kelly beat Ella Morris on the goal line, kept the ball in play, and looked to chip Kop from a narrow angle. Her shot, though, went off the bar, denying her a dream return to Arsenal.

THE LOWDOWN

Arsenal play Spurs at Emirates Stadium in the WSL on Sunday with a crowd of over 50,000 expected in North London. It has been an up and down couple of weeks for Arsenal with league defeat at Stamford Bridge and a League Cup semi-final defeat against Manchester City wedged between a WSL win away at City and an FA Cup 5th round victory against London City Lionesses.

After an intense schedule, the squad had a week to prepare for this game which has been a rare luxury since the resumption of the season in January. Their squad is also now one player bigger with January deadline day loan signing Chloe Kelly finally eligible to play after being ineligible for the double header against her parent club Manchester City and the cup tie against LCL.

This week’s Arsenal Women Newsletter focuses on areas of adaption for Rosa Kafaji before she can become more integrated into the team and why Kyra Cooney-Cross and her own adaption period and improvement should serve as inspiration for Kafaji

awnewsletter.arseblog.com/adaptation/

— Tim Stillman (@tim-stillman.bsky.social) 10 February 2025 at 09:10

The Gunners have been dealing with health issues in their squad with players like Kim Little, Beth Mead, Lina Hurtig and Rosa Kafaji missing, while players like Caitlin Foord and Lia Walti have had their minutes managed while they play with some muscular issues. Another week’s R&R and the addition of Kelly to the squad makes it look a little more robust.

Arsenal have won all of their WSL home games against Spurs since they were promoted into the top flight in 2019-20 and Renee Slegers and her squad will aim to continue that streak on Sunday. The victory at City fortnight ago has put them in the box seat for second place with a run of winnable games until they face Manchester United at home on the final day of the season, they won’t want any slip ups.

TEAM NEWS

Beth Mead could return to the squad after missing the last two games with a calf strain but Rosa Kafaji misses out. Kim Little is in full training after having surgery on a broken finger and could be in contention. Lina Hurtig is out with a muscular injury. Victoria Pelova made a big step in her recovery this week by playing for the U21s on Wednesday but won’t quite make the squad for this game.

Available squad

Goalkeepers: 1.Zinsberger 14.van Domselaar 40.Williams

Defenders: 2.Fox 3.Wubben-Moy 5.L.Codina 6.Williamson 7.Catley 11.McCabe 22.Nighswonger 28.Ilestedt 62.Reid

Midfielders: 10.Little 12.L.Maanum 13.Walti 32.Cooney-Cross

Forwards: 8.Mariona 9.Mead 18.Kelly 19.Foord 23.Russo 25.Blackstenius

Out: 16.Kafaji 17.Hurtig 21.Pelova

A WORD FROM THE BOSS

‘It is a North London derby, it is a rivalry, they will feel it and we will feel it and hopefully we can make them very uncomfortable at the Emirates. But they have been performing well they have been recruiting a few players. We will have to respect their strengths, as with every opposition there are areas to exploit and that is what we are going after on Sunday.

‘They will have another midfield (without Summanen) but they will still play their game and she was obviously a physical presence in midfield but she has other qualities, like smart in her positioning and shots from distance. They will definitely try to replace that with other qualities and every player comes in with their own strengths, we will see what they ask of their midfielders on Sunday.

‘When we go to the Emirates on Sunday we know the pitch is going to be very nice and that is going to help our technical game and our passing game, we definitely look forward to the game because of the pitch. But mostly we look forward to it because it’s a North London derby and we have 55,000 tickets sold at the moment, we are really looking forward to seeing our fans.’

LAST TIME OUT

When the teams met in November at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, Arsenal were 3-0 winners thanks to goals from Alessia Russo, Frida Maanum and Stina Blackstenius. In this fixture last season, a goal from Russo was enough to give the home side a 1-0 victory.

THE OPPOSITION

Tottenham have had something of a strange season this year, they currently sit slap bang in midtable 6th in the league, they have won five of their 12 games so far but have only looked genuinely impressive on a handful of occasions. Having Beth England upfront is a massive boon for Robert Vilahamn’s side, her seven goals in the WSL this season is the same as Russo and Guro Reiten. Only Bunny Shaw (9) has scored more.

The pattern of Tottenham’s season is that they beat the teams in the bottom half but lose to the teams in the top half. After a series of heavy defeats against ‘the big four’ earlier in the season, they corrected a little last time around, only losing by a single goal against Manchester United at home. However, they generated very little threat in that game.

Finding the balance between defence and attack continues to be a big issue against the bigger teams. Disappointing exits in both domestic cups to West Ham and Everton mean that Spurs’ season is now struggling for purpose. They can be defensively weak on their left side, which will be an interesting area to watch in this game.

PLAYER TO WATCH

Chloe Kelly will make her second debut for Arsenal in this game, it is just a question of whether she starts or comes on from the bench. Nevertheless, all eyes will be on Kelly who was left out of Sarina Wiegman’s England squad this week for the first time since Wiegman took charge. It creates an extra motivation for Kelly to take this loan spell by the scruff of the neck.

On the downside, her alienation at City followed by being ineligible for the first three games since signing for Arsenal means that she lacks rhythm. This is the last game before the international break and being omitted from the national team is not helpful for Chloe and her quest to rediscover the rhythm of games.

For Arsenal, it is an incredibly necessary addition. They have been underpowered from wide positions in the matchday squad for a long time now, Lina Hurtig’s continued injury issues mean they have effectively had three wide players for the last two and a half years. It’s meant an increased workload on Mead and Foord and has sometimes cost Arsenal the opportunity to power up from the bench.

PREDICTED LINE UP

Subs: 1.Zinsberger 3.Wubben-Moy 5.L.Codina 9.Mead 10.Little 18.Kelly 22.Nighswonger 25.Blackstenius 28.Ilestedt

HOW TO CATCH THE GAME

The match takes place at Emirates Stadium at 12.30pm on Sunday and will be screened live on BBC Two in the UK. The game will be screened live on ESPN 2 and ESPN+ in the US.

COMING UP

We will have all the usual post-match content, Aidan Gibson’s on the whistle match report, every word of Renee Slegers’ post-match press conference on the site around an hour after the final whistle. Jamie and I will have a post-match podcast for you on Monday morning and we will have the tactical analysis piece on the site later on Monday or on Tuesday.

Arsenal were 3-0 winners away at Spurs in the North London derby on Saturday lunchtime thanks to goals from Alessia Russo, Frida Maanum and Stina Blackstenius. Renee Slegers spoke to the press post-match, the first two questions are from Arseblog News.

On Catley at centre-half allowing McCabe to become another attacker…

Good spot! I don’t want to talk too much about what we want to try to create but we want to try to create numbers in different areas of the pitch. Steph did really well today recognising that but all our centre-backs would be good at that, we would ask the same thing of another centre-back but Steph is doing that really well at the moment.

On whether Tottenham playing a back five was a surprise today…

We saw their line-up against City where Bartip was in midfield and we saw their line-up this afternoon and we expected them to stay in the four and do the same thing as they did against City but they decided to play in a five. We have played against a lot of fives this year, so our players are very adaptable, so we adapted quickly. It says something about how hard it is to stop things we are doing so that is very positive.

On whether the players are thinking less and playing more one touch football…

You will have to ask the players but I think so. The quickest football is played instinctively but there still needs to be a foundation the hardest part in coaching is finding the balance between foundations and structure and letting the players freedom and creativity go. At the moment it seems to be right for the players but you’ll have to ask the players.

On the players taking more ownership…

We try to facilitate as much as we can to set them up in a good way, for example how much we ask them to be involved in meetings. Instead of us presenting we ask them to activate their brains and see wha they think, they often have really good ideas as well. That is one example.

On the players and the fans being happy and what it means to her…

Very positive, it means a lot for the players, the staff, the club and the fans. It’s the chicken or egg question, where does the smiles comes from? Behaviours are contagious as well, when one person starts smiling others smile too. Where it started is hard to grasp, there are so many factors to it but I am happy it seems to be happening.

On whether the players wanted to put last year’s defeat here right…

It was for them I think, I know the players have been talking about it. We just try to stay in the moment and keep our positive momentum but, yes, definitely, for a couple of players it meant a bit of extra fire.

On whether she wants the job permanently…

The block has gone really well so far and we have one more game ahead of us and we’re going to do everything to get a good result and performance in that last game. After that, we start breathing but at the moment we stay in this focus because we have a lot of hard work to do.

On the importance of an early goal…

Big events always give the game a direction. It is not necessarily it has to go in that direction, everything can change still but Alessia scoring that early goal and Daphne making that save early in the game, it helps us big time. I am very happy with the start of the game.

On two goals conceded in the last six games…

In the structure we are not doing much different but we focus on areas we want to focus on and how we act in both boxes, that is where games are won and lost and the players have taken it on brilliantly, that has been one of our focus areas. I am very happy with that.

On how the mindset of the players has changed…

One of the words we use a lot in this block is ‘ruthlesslness’, we want to be ruthless in both boxes. It is easy to say it but turning it into action is much harder. The players are trying to turn it into action, we try to facilitate for them and put emphasis on a couple of things but they are actually doing it and I am very happy they are getting success out of what they are doing at the moment. We need to maintain that and develop it further because new challenges are coming.

On how subs are impacting games recently…

We have such a great squad it is hard to make decisions, how to start and how to finish the games but the luxury we have is that we have scenario planning for that. Players are starting the game really but also players are finishing the games really well. Our last couple of games we have been really decisive in the last 15-20 minutes and that is when our game changers are on the pitch, I am very happy with how the group is working at the moment.

On Kim Little coming off at half-time…

It was not pre-planned but we always go through scenarios. We were 2-0 up at half-time, we have played a lot of games, we have one more game ahead of us and we have midfielders who deserve to play so that was an in-game decision to change the six at half-time. Kyra is a really good footballer, she is a great player, I am happy she got to contribute and I am happy with the other players coming on as well. I want to highlight all the players in the squad, it is not only about the players starting.

On having greater centrality in the goals today…

We want to find variety in how we attack and recognising better when we are wide, how many do they invest? Where are the spaces? Where are the new spaces for us? We try to play around with that and the players recognise that really well today.

On being ahead at half-time a lot recently…

I don’t know what the players say in the huddle but we talked the last couple of games at half-time about how this is good for us we are leading, but we can expect the opposition to come out and do something different because they are not happy with how the game is going. So we try to prepare them for the scenarios and I think the start of the second half we struggled a bit, that was probably our weakest phase of the game so that is something we will look at. Otherwise that is something we are doing really well.

On the pass from Mariona for Blackstenius’ goal…

She is fantastic constantly, the way she trains the way she plays, she is a super intelligent footballer. She has technical ability and on top of that she works really hard, she is a great player to have in the squad. The pass was fantastic, I agree with you.

Unused: 1.Zinsberger, 5.L.Codina, 17.Hurtig, 26.Wienroither.

Arsenal: Van Domselaar; Fox, Williamson, Catley, McCabe; Little, Wälti; Foord, Maanum, Mariona; Russo

Substitutes: Zinsberger, Wubben-Moy, Codina, Mead, Kafaji, Hurtig, Blackstenius, Wienroither, Cooney-Cross

Arsenal have won back to back games in the WSL for the first time this season, beating Tottenham 3-0 at the Toilet Bowl (because Tottenham get battered everywhere they go, even when they’re home).

Renée Slegers made one change to the team that beat Juventus midweek, with Mariona returning to the starting lineup. Beth Mead dropped to the bench.

First Half

Arsenal got off to the perfect start, with Alessia Russo giving the Gunners the lead after 65 seconds. Russo knocked back a long ball to Maanum, who passed back to Mariona. Mariona’s pass deflected kindly into Russo’s path, and her first time left footed shot flew into the net. 0-1.

Arsenal were monopolising the ball, and could’ve added a second before fifteen minutes. Russo took McCabe’s throw on the byline, turned away from Buhler, and cutback into the middle for Foord, whose shot was blocked by Nilden.

Arsenal’s dominance would pay off on 22 minutes. After a period of passive possession, Williamson sharply passed Maanum, who flicked the ball back to Little. She continued her run, and Little slipped the pass to her, and from the top of penalty area, Maanum passed her shot beyond Spencer into the bottom corner. 0-2.

McCabe won the ball back after Mariona got nutmegged, getting first to the pass and continuing on to win a corner. From the corner, Maanum’s delivery was headed across goal by Russo and Foord’s shot was blocked by her compatriot Clare Hunt.

Arsenal almost got into a spot of bother when Raso pressed Van Domselaar, but the keeper was able to get rid of the ball in time, and Wälti cleaned up after Tottenham won possession.

Tottenham, though, would have a chance. Little lost the ball, and Spence played into England as Tottenham countered. England shot from the edge of the box, and Van Domselaar made an impressive one-handed save.

Tottenham won a free kick on the stroke of half time, and the delivery looked for Beth England, but Leah Williamson headed behind for a corner. From the corner, Nilden shot well over the bar.

Second Half

Renée Slegers made a substitution at half time, with Kyra Cooney-Cross replacing Kim Little.

With the next goal crucial, the half started off quite bitty. Tottenham upped their own intensity level, and resorted to stopping Arsenal by fouls. Clare Hunt was booked in the 51st minute after pulling back Caitlin Foord. From the free kick, the ball was rolled to McCabe, who shot straight at Spencer.

Arsenal had a long spell of possession on the hour mark, working the ball back to front before Mariona set Russo away down the left of the penalty box. Russo crossed, and Foord, under pressure from Nilden, shot wide.

Arsenal made a double substitution on 64 minutes as Beth Mead and Stina Blackstenius replaced Caitlin Foord and Alessia Russo.

Blackstenius’ first touch was a shot. McCabe won the ball back from Spence on the byline, and cutback for Blackstenius, whose shot went over the bar.

A minute later, Blackstenius’ second touch would seal the points. Fox played into Maanum. With acres of space, Maanum was able to play to Mariona, whose clever and soft pass sent Blackstenius through on goal, and she made no mistake. 0-3.

On 79 minutes, Rosa Kafaji replaced Mariona.

On 85 minutes, Lotte Wubben-Moy replaced Katie McCabe, with Steph Catley going to left back.

Nonsensical PGMOL refereeing meant Steph Catley was booked for taking too long on a throw-in in the 90th minute.

In the final minute, Maanum drove inside, as Arsenal looked for a fourth goal, but her shot went well over the bar.

Mariona returns to the starting line-up for Arsenal in their WSL match away at Spurs this lunchtime in the only change to the line-up from Tuesday’s 4-0 win over Juventus. Beth Mead drops to the bench.

So Daphne van Domselaar starts in goal with Emily Fox, Leah Williamson, Steph Catley and Katie McCabe at the back and the Little Walti double pivot ahead of them. Caitlin Foord and Mariona will play on the flanks with Frida Maanum behind Alessia Russo upfront. Leah Williamson and Kim Little make their 150th WSL appearances. There is no room in the squad for Kathrine Kuhl.

Subs: 1.Zinsberger, 3.Wubben-Moy, 5.L.Codina, 9.Mead, 16.Kafaji, 17.Hurtig, 25.Blackstenius, 26.Wienroither, 32.Cooney-Cross.

THE LOWDOWN

Arsenal travel to Spurs for the North London derby on Saturday lunchtime looking to build on their recent good form with four wins from their last five under interim manager Renee Slegers. The Gunners have rediscovered their scoring touch with nine goals in their last two games, including an outstanding 4-0 away win at Juventus on Tuesday evening.

This fixture marked the nadir of Arsenal’s campaign last season where they entered it off the back of a fulminating 4-1 win over Chelsea, while Spurs entered it in meagre form. It was a week that summarised the Gunners’ WSL season as they fell to a profligate 1-0 defeat where the XG score was 2.5 to 0.4 in their favour.

Being an interim coach is a niche role. Renee Slegers needed to stabilise the squad and reconnect players with their confidence. She has clearly leant on her skills from her previous role as a one-to-one player coach to do that. She has been logical about the very requirements of an Interim👇🔴⚪️

— Tim Stillman (@tim-stillman.bsky.social) 14 November 2024 at 15:21

So Arsenal will not take their current form for granted going into this one. They lost last season at West Ham and Slegers steered the team to victory in that fixture this season. Now they will look to banish this particular ghost of 2023-24. The game again takes place at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on a weekend where all WSL and Championship fixtures will take place in club’s main stadiums, the first time this has ever happened in women’s football in England.

Slegers side will negotiate the game ahead of a crunch Champions League tie at home to Juventus on Thursday night but full focus will be afforded to tackling Robert Vilahamn’s team on Saturday. It remains to be seen whether we see more of a measure of rotation for this game, Slegers has preferred a pretty steady approach to team selection so far but while wholesale changes will not happen, it remains to be seen whether she chooses to shuffle the pack a little in respect of back-to-back Champions League ties against Juventus.

TEAM NEWS

There is no new team news from the trip to Italy on Tuesday night, with Laura Wienroither back in the squad after a small meniscus injury. Victoria Pelova (knee) and Amanda Ilestedt (maternity leave) are the only absentees.

Available squad

Goalkeepers: 1.Zinsberger 14.van Domselaar 40.Williams

Defenders: 2.Fox 3.Wubben-Moy 5.L.Codina 6.Williamson 7.Catley 11.McCabe 26.Wienroither 62.Reid

Midfielders: 10.Little(c) 12.L.Maanum 13.Walti 16.Kafaji 22.Kuhl 32.Cooney-Cross

Forwards: 9.Mead 17.Hurtig, 19.Foord 23.Russo 25.Blackstenius 53.Lia 56.Godfrey

A WORD FROM THE BOSS

‘It was the last game before the Christmas break last year so one big thing for us is that we are in the moment and we don’t think about what happens after the game and just be in the moment. What Tottenham did really well last year was closing down spaces and they worked really hard for 90 plus minutes. That was a big learning on how we break things down but we don’t know exactly what Tottenham are going to do tomorrow.

‘Where are they are at as a team, how will they attack? What will they give us? We will have to be on our toes tomorrow. The way Spurs have been playing they are versatile in their midfield, they will ask us some questions so we will need to solve those questions. They might rotate in positions and we need players who can read that and communicate that really, really well.

‘Tottenham are a strong team, they have been playing top four opposition a lot already and they are tough games and I think they might be stronger than the results they have had so far so we respect them as an opponent. They have some individual qualities, they have great mentality and do things together, they are going to be hard but if we keep bringing what we are bringing, we are a top team.

‘I have coached against Robert Vilahamn before in Sweden and he’s a really good coach, he reads the game very well. He might make in-game changes we might make in-game changes so it is going to be an interesting game. But it is going to be about what the players bring on the pitch and we have very intelligent football players and they are going to manage themselves too.’

LAST TIME OUT

When the teams met at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium last season, Spurs shocked the visitors, winning 1-0 thanks to a second half Martha Thomas goal. It was Tottenham’s first ever win over Arsenal. In the reverse fixture in March, an Alessia Russo goal gave the Gunners a 1-0 victory at Emirates Stadium.

THE OPPOSITION

Spurs enjoyed a solid season, the first under Swedish coach Robert Vilahamn, in 2023-24, finishing sixth in the table with a more progressive brand of football than they had played previously. They also reached their first major domestic cup final but were easily beaten by Manchester United at Wembley in May.

They are currently 7th in the table but do not look nearly as defensively solid this season, their XG conceded is the second highest in the WSL with only Crystal Palace conceding more presentable chances. They have conceded 12 goals to Manchester City, Manchester United and Chelsea already this season and are holding on until January when they can acquire their preferred goalkeeper target Jennifer Falke from Hacken.

Tottenham have also been hit creatively by Grace Clinton’s return to Manchester United after an outstanding loan spell in North London last season, while Celine Bizet also transferred to United late in the summer. It has meant Spurs have lost some ball carrying qualities even if they did sign Hayley Raso from Real Madrid to help amend for that. For a more in-depth look at Spurs’ issues this season, we recommend this piece from the Spurs Women Blog on The Cutback Substack.

PLAYER TO WATCH

While it is true that Arsenal fans have widely discussed the succession plan in central midfield away from Lia Walti and Kim Little, on Tuesday evening in Biella the pair illustrated why they are still so trusted by Renee Slegers. Little and Walti was the midfield double pivot when Arsenal beat Spurs at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium back in November 2019.

In Italy, Little and Walti made three tackles a piece, the joint highest in the team, Little made two interceptions while Walti made one, Little completed 94.4% of her passes, the highest of all the starters (Walti was at 90.7%). Kim also made five progressive passes (second most in the team) and seven ball recoveries, by far the most on the night.

Tottenham have lost some ball carrying ability in the middle of the park and have relied a little more on passing vertically this season and how Arsenal cut those passing lanes off will be key to neutering Tottenham’s threat. It also remains to be seen whether Little and Walti will start or whether Cooney-Cross rotates into the team.

Victoria Pelova feels like the more natural long-term heir to Kim Little but she is injured. While Little continues to start most games, she is certainly being substituted more often this season. Last season her 17 WSL appearances averaged out at 75 minutes per game (three of them were sub appearances after coming back from injury). This season that is down to 65 minutes per WSL appearance. The succession is happening in increments, how we see that model take shape in this game, with another UWCL game on Thursday, will be interesting to see.

PREDICTED LINE-UPS

Subs: 1.Zinsberger 3.Wubben-Moy 5.L.Codina 16.Kafaji 17.Hurtig 19.Foord 22.Kuhl 25.Blackstenius 26.Wienroither

HOW TO CATCH THE GAME

The match takes place at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium at 1.45pm on Saturday afternoon and will be screened live on BBC One in the UK.

North London is red. It’s happened again. A sellout crowd. It’s happened again. Emirates Stadium saw Arsenal keep pace in the title race thanks to Alessia Russo’s second half goal. Join Tim Stillman in the press box for all the derby day drama.

Zinsberger; McCabe, Codina, Wubben-Moy, Catley; Pelova, Wälti; Mead, Little, Foord; Russo Substitutes: Williams (GK), Bouhaddi (GK), Williamson, Reid, Cooney-Cross, Earl, Maanum, Lia, Blackstenius – Arsenal have won 7 straight home WSL matches, keeping their faint hopes of a WSL title alive with a 1-0 win against Tottenham in front of 60,050 at the Emirates Stadium. […]

THE LOWDOWN Arsenal play Tottenham in front of what is likely to be a sold out Emirates Stadium on Sunday lunchtime with a little revenge in order. Spurs produced a shock victory over the Gunners in the game before the Christmas break, a defeat that damaged Arsenal’s title hopes. Victory over Manchester United last time […]