Arseblog News

As reported by Arseblog News on June 3rd, Tottenham Hotspur Women have confirmed the signing of Dutch midfielder Victoria Pelova on a free transfer from Arsenal.

Pelova joined the Gunners from Ajax in January 2023 and initially looked set to become a cornerstone of the Gunners midfield for years to come. However, an ACL incurred on international duty in June 2024 followed by a change of management at Arsenal in October 2024 altered her fortunes.

Pelova’s contract expires next week and she has joined North London neighbours Tottenham on a free transfer.

Following Arsenal’s 5-2 win over Tottenham on Saturday, Arseblog News asked Renee Slegers about the number of times Arsenal played quickly into the channels and over the top of the Spurs defence. ‘Yes, because with their aggression and jumping on backwards passes and going player for player that’s something we wanted to exploit. So I think we did that really well in the 1st half.’

Arsenal recognised Spurs would play with an aggressive player-for-player press and looked to turn Tottenham’s intensity against them with quick balls into the channels down the sides of the Spurs back three and over the top of their defence. Let’s look at some examples.

This wasn’t a long ball, especially, but it did illustrate how quickly Arsenal wanted to play the ball forwards. Holdt loses the ball here and Little doesn’t take a touch, she just sends it forwards to Russo first time. Russo and Kelly exchange passes and Russo’s shot is deflected wide. Russo then scores from the resulting corner.

Catley finds Mariona here and Spurs have their entire team behind the ball, including three players within a couple of yards of the Spaniard. Notice Olivia Smith inverting from the flank, as one of Slegers’ wide players tends to do.

Mariona takes one touch and wastes absolutely no time whipping a forward pass into Smith.

From here, Smith turns and plays a ball in behind for Russo. Arsenal focused on not taking a lot of touches in build up if they could help it and playing the ball forwards quickly to expose Tottenham’s press.

The pass from Mariona is an outstanding one and you can see she has a little look up to identify it just before receiving the ball from Catley.

Two players come to close her down but she has the technique to both see and play the pass quickly.

Van Domselaar rolls the ball out to Holmberg here.

Holmberg sends it into the channel first time and Bartrip is totally isolated and fouls Russo here.

Wubben-Moy has the ball here and Spurs have five players pressed up into the Arsenal half.

Lotte lofts a nice ball over the top of the Spurs defence and Russo is onto it again. From here, Russo forces a blocked shot.

Once again, Wubben-Moy pulls over to the right and receives the ball from Catley.

You can see that, again, Smith inverting has pulled Bartrip out of position and that allows space for Wubben-Moy to play into the channel and Holmberg has the ball in a dangerous area.

On this occasion, Lotte plays the ball into Mariona and Mariona hits it first time, another example of Arsenal’s intention to play forwards quickly.

Smith flicks the ball on here but can’t find a red shirt. As it turns out, Spurs play the ball back to Lize Kop from here who makes a big mistake and passes straight to Russo for 3-1.

Van Domselaar finds Wubben-Moy in the right channel again and again, there are five Spurs shirts in the frame pressed right up.

Lotte plays straight to Russo who touches it first time to Smith and Arsenal are away again due to quick, direct passing. You don’t always have to go long or over the top to be direct.

As the ball falls to Catley here she is comfortable sending it forwards first time with four Spurs players around her.

Maanum flicks on Catley’s up and under and Russo is in behind again.

Spurs take a throw-in here and as the ball drops to Wubben-Moy, she is happy to send it forwards first time with several Spurs players pressed forwards. It leaves Bartrip in an uncomfortable situation as she just about fends off Russo here.

Koga goes for a clipped clearance here as Spurs play out from the back.

McCabe intercepts and she doesn’t want to bring the ball down, she simply heads it forwards first time.

And this is why, it goes straight through to Russo and her shot is deflected into Kop’s arms from here.

This sense of Arsenal playing forwards quickly drifted a little in the second half. Tottenham fixed up, Arsenal made changes and had an eye on Wednesday evening. In the first half, time and again, they exposed Tottenham’s high press with first time passes forwards.

Arsenal were 5-2 winners over Spurs at Emirates Stadium in the WSL on Saturday teatime. A first half hat trick from Alessia Russo and second half goals from Caitlin Foord and Stina Blackstenius gave Arsenal the points. Renee Slegers spoke to the press post-match, the first two questions are from Arseblog News.

On trying to expose Spurs with quick balls in behind and into the channels…

Yes because with their aggression and jumping on backwards passes and going player for player that’s something we wanted to exploit. So I think we did that really well in the 1st half.

On Alessia Russo becoming an elite goal scorer…

What we try to create is an environment where players and people can grow and Less is definitely doing that but she takes a lot of ownership. She’s very reflective. She works closest with Kelly Smith so they talk to the detail and and also have a lot of conversations about mindset going into games. But she’s in a great place, Alessia but I think the whole squad is. She’s a fantastic finisher. I think you saw the goal the other night where she takes that touch and then the finish on the ball and then three goals today. She’s one of the best finishers I’ve seen. And there’s so many other things to her game, so she’s such a complete footballer.

On making a fast start today…

Playing ant the Emirates with our fans, starting, fast fuelling energy, we did that really well and of course early goals always help. I think at the moment the whole squad is ready to perform and if you compare to the way we started against Chelsea, we make five changes today and then throughout the game we might we make five changes. Just the squad is in a really good place and then we always look at per game. How do we start the game? How do we want to finish the game? What qualities do we need? And there’s a lot of things going into the decisions. Load management is one of them as well. I’m just really happy with where the team is at.

On strength in depth with two subs scoring today…

It’s super important and either make an impact as a starter or you make an impact as a finisher and that’s what I want to work with is taking that away the importance of starting for us. A game is 90 minutes and with the change of rule that where you can make five changes and if you look at the squad that we have and the different attributes that we can use. For me, it’s all about maximising the use of squad and the different qualities that we have and I think we’re very happy with where the group is at and we’re all going in this direction and we understand that that’s important for us. So I’m just really happy with that.

On the attendance and atmosphere…

We spoke about with the players beforehand to connect with the fans to fuel them with certain actions on the pitch so they could give us the energy back and I think that was what’s happening and what was happening in the game.

On Russo’s contribution to Arsenal’s recent form…

She’s in great form, but I think she’s been really good throughout the season and She can do different things for us and she’s such a complete footballer if you look at her understanding out of possession and the willingness of her to work out of possession. How she enjoys that side of the game, her physical presence, her aerial ability. Everything being good under pressure, holding up the ball, rolling pressure, being good between lines being she’s she’s relatively fast as well attacking space and behind finishing from different angles in different ways. I can keep on talking, but there’s so many good things, but the thing that stands out the most for me is with all these qualities that she has who she is as a person.

On Blackstenius’ goal scoring form…

A lot of credit needs to go to Stina herself, again, because she’s playing a lot of minutes at the moment and I think what what we’ve taken away now, what Stina has taken away is the idea that she has a certain thing you put her in a box that this is Stina with physical ability and speed, but that’s so much more to her game. I’m so happy that I’m very impressed with her because if I look at who she was when she was 16 and who she is now, it’s unbelievable. The steps she’s taken throughout her career. I think all credit needs to go to her how she’s built. She’s been resilient and how she’s been humble, willing to work, willing to take the role and and collaborate again also a lot with with Kelly Smith and the other coaches to become better every day, it’s amazing. I’m really happy for her that she’s performing so well at the moment.

On scoring 13 goals in four games…

We started the season well we had quite some goals in the in the first two WSL games. We know we can do it and I think we’ve been working really hard as a staff group and players to find the solutions and to to see where we can create our chances from how we look, how we see the qualities in the squad, how we how we play to those qualities but also use moments in a game to to score goals. And I think we’re doing that really well at the moment players are doing so well so. Soon it will be possible again because the game changes and opposition changes but so then we’ll have to find new solutions and new ways so it’s constant work but at the moment it’s really good.

On Olivia Smith’s performance…

There’s so many things to Olivia Smith. I think there’s a lot of reasons why we wanted to bring her to Arsenal. And because she can do so many different things. So again, I can talk to all the qualities that she has and how she contributes to how we want to play football. But the work she she does out of possession, her counterpressing ability, her pressing ability. Of course she’s very fast. She’s really good in the one v one but if we would only use her one way, I think it would be predictable so we want to use her in different ways. And she has other sides to her game as well. We are constantly learning constantly looking at where can we herd the position and how can we play Olivia to her strengths in relationship to all the others on the pitch? And I think what she did today was really good and we do it as a team and we create those spaces altogether. She was not injured, we took her off because of the yellow card.

On conceding two goals today…

We were on a great run with clean sheets, so we were never happy when we concede in the WSL. We’ll have a look at it of course we’re gonna reflect on it. The type of balls and how we can prevent these from happening and also linking that to Chelsea. But that’s no different from what we normally would do. We would always reflect and look at our performances.

On Caitlin Foord returning with a goal…

It was really important for us to get her going again because she’s such an important player for us and happy with the goal for her. I think it’s a great cross from Smilla and Foordy reads that well controls it well and then finishes it really well. I’m just really happy for her and I think it goes without saying how resilient Caitlin Foord is. I think you can see it in the way she plays her football. She’s constantly working, constantly going to the next section and so good to have her back and so good have Steph Catley back as well.

On starting Daphne van Domselaar…

Like I mentioned about the rest of the squad as well to have as many players ready as possible, that’s the ideal scenario for us so that was important for Daph as well and she was ready she’s been training consistently and she’s been looking good. We have a squad and we have a goalkeeping situation where we have a lot of quality so I’m just really happy with that.

Subs; 2.Fox, 13.Votikova, 24.Hinds, 28.Borbe

Arsenal: Van Domselaar; Holmberg, Wubben-Moy, Catley, McCabe; Little, Mariona; Smith, Maanum, Kelly; Russo

Substitutes: Borbe, Votikova, Fox, Codina, Hinds, Pelova, Mead, Foord, Blackstenius

Alessia Russo scored a 22-minute hat trick as Arsenal beat Tottenham 5-2 at the Emirates Stadium.

Renée Slegers made five changes to the team that beat Chelsea in midweek. Daphne van Domselaar returned to goal, with Anneke Borbe dropping to the bench, while Smila Holmberg, Steph Catley, Olivia Smith, and Frida Maanum all came into the lineup. Emily Fox, Laia Codina, Beth Mead, and Stina Blackstenius dropped to the bench, which was also strengthened by the return of Caitlin Foord to the squad.

Tottenham started with the majority of possession but on 4 minutes Arsenal counter-pressed well. Smith won the ball, Kelly and Russo combined in the centre, and Russo drove on before seeing her shot blocked by Bartrip.

From the ensuing corner, on 5 minutes, McCabe’s delivery was put right on the 6-yard line, Russo got free, and headed her shot into the ground and into the goal. 1-0.

Two minutes later it was two. Mariona found Smith between the lines and she played Russo through, with Nilden keeping her onside. Russo rounded Kop, and then slotted into the corner with the post and net, behind Koga. 2-0.

Hamano looked to create something for Spurs on 12 minutes, but her left footed cross was easy for Van Domselaar to claim.

Russo could’ve had a hat trick on 16 minutes. Maanum was found from a throw, turned, and passed to Russo in the box. She took a touch and shot but straight at Kop.

From a corner, Arsenal saw two shots blocked. The ball broke kindly for Hamano to counter, and she was ahead of Arsenal’s last two outfield players but Little caught her up on the halfway line and won the ball back.

Gaupset played a brilliant ball across the box that went past McCabe and Van Domselaar, but also Tandberg as Spurs began to threaten.

On 20 minutes, Spurs got a goal back. The corner was flicked by Vinberg and then headed into her own goal by Maanum under pressure from Tandberg. 2-1.

Tottenham, though, as they are wont to do, gave Russo her hat trick on 27 minutes. The ball was passed back to Kop. Russo began to press, and Kop, looking for Koga in the middle, passed straight to her. Russo took a touch and slotted past Kop. 3-1.

Russo was played in over the top by a Catley long ball and Maanum header but Koga got a toe on her shot to deflect it behind for a corner.

Smith was booked for delaying the restart on 38 minutes. A minute later she was sandwiched as she looked to counter with Nilden also booked.

Hamano and Gaupset almost pulled off a one-two on the edge of the Arsenal box but McCabe intercepted.

Four minutes were added on at the end of the first half.

Russo had another chance in stoppage time, as the ball sat nicely for her on the edge of the box but Bartrip got a touch on the shot and Kop saved.

Catilin Foord replaced Olivia Smith at the start of the second half.

Spurs started the second half well, with Hamano neatly playing out to Wijk on the right hand side. Her low ball into box found Tandberg, but she shot weakly wide under pressure from Wubben-Moy.

Tandberg found by Wijk in the channel, had a shot, with Wubben-Moy blocking it out for a corner. Tottenham went short and worked the ball into the penalty box, but Van Domselaar easily gathered.

Arsenal made a further two changes on 57 minutes. Beth Mead and Stina Blackstenius replaced Chloe Kelly and Alessia Russo.

Arsenal extended their lead on 61 minutes. From a throw in, Blackstenius held the ball up in the corner and then hooked it back to Mead, who flicked to Holmberg. She hit a deep cross, Foord took a heavy touch to control and then fired a shot past Kop at her near post. 4-1.

Victoria Pelova replaced Mariona Caldentey on 68 minutes.

Van Domselaar was called into action on 72 minutes. Nilden drove forward and crossed for Beth England, whose deft header looked to potentially catch the goalkeeper out but Van Domselaar reached back and palmed the header around the post. From the ensuing corner, England met the cross and headed again but Van Domselaar easily saved.

Pelova was fouled by Nilden right on the edge of the box. McCabe took the free kick and looked to place it but Kop got a hand and pushed it over the bar.

England pulled a goal back for Tottenham on 78 minutes. A long ball from Wijk found Vinberg. She laid the ball off for England, in too much space between Catley and McCabe, who fired a shot through Van Domselaar’s hands. 4-2.

Tottenham were making a game of it now, and England held the ball up for Gaupset, whose shot was blocked by Wubben-Moy.

Laia Codina replaced Kim Little on 87 minutes, with Codina going into midfield.

On 90 minutes Gaupset ran from inside her own box, past Codina, and then shot over the bar from the edge of the area.

Six minutes were added on at the end of the second half.

Arsenal added a fifth in the 95th minute to wrap up the points. Pelova intercepted in midfield and played a through ball for Blackstenius. She ran into the box and slotted past Kop with her left foot. 5-2.

The result makes it 11 straight win, with Arsenal climbing into second place ahead of Manchester United on goal difference.

THE LOWDOWN

Arsenal take on Tottenham Hotspur in the WSL at Emirates Stadium on Saturday teatime. The Gunners come into the derby off the back of 10 consecutive wins across the WSL, Champions League and FIFA Champions Cup. It’s in stark contrast to the last time the teams met in November when Spurs held an Arsenal lacking in inspiration to a 0-0 draw at Leyton Orient.

On the back of that game, Arseblog News asked Slegers whether Arsenal were going through a bad spell and she responded, ‘Yeah, of course. We said it in the changing room with the players. It’s hard at the moment. We can’t deny it.’ Fast forward to now and Arsenal come into the game on a winning run and with a 3-1 lead to take to Chelsea in the Champions League quarter-final next week.

That said, keeping focus on this game with a big second leg in West London on Wednesday will be critical. Recent draws for Chelsea and Manchester United in the WSL mean Arsenal do have 2nd place in their own hands in the WSL- but there is still a long way to go for the remainder of this season.

It is the third of four consecutive London derbies for Arsenal and they cannot afford to take their eye off the ball. They have forged themselves a good groove in recent weeks and they need to work hard to stay in it. Spurs held Arsenal to a 0-0 draw at Brisbane Road in November and defeated Arsenal 4-3 during pre-season, so there is no room for complacency.

TEAM NEWS

Steph Catleyand Caitlin Foord are set to return to the squad following their return from the Asian Cup. Kyra Cooney-Cross has stayed in Australia to be with her family and will remain home for the remainder of the season. The game will come slightly too soon for Leah Williamson (hamstring), while Manu Zinsberger, Katie Reid and Michelle Agyemang miss out with ACL injuries.

Available squad

Goalkeepers: 13.Votikova, 14.van Domselaar, 28.Borbe, 40.Williams

Defenders: 2.Fox, 3.Wubben-Moy, 5.L.Codina, 7.Catley, 11.McCabe, 24.Hinds, 31.Holmberg

Midfielders: 8.Mariona, 10.Little, 12.L.Maanum, 21.Pelova, 67.Brodie

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

A WORD FROM THE BOSS

We have to keep on doing what we’re doing and fuel ourselves with the belief that we have and all the things that we’re doing at the moment that are contributing to our performances and results. There’s a lot of big and small things that we’re consistently doing at a high level and that’s what we’re pushing and we want to keep on improving.

Everything that we’ve done before will count in this game. We’re gonna attack this game together with the fans. At the moment, I think around 45, 47,000 tickets sold. So we’ll be there together with the fans and we’ll be shoulder to shoulder and we want to give them everything we possibly can and they will give it back because this is a very special game and I think it will be a very special occasion at the Emirates tomorrow.

They’ve posed different questions in the two games so far (the teams played one another in pre-season). So let’s see what they what they do tomorrow at the Emirates, playing in a North London Derby, what their strategy will be. But again, we have to plan for all the scenarios and be really good in all phases of the game. There’s a couple of things that we really want to do tomorrow. We’ll have focus on ourselves and then we’ll see how Tottenham comes out.

LAST TIME OUT

When the teams met at Brisbane Road in November, Spurs held Arsenal to a 0-0 draw. When the teams faced off at Emirates Stadium last season, the Gunners ran out 5-0 winners thanks to goals from Mariona, Frida Maanum, Alessia Russo, Emily Fox and a Claire Hunt own goal.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5N1G8fJREsE

THE OPPOSITION

Tottenham finished second bottom of the WSL last season. While they were comfortably clear of the relegation spot, finishing 10 points clear of the WSL trap door, it was clear that something needed to change. Swedish coach Robert Vilahamn left and was replaced by Martin Ho, who had enjoyed a very good spell as Head Coach of Brann after a highly rated three years as assistant coach at Manchester United.

Ho revived Tottenham’s fortunes and quickly made them a surprise contender for Champions League qualification during the first half of the campaign. At the point of their 0-0 draw with Arsenal in November, they were only one point behind the Gunners in the WSL table. Spurs have fallen away a little, they are six points behind Arsenal having played two games more.

However, there was never any realistic aspiration of finishing ahead of their North London rivals. Sitting 5th nine points clear of sixth placed Everton is much more where Spurs would pitch themselves. They have signed strong Scandinavian talent with Amanda and Matilda Nilden, Hanna Wijk and Norwegian sensation Signe Gaupset.

Tottenham should finish comfortably in the ‘best of the rest’ position in the WSL this season. The question for clubs who finish 5th is always how they build on that and Spurs have been there before, in 2021-22 they finished 5th in the WSL and in 2022-23 found themselves in a relegation battle again. Spurs have spent well but there is always the spectre of the ‘big four’ taking your best players. Tottenham have built a strong foundation with Martin Ho, the question is whether they have the ambition to try to go to the next level.

PLAYER TO WATCH

Kim Little extended her Arsenal contract for a further year this week and it makes sense for all parties. Kim remains in the conversation for the best player in the league as she approaches her 36th birthday and she still starts every game more or less, let alone every important game.

The club’s desire to keep Little on was obvious for obvious reasons, it was only a question of whether the player herself wanted to continue. Happily, she does. There will be a fuss made of Kim at this game, having signed her new contract and having passed 400 appearances for the club recently. And rightly so.

I imagine Kim will be ‘looked after’ in this game and won’t play the full 90 minutes given the second leg against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge on Wednesday evening, where she will certainly be required for the full 90 minutes and potentially beyond. But you watch football, you don’t need me to tell you why Kim is important in this game, it’s the same reason she is important in every game and she will be for the 406th time on Saturday.

MY PREDICTED LINE UP

Subs: 2.Fox 7.Catley 13.Votikova 14.van Domselaar 18.Kelly 19.Foord 21.Pelova 23.Russo 24.Hinds

HOW TO CATCH THE GAME

The game kicks off at 5.30pm at Emirates Stadium on Saturday, it will be broadcast live on Sky Sports in the UK. Full global listings are available here.

COMING UP

We will have the lineup posted around an hour before kickoff, Aidan Gibson’s on the whistle match report and every word of Renee Slegers’ post match press conference will be online around an hour after the final whistle. Jamie and I will have a podcast for you on Monday and we will likely have a tactical analysis piece on the game too.

An Eberechi Eze hat-trick, and a goal from Leandro Trossard saw Arsenal smash Sp*rs 4-1 at the Emirates the afternoon.

The Belgian opened the scoring in the first half, before Eze scored a brace either side of the break. Richarlison got one back midway through the second half, but the day was all about Eze, and he cracked home his third and Arsenal’s fourth to make sure of the win and the all-important points in the title race.

Here’s how the players rated…

Read the Arsenal 4-1 Sp*rs match report and see the goals here

The ratings are hidden by default until you vote, but if you just want to view the ratings and the comments, flick the switch at the top above David Raya. Also, please give the ratings a few seconds to load.

Arsenal 4-1 Sp*rs – Player Ratings

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Arsenal were held to a 0-0 draw away at Spurs in the WSL at Brisbane Road on Sunday, Renee Slegers spoke to the press post match. The first two questions are from Arseblog News.

On whether she felt Arsenal created enough to win the game…

I think the first half we’re kind of feeling each other out and I think Tottenham are much stronger this year than last year and they have a more aggressive pressing structure, they can do it physically, and are very brave on the ball when they build and especially in our press, we wanted to be patient and bait them in areas and create certain turnovers. I think we did that at times. So that’s why maybe the first half looked a little bit like we were feeling each other out, that was the case.

We wanted to to find the right moments and we always knew that the second half was going to be important for us off the back of the Munich game, but also knowing Tottenham and how they usually play their 90 minute games, we knew the second half is going to be big for us. I think we showed that in the way we come out and the players coming on with a lot of energy and quality, with Taylor and Olivia and from the 46 minutes.

We create momentum, so I’m happy with that and we have a lot of situations in and around their box, but we need to capitalise when we have momentum. It was again about momentum like it was after Bayern, but now on the other side, what we’ll look at is can we, I think we get passes into their box. The finishes aren’t so easy from those moments we get in the box, so that’s definitely something we want to look at. Yeah we have shots, but can we creates bigger and better opportunities with clearer shooting opportunities?

On whether it feels like a difficult period at the moment…

Yeah, of course. We said it in the changing room with the players. It’s hard at the moment. We can’t deny it and even though we are happy with Leicester, happy with a lot of things, not a result against Chelsea, but a lot of things in the performance, happy with the first half against Bayern. So it’s not only hard and negative, there’s also a lot of positives, but we’re not getting the wins that we want at the moment and a club like Arsenal, of course, wants and needs to win. So it’s a frustrating period, but we still see enough to keep on building on and we see that there’s things we can do, that will turn it around for us, because we believe that we we have all this quality and we did so well last year that hasn’t just gone away.

On the drop off in performances this season…

It depends on what you’re looking at and what angle you take. Champions League was also hard for us last year. We had to come back a couple of times, and we scored those three goals against Madrid in the second leg. Like, it wasn’t easy, but we had the grit and determination and the belief that we could that we could get what we wanted. And that’s still there. I think after that Champions League win, I think that showed how good we are when we’re at our very, very best and that’s something we need to keep on building on. How can we be consistently at our best? and how do we get things over the line when things are hard for us? Like I just said to Tim, there’s no denying that it’s not coming easy for us at the moment.

On why the team still can’t find consistency…

That’s the million dollar question that we all try to answer and that we all try to work on every single day. Is it different expectations off the back of the last season and the success we had? I think that’s always playing a little role in the background, probably. Then there’s some changes in the squad, so you have to build new relationships through the season, through the first block, a couple of players come away from us, like Leah and Kim, Kate Reid now. But everyone goes through that, we just have to look at our game and I think the WSL has changed more teams can compete, you see it, it’s not as easy anymore and teams play differently, so we have to find solutions for those types of games as well.

On whether winning the Champions League inflated expectations…

A good question. I don’t think we spoke much about it ourselves, but of course, what we said off the back of last season is, look at what we can do when we’re at our very, very best, and that creates belief in what we’re doing and how good we can be. But we set ourselves in the place as well. We need to be very humble because that was a one off, and it was a difficult journey for us as well, that Champions League journey and the challenge is to perform at this level consistently.

On Kyra Cooney-Cross’ performance…

Very good. She’s shown that she was ready to start today. I think she was disciplined in her positioning. I need to watch it back, there’s always detail where she could have done something like everyone else. But in general, she has discipline in her positioning and then you can see how much quality she has on the ball.

On the double substitution at half time…

We always planned for scenarios but it was partly technical. There was a yellow card involved as well. It’s a North London Derby and we know that gets heated and has emotions involved, so that was one of the reasons on the left back position, also Taylor Hinds has been doing really well consistently, trains really well. I think she did well today coming on. And then Olivia Smith, we’ve loaded Beth a lot the last couple of games. She’s played a lot, so we needed a new energy injection and something else on that wing and wanted to go more one v one on their fullbacks. And then, of course, Olivia Smith is a really good option for us, and we’re really happy. She’s been managing some medical issues since the camp with Canada, but she’s been training more consistently now and she was ready to play today, so that’s a real asset for us.

On Steph Catley’s leadership with Little and Williamson missing…

We miss Kim and Leah. They are our captains for a reason. They feel strongly for the club. They understand the club really well and they are experienced players Of course, we miss them, but we have a captaincy group with Katie McCabe and Steph Catley and they all do it together now and still Kim and Leah are in the environment are still good leaders for us. They’re just not active for us on match day. So Steph is wearing the armband and she does it really well. She’s calm, she’s a leader. She communicates really well and especially in these kinds of games, you need composure and someone who is composed and likes to find solutions. But they’re carrying it together, so together with Lotte and Kate is just someone needs to wear the armband.

Arsenal: Van Domselaar; Fox, Wubben-Moy, Catley, McCabe; Cooney-Cross, Mariona; Mead, Russo, Foord; Blackstenius

Substitutes: Borbe, Codina, Maanum, Smith, Kelly, Pelova, Nighswonger, Hinds, Harwood

Arsenal’s slim hopes of winning the WSL are over now after drawing 0-0 with Tottenham. The result — a third successive match without winning — leaves Arsenal a whopping 8 points behind Manchester City, who are top, and a point behind Manchester United in third place, with Arsenal failing to take advantage of City’s big win over United.

Renée Slegers made one change to the lineup, with Kyra Cooney-Cross coming into midfield. Victoria Pelova dropped onto the bench.

Summanen forced a save from Van Domselaar after Tandberg won a free kick about 30 yards from goal.

Arsenal’s first real chance came on 14 minutes. From a throw in, Fox and Russo combined, and Fox drove infield before shooting from range left-footed. The shot had good power but was straight at Kop.

A good Spurs move from back to front saw Neville play the ball behind for Naz and she crossed into the centre but Vinberg couldn’t make contact.

Foord drove into the box and looked for Mariona. The cutback was cleared by came to Cooney-Cross, whose shot went just wide of the corner of the goal frame.

Arsenal had a couple of dangerous moments winning the ball in the final third but couldn’t get the final ball right.

McCabe’s cross was deflected but Mead laid it off for Russo, whose half-volleyed shot went just wide.

On 39 minutes, Arsenal tested Kop again. Mariona found Mead in the middle, and while her pass to Blackstenius was behind her, the Swede was able to skillfully get past Hunt before shooting, with Kop blocking the attempt and then grabbing the ball.

McCabe was booked on 41 minutes after dragging Holdt down on the break.

Slegers made two changes at half time. Taylor Hinds replaced McCabe, while Olivia Smith replaced Beth Mead.

Arsenal moved from back to front, and Fox found Smith. Smith get around Nilden with ease and pulled the ball back to Blackstenius, who ballooned her shot over.

On 57 minutes, Frida Maanum replaced Stina Blackstenius.

Arsenal had an excellent chance on 61 minutes. Wubben-Moy won the ball back, and carried into the final third. She played into Russo, who flicked the ball for Smith to run in behind. She shot, but straight at Kop, and Spurs scrambled the ball away.

Arsenal won a corner on 81 minutes and Arsenal went short. Mariona, from the edge of the box, had space for a shot but it was always going over.

On 86 minutes, Chloe Kelly replaced Caitlin Foord.

There were 5 minutes added on.

Smith won a free kick late on but Arsenal chose to go short, and Spurs ran out the clock.

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.