Not good enough: Arsenal women end of season review | OneFootball

Arsenal ended the season with a 5-0 victory over Brighton and said goodbye to three players: Vivianne Miedema, Kaylan Marckese, and Sabrina D’Angelo.

We can now review what has been a season of ups and downs and see if targets have been hit or missed.

Arsenal’s Dutch striker #11 Vivianne Miedema (C) receives a round of applause from teammates on the pitch after the English Women’s Super League football match between Arsenal and Brighton and Hove Albion at Meadow Park, in Borehamwood, on May 18, 2024. Arsenal and Netherlands forward Vivianne Miedema is to leave the Women’s Super League club when her contract expires at the end of the season. (Photo by GLYN KIRK/AFP via Getty Images)

Champions League

Elimination in Qualifying Round 1 was a huge disappointment and set the tone for a difficult season. Considering we were semi-finalists in the previous season, a defeat to a better-prepared Paris FC was disappointing. The WWC late finish did not help, but still, you would expect the team to have gone through and qualify for the Group Stage.

Barclays WSL

Third place is the bare minimum and sets up the team for another WCL qualifying round place. It has not been a good season for the club. I am sure the ambition was to win the league and we fell short of it.

50 points, 16 wins, two draws, four defeats. Five points behind Chelsea and Manchester City. 53 goals scored and 20 conceded. Too many defeats, not enough goals scored, too many goals conceded. Too many ingredients were missing this season.

The list is quite long:

So, there is definitely be a need for improvement next season, especially as Chelsea will bring a new manager in Sonia Bompastor to replace Emma Hayes and the Frenchwoman will have to find her feet at the club.

FA Women’s Cup

Defeat in the fifth round at home to Manchester City. Suffice to say it was another big disappointment.

WSL Continental Cup

LONDON, ENGLAND – MARCH 05: Kim Little and Leah Williamson of Arsenal lift the FA Women’s Continental Tyres League Cup trophy following the FA Women’s Continental Tyres League Cup Final match between Chelsea and Arsenal at Selhurst Park on March 05, 2023 in London, England. (Photo by Alex Davidson/Getty Images)

Winners after defeating Chelsea in extra time. The bright spot of the 2023/24 season. Retaining the trophy by beating Chelsea again was brilliant. It is important to win trophies and keep the winning streak intact.

Overall success in one of four competitions is not good enough for a club of Arsenal‘s stature. It has been slightly disappointing in terms of results and more disappointing in the way the football was played at times.

Originally Jonas Eidevall set up the team as a press-oriented side trying either to win the ball high and then strike straight away or setting the block a little lower and hitting the opposition on the break with our fast wingers and strikers.

Of course, our opponents have analysed and countered our strategy and the coaching staff has tried to make improvements by changing the team’s attacking style. We now face deep blocks in most of the games and signing Alessia Russo was part of the plan. But the team has clearly struggled to create and finish chances. They also did not score enough from set pieces.

Let’s hope the transfer window will see some new profiles that will allow us to play a more expansive style of football and beat those low blocks as the team has more or less nailed the way to beat Chelsea, Manchester City and Manchester United.

If not, the coaching staff will probably be in trouble should there be not enough improvements next season.