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What just happened?
Not a long post today I’m afraid, and you’re very welcome haha.
I absolutely love days like today, not exclusively because of the result but because it’s one of those days that surprises me, that proves me wrong, that proves me right and more.
When I first saw the team sheet I was not thinking we would win. I just wasn’t filled with as much confidence as I would be with other players starting. Sabrina being one of them, and in my opinion she could’ve gotten sent off on the very first play of the match and I would’ve understood the ref.
The result was wild and I don’t think it was anywhere near as good or dominant as the score suggests but who the hell cares? 3-1 at the emirates against man utd is a result I’d take every single time, specially as it puts us 7 points ahead of them.
We needed this win for obvious reasons as it relates to getting closer and closer to first place, but the gap we’re creating against united is extremely satisfying and will allow for some breathing figuratively and literally as well.
Cloe was the true player of the match for me proving with every touch of the ball and her off the ball movement that she needs to start over Caitlin. It’s a no brainer.
Loved having KCC on the side and to me the difference in the flow of the ball when she was in there with Lia and Kim was fantastic. She’s elegant, fluid and positive. Decisive too.
Beth had a great game too and unlucky to not have gotten a couple of goals and Stina ran her socks off.
My takeaway is that I have no clue what Jonas is doing or is trying to do but that’s the life of a fan, isn’t it?
Enjoy this lovely Saturday.
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it’s the club’s stadium
As a fan base, we are very much spoiled. AWFC is the best and biggest club in the history of the sport in England, and even though the pendulum has swung towards Chelsea the past decade, there’s no question that, albeit historically, Arsenal are on top of the food chain.
But when the results aren’t there, when the trophies aren’t being won, when there’s a barren spell, us fans need to do what we can to try to turn things around from the outside in and continue to show support in every way possible and selling out the Emirates is just about as big as it gets, specially since its for a WSL match.
There is a universe in the near future where the girls play ALL home matches at The Emirates. As Viv said once: it’s not the men’s stadium, it’s the club’s. This is going to be a reality but I’m assuming that the powers that be need to see that attendance for it to be justified or however you wanna think about it.
We often hear that sold out crowds is what the girls deserve and I think that is applicable to all women football matches all over the world. Deserving is not the question, it’s more an accessibility thing for fans, as it relates to the price of admission, logistics and such. Luckily for local fans, the Emirates is very easy to get to and still the ticket prices are very affordable, all things considered.
Now, onto the match. I don’t really know what to expect but I’m confident in that stadium, in that crowd, the girls will be more than up for it. If nothing else, to send off our very own Jen Beattie in style.
And here’s how I would line them up, but we know Jonas won’t.
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Never in doubt…
Yesterday, the girls accomplished exactly what was needed: an emphatic win. Needless to say the fans also needed that and Eidevall more than anyone as well. This was one match where I had absolutely no doubt that they would get a result and I am obviously very happy for them.
Great to see Kim start, great to see some squad rotation and more than anything, I’m beyond the moon excited for Cloe as she put on a great performance as she usually does, in my opinion. What does she have to do to get a start in the WSL? She deserves more playing time and to me she is a much more effective and dynamic player than Caitlin and needs to be starting ahead of her.
Another thing that I never doubted was the inevitable selling out of The Emirates for the match against Man United. There is so much to say about this but the 2 things I’ll say is: fans, you did it! be proud of yourselves.
More importantly, I’ll say that none of this would be possible without the girls being history makers, each and every single one of them, which has led them to history making moments like what they will experience.
I still need to confirm but I will most likely appear on The Highbury Squad this Friday talking about AWFC and women’s football in general. I’ll post about it on Twitter and I’m never calling it X.
Laters!
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LCL
Before I talk about the match today, I wanted to take a quick second to thank everyone for the love my duet with Jen and Leah got. Tons of likes and reposts and I’ve gotten some lovely messages too, so please know that’s appreciated.
I know I’m not the only one that has done content like this, and I’m talking about anything similar in the past, and I think it’s good to keep in mind why we are doing these things and how that can affect us.
What I mean by that is that we need to be realistic and know that there are times when the people we make the content for, aren’t going to see it, or they might not like it or aren’t interested at the moment. I’ve done lots of things hoping that a certain Dutch pop singer would see it, or a million other things but that hasn’t been a fuel that has actually worked for me. There has to be a selfless intention for it to work, or so I have found.
I did what I did because I know there are people out there that can do it much better, be more clever and unlike me, actually smile and look happy while doing it haha. I did it because I wanted more people to do it, almost like a challenge and try to motivate them to being active in their love and support.
Now, onto the Conti Cup match that feels like we’ve been waiting several months for. It’s finally here… In 2 1/2 hours, our girls face the London City Lionesses and I’m sorry for the Lionesses because I have a soft spot for that club, but they are having a torrid time and as much as I want them to turn it around, today is not that day.
In all seriousness, if Jonas doesn’t manage a win today, the questions that have been asked, need to be yelled and screamed and answers need to be given, and accountability needs to be present.
With that said, I’m expecting a 5-0 win, please and thank you.
Stina hat trick.
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The City, The Manager, The League
That is the title of this week’s episode of That Arsenal Women Podcast which you can listen to by clicking on the player down here.
Also, in case you noticed, I have been posting longer episodes. The usual length is between 17 & 20 minutes or so, but the past few ones I’ve gone closer to 35 min. If you feel so inclining, please reach out and tell me what you think about that, about the new intro/outro song and whatever you’d like to chat about.
You can email me HERE
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Accountability
It takes a very emotionally intelligent player, let alone person, to hold themselves accountable. It is among the many reasons why I support women’s football, because there seems to be a much more elevated sense of empathy and accountability from the players.
At Arsenal, we not only have some of the best players in world football, but they are also eloquent, smart and clearly self aware. We need to be grateful for that and having a player like Beth say the things she said post match, regardless of what my opinion is on that aka I’m biased and I don’t think she was as bad as she hinted at, is a sign of someone who is taking responsibility and accountability.
These are not only signs of maturity but also signs of leadership and that is something that any team would want and I personally think we have an embarrassment of riches when it comes to that. Lia Walti alone elevates all of this tenfold, add to that Viv, Leah and others.
Recording a new episode of That Arsenal Women Podcast in a couple of hours so look out for that.
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You take Katie off? Really??!
Wether you listen to my podcast or have read a few of these posts, you’ll know that I try to be, as much as possible, as positive and optimistic as possible. I do my best to focus on the good parts and I try to find things that we can learn from. Today will be more of the same. Safe to say that I will be going to chat about this and more on tomorrow’s episode of That Arsenal Women Podcast.
So…
Among the positive things that I saw was that Leah Williamson is just too good. This isn’t me saying that other CBs aren’t good, it’s just that she is much, much better than most. She needs the right partner that is as close to her level as possible and I think we have that player at the club and I can’t wait to see Amanda and Leah together. I have a feeling that will bring a stability that we need.
Katie being Katie is always a positive. The team just isn’t the same without her in it. Her tenacity, shit housery, drive, attitude and skills are attributes that you always want in the team. Unless you’re Jonas and you take her off, but that’s another story which I’m trying really hard to not talk about.
Emily Fox continues to impress me with her energy and vision.
And to be fair I would’ve preferred to see Stina get a start, but I thought Alessia had a good game and even if she didn’t score or assist, she seemed to me to be super up for it and tried to get involved and involve the players around her..
The last positive I will mention is that City don’t look great. This can be both good and bad. Good because we can beat them in the league for sure, with Viv, Kim and Lia. I’m sure of that. Bad because if they play Chelsea like this, I’m equally sure that Chelsea could score 5 or 6.
I’m feeling criticism coming on from myself towards the manager and I will for sure talk about that tomorrow.
Enjoy the rest of your Sunday.
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Kind Draw, Stina and City
We all know that both Chelsea and Man City are always in the last 4 of every cup, every year. We also know if we are to make it to a final we usually need to beat both of them somehow, or hopefully just one. When I say hopefully it doesn’t mean that I’m not confident. I mean that for my own heart and anxiety.
If the girls beat LCL they’ll face Villa, who aren’t having the best season but neither are West Ham innit? Anyway, that means Chelsea play Man City allowing us to potentially, big potentially, get to another final.
Now, on to Stina. I love her, you love her, we all love her and she absolutely needs more minutes. Not only does she need more minutes, but Russo needs a break from time to time, same with Beth and others. I get that the staff know what they are doing but it also seems to me like players are being overplayed. I’m kinda worried actually. Also it’s not like Stina is a big drop-off from Alessia. Stina is world class, a clutch 9 and we need to be scoring lots of goals, and that’s what she does.
Lastly, before I head out to my 3rd ever pickleball tournament (wish me luck!!!) I wanted to say that I’m very excited about the girls playing City tomorrow. I know it sounds contradicting after what I said it the first paragraph but like I always say: a team that has McCabe, Little, Miedema, Mead and Walti, among others, is a team I’m always going to feel confident in, always and forever.
I’m also very curious to know what happens in the rest of the fixtures and hope to see a few upsets, wink wink.
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This is why
Believe it or not, this is not a reference to Paramore and their amazing album, who just won a Grammy. What I’m talking about is the kind of things that managers say that make some of us fans extremely confused and frustrated. I respect Jonas. I respect his staff and none of this is a direct criticism towards HIM, I’m just going to use something he said just to illustrate my previous point.
And actually I’m going to start with how much I loved how he answered the question regarding Manu and the mistake he made. He spoke about having a “culture of bravery” with mistakes included and this is absolutely incredible. He implied that the biggest mistake you can make is not daring to make a mistake.
Here is what kinda grinds my gears though…On his press conference pre City match he spoke about KCC and her having tremendous qualities and mentioned how she’s “potent when trying to break down low blocks.”
Well, why not play her for more than 6 minutes or whatever she is being played for? The answer is because that’s what he wants and thinks is best for the club. I either believe this is the reason or my head would explode.
The manager is given, at least by me, the benefit of the doubt in a press conference because that is the game and that is how this thing goes. But the perceived contradiction will still make me roll my eyes, but not because I have a set opinion, but that’s just how I react. Very basic of me. At the end of the day, regardless of what I think Jonas does or should do, I have to believe that he is doing the best for the club and players.
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We’re still in it!
Ninety nine out of a hundred times, whenever I see people say X team is out of the title race, I chuckle, then I judge, then I chuckle some more. Specially as it relates to Arsenal women and the WSL. Not just because I’m emotionally invested and I refuse to give up, but because anything can happen in this wild sport, and people seem to forget about that.
When I see the arbitrary statement that we’re out to the title race, I ask myself: why trust someone’s judgement and assessment of a situation as it relates to football, when we have seen time and time again?
Honestly it depends on how much I like the person saying it and also on how they frame their reasoning behind it. Is it a mathematical thing? is it a vibes thing? Is a reflection on whoever says it because they give up when things get tough in life?
You know when people say like: if X player was there they would’ve scored or we would’ve had a penalty but the ref cost us the game… things like that? That’s non sense. Its the past and it didn’t happen, so there’s no way, literally no way, for us to know what would’ve happened, because it didn’t happen.
But aside from all reasons, what I can’t stand about this assumption that we’re out of the race, is that the energy of the posts and such don’t help the players.
Imagine you’re a player and you go on twitter checking out what people are saying about your club and you and your teammates and you keep seeing over and over this idea that the title race is over. People that are supposed to be your supporters, reinforcing failure and implying a lack of capability as it relates to facing challenges and overcoming adversity?
THERE ARE SO MANY MATCHES LEFT!!!!!!
Yeah we’re 6 points behind and I get that Chelsea and Man City are on absolute fire. But They play each other this weekend… let’s say that Man City win. They would tie Chelsea on 34 points. Imagine we beat Man Utd and get to 31 points. We still have to play both Chelsea and City so we still have a chance.
I will not give up. Not saying this makes me cooler or better or whatever. I’m saying until we’re mathematically able to win the title, I’m going to believe we will win the title.
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