With a win for Lyon at home to Zurich earlier in the evening, Arsenal were seeking a result to move ahead of the current title holders on points in the fourth group stage match of their UWCL campaign. Leah Williamson returned to the starting XI after nine weeks out with an ankle ligament injury, in her 201st appearance for the club. She led her childhood club out at the Emirates as captain, to a crowd of a very chilly 6,582 fans braving the London winter night to watch this UWCL clash.
Aside for Williamson replacing Jen Beattie in the back line the starting XI was unchanged from the weekends WSL fixture at home to Everton. In pre-match press head coach Jonas Eidevall mentioned Everton were a good preparation for how Juventus play, but it’s doubtful that even he would have expected the two matches to each end 1-0 to Arsenal courtesy of a first half Vivianne Miedema goal and a defensive heavy second half.
With Beth Mead out with an ACL injury for the rest of the season, Arsenal are accommodating adjustments on the right hand side of the pitch, with Katie McCabe playing there (her usual positions being left wing or left back, as she favours her left foot). This adjustment meant Arsenal at times set up more as either a 2-2-2-4, with Stina Blackstenius and Miedema pressing Juventus’s backline high together, or a 3-3-4 with Caitlin Foord, Miedema and Blackstenius pressing forward and McCabe dropping back into more of a midfield position.
Miedema played with a lot of freedom, appearing on both the left and right wing at times in the match (with Foord or McCabe moving centrally respectively) as well as in her usual preferred ten role, but also occasionally dropping back to defend, collect the ball and pass it forward. She often found space to receive the ball centrally and made a dozen line-breaking passes throughout the match – it was unfortunate more weren’t converted, a combination of Juventus’s solid defense and a slight lack of clinicalness that Arsenal have suffered from since Mead’s injury. They also had a fair few offside calls and an offside goal from Blackstenius in the 12th minute. Not deterred, 4 minutes later Blackstenius received the ball from Williamson and played a perfect cross to Miedema who dinked it in first-touch for the only goal of the match.
Miedema spoke on Sunday about the team switching flanks more and quicker vs. Everton and Arsenal continued that in the first half on Wednesday, using Williamson and Lotte Wubben-Moy as pivots at the back and pushing full-backs Laura Wienroither and Steph Catley up high to press. In the first half Arsenal were able to settle higher up the pitch and press Juventus, who only really kicked into gear technically after the break. For the Italian side it was too late, with Arsenal continuing to control the match both on and off the ball in the second half despite playing more defensively as Juventus found form and played higher up the pitch.
Eidevall was very happy with his side’s control of the match, commending the trust in the way they played and the way they controlled the match at the end despite tiredness. He brought on Rafaelle Souza on for Leah Williamson after 60 minutes, the Brazilian returning from a broken foot that saw her out for 10 weeks. He also brought on Jordan Nobbs for Blackstenius, but instead of pushing Miedema up to a nine he put Nobbs on left wing, left Miedema at 10 and put Foord as the nine, explaining in press that this change was to get Arsenal more of the ball at the end of the match when they looked tired and were forced to play more defensively. He also subbed on Jen Beattie for Foord in injury time in order to bolster the defensive backline to see out the final few minutes with a back five.
When asked what he thought Arsenal did well and what they need to work on, Eidevall responded that he thought the team need to improve efficiency and decision making, but was pleased with how they played off and on the ball in the first half and how much they found Miedema considering how often she’s man-marked in league matches – calling the weight and quality of her passes “extraordinary”. He mentioned the adjustment required due to recent injuries and lack of consistency within the squad – they certainly looked more comfortable in this match than in the away leg and Everton match, becoming more comfortable in the adjustment in shape required by Mead’s injury.
Arsenal will look to settle further into their adjusted shape for their last few matches before the Christmas break – a WSL match vs Villa this Sunday and UWCL matches vs. Lyon (home) and Zurich (away). With all three points gained in this match they only need one more to qualify for the UWCL quarter-finals, and little more than that to top their group.