Featured image credit: Ian Wilson (CC BY 2.0)

Arsenal Women have a doozy of a week ahead of them, with a Champion’s League group stage match against reigning champions Barcelona next Thursday at the Emirates, but first, a tantalising FA Cup final match against league rivals and WSL title holders Chelsea at Wembley this Sunday December 5th, with a record-breaking crowd of approximately 50,000 spectators.

This final is a holdover from the 20/21 season which was postponed due to the effects on the pandemic on the women’s game. In the semi-finals in November Chelsea beat the 19/20 season’s champions: injury riddled Man City 3-0, while Arsenal triumphed over a promising Brighton and Hove Albion side 3-0. Both teams so far this season have looked strong but not invincible, and it should shape up to be a great watch.

It’s a match of titans, including some of the best in the game: Vivianne Miedema, Sam Kerr, Pernille Harder, Jessie Fleming and Fran Kirby all bagged spots in the top ten for the women’s Ballon D’Or this week, while Arsenal captain Kim Little, and Arsenal players Beth Mead and Katie McCabe have all been in fine form at the start of this season. A compelling clash is also to be found between the two head coaches: the long-serving and very successful Emma Hayes versus the new hire who has had a dream start Jonas Eidevall, whose WSL debut as a coach involved beating Chelsea in the first match of the new season 3-2. Hayes and Chelsea will certainly be out for retribution, while Arsenal, with a trophy-drought of two and a half years, will be looking for some new silverware.

Lineups

In terms of lineups, Arsenal’s loss of world-class centre-back Leah Williamson to a hamstring injury is a blow, as is an ongoing injury to US international winger Tobin Heath. The rest of the squad, with the exception of young midfielder Malin Gut out with an ACL injury, were all present in training on Friday ahead of the match. On the Chelsea side, Maren Mjelde is also not expected to play a full 90, as she has only recently come back from a knee injury that required surgery earlier in the year. The rest of Chelsea’s squad are fit and available.

Near guaranteed to be in the starting lineup for Arsenal are Dutch striker Vivianne Miedema, top scorer in this summer’s Olympics and also pretty much everywhere else, and summer signing Norwegian midfielder Frida Maanum, who has been a staple of Jonas Eidevall’s game style so far. As a front three, Eidevall has been playing Katie McCabe, WSL Player of the Year last season, Vivianne Miedema and Beth Mead, who has had a stunning season so far, scoring twice in the September Chelsea game and picking up two hat tricks for the Lionesses in the past four matches, including the Northern Ireland match played at Wembley.

On the other side of the pitch, Hayes has the formidable striking duo of Sam Kerr and Fran Kirby, world-class Harder, plus the young Canadian gold medallist Jessie Fleming all as options for her front line. Considering the quality of the strikers on both sides, the match may be won or lost in the defence of both teams: one depleted by the loss of Williamson, the other having looked shaky this season since Emma Hayes’s change in formation to a back three halfway through the Champions League final. Other things to look out for: an Erin Cuthbert-Katie McCabe match up, always a great clash between two physical players, and Eidevall’s commitment to ensure his finishing XI are as strong as his finishing XI, with possible appearances from Japanese international Mana Iwabuchi and club favourite Jordan Nobbs.

Summary

Whoever wins this match, it will be an historic occasion, with the date marking exactly 100 years since the ban on women’s football in the UK came into effect, which lasted until 1971. The 50 years since the ban was lifted has seen accelerating growth and investment in the game, though it still lags far behind the men’s in terms of prize money, and investment at both a professional and grassroots level. The solution? Increasing attention and coverage of women’s football, which continues to accelerate. Ahead of the home Euros next year all eyes will be on Wembley: half red, half blue.

The Women’s FA Cup Final 2020/21 will be broadcast from 1:30pm on BBC One, kick-off is 2pm. Tickets are still available.