Palace frustrate Arsenal women as familiar problem returns
Arsenal’s first home game ended in frustration with a 0-0 draw, as a former Arsenal goalkeeper thwarted attack after attack to keep a clean sheet. The statistics say it all: 30 shots, nine on target and no goals.
Renée Slegers made three changes to her starting XI, with Chloe Kelly, Kyra Cooney-Cross and Lotte Wubben-Moy coming in for Steph Catley, Kim Little and Olivia Smith.
The players who did not make the matchday squad were Géraldine Reuteler, Selina Cerci, Taylor Hinds and Isabella Damm. Daphne van Domselaar, Michelle Agyemang and Katie Reid all missed out due to injury.
The unused substitutes were Anneke Borbe, Catley, Smilla Holmberg and Elisa de Almeida.
Little, Smith, Stina Blackstenius, Caitlin Foord and Frida Maanum all came on as attacking substitutes as Arsenal tried to unlock the Palace defence.
In these kinds of attack-versus-defence games, once you score the first goal, you expect the floodgates to open. That did not happen. There were echoes of last season, when Arsenal lost the title to City by four points after drawing six matches despite losing only once.
It was interesting to see Slegers use Kelly on the left and Lisa Baum on the right, with both playing as inverted wingers, without really switching flanks during the game.
Also notable was how the full-backs worked with the wingers ahead of them.
Emily Fox and Baum, and Ona Batlle and Kelly, are combinations that still need work.
During pre-season, I found the Holmberg-Baum partnership very effective going forward and much more creative than Fox-Baum.
I also found the Georgia Stanway and Cooney-Cross double pivot interesting because both are deep-lying playmakers who want the ball, want to dictate the game and can play long passes to find space.
Playing together in a midfield three alongside Mariona Caldentey as the No 10 led to plenty of chances being created.
But could Arsenal have been more creative and efficient against a low block? I think a different midfield profile could help in those situations, as could a centre-back stepping forward to create overloads in certain areas of the pitch.
At the end of the day, the margins between success and failure are small, and they did not go Arsenal’s way.
Finishing is the toughest job in football. Could the forwards all have done better in the final third, both with the final ball and their finishing? Definitely. I am sure that will be worked on in training.
Next weekend brings bottom-of-the-table Manchester United, who have conceded seven goals.
Arsenal will need to have their shooting boots on.
Right now, Manchester City are top of the league with six points. Five teams have four points: Chelsea, Liverpool, Tottenham Hotspur and Crystal Palace, alongside Arsenal.
At the bottom of the table, Manchester United and Charlton Athletic have no points after two games, while Aston Villa, Birmingham City and Brighton & Hove Albion have one point.
Although Arsenal dropped two points, the damage could have been worse. They now need to make sure they take all three against Manchester United next Saturday.