Leicester City were left reeling in despair after a second half horror-show saw them ship six goals to Arsenal. A quickfire double in the first half from Tierney and Cayman looked to have given the Foxes a secure half time lead over a sluggish-looking Arsenal side. But the second half saw the Gunners turn up the heat and respond with six goals of their own, with Lacasse, Russo, Foord, Pelova, Blackstenius and Hurtig all chipping in to complete an astonishing comeback.
After a slow start to the season, Arsenal finally look as though they have hit a patch of form. 3 wins on the spin had moved them to just behind the chasing pack, and with Spurs, Liverpool and (shockingly) Man City all dropping points over the weekend, the door was open to cash in and leap into those coveted European spots. And they couldn’t have picked a better fixture to do it in. Leicester City had never beaten Arsenal in the WSL, or even scored a goal. Over the previous four matches, Arsenal had an aggregate score of 14-0. Played 4, won 4. A three-point banker then, surely?
Not so, based on how Leicester have started this season. It took them 10 games to get their first win and points in their previous campaign, but Willie Kirk has overseen a major change of fortunes at the King Power since taking to the helm. Back-to-back wins against Bristol and Everton gave them their best ever start to a WSL season since promotion, and they followed that up with a very credible draw at Manchester United. Two defeats may have stalled their momentum since, but this is a different animal to the one so easily turned over before. Much more defensively secure, helped with Lietzig providing a strong presence between the sticks, and an attack with more bite through Petermann and Rose. Leicester had every right to go into this contest with a level of optimism that they could pull off something incredible, and it showed in their first half performance.
Leicester’s intent was clear from the off. Be brave, bold, push high and force Arsenal back into their own half. And it worked. Arsenal struggled to play out from the back as the Leicester midfield won their 50:50 duels. Arsenal were playing without Little and Wälti due to injury, and their absence in the heart of the team was keenly felt, with Pelova and Cooney-Cross (making her first WSL start) struggling to step up to the mantle, too easily outmuscled when under pressure. The passing became too safe, too sideways, too backwards. Players trying to progress the ball on their own instead of playing it to those better positioned, ultimately running into defensive cul-de-sacs traps and losing the ball, increasing the ever-mounting frustration amongst the travelling contingent.
No moment summed up Arsenal’s troubles more than a horror miss from Victoria Pelova. A mistake from Lietzig gifted her the ball, but instead of passing to Russo, Lacasse, or Foord, all of whom would have had a tap in, she went for a scooped chip which flew wide. It was a miss that would prove costly. Seconds later, Leicester’s high press won a turnover off a weak Ilestedt pass, ultimately winning a corner. The set piece defending was poor, as Arsenal never contested the high ball. Petermann evaded the attentions of Russo to make first contact, and Tierney towered over Wubben-Moy to glance home. Just two minutes later and it was double delight. Petermann sent Cain down the right behind McCabe. Earlier, an incredible lunge from Lotte had diverted a similar low cross to safety, but there would be no reprieve here. A superb low delivery, curving onto the sliding boot of Cayman, who diverted the ball home, and sent Leicester City into the break 2 goals to the good.
A sliding finish from @janicecayman! 🫡#BarclaysWSL @LCFC_Women pic.twitter.com/IOhzXqOtol
— Barclays Women's Super League (@BarclaysWSL) November 12, 2023
It was a lead deserved, Leicester had won the midfield contest, kept Arsenal hemmed in their own half, and had been ruthless in converting the two efforts they had on target. Arsenal, by contrast, looked slow and ponderous. It was a look of a team riddled with uncertainty, unsure where to pass, who to pass to, how to progress the ball beyond the Leicester press. This was a heavily rotated Arsenal side, looking to take advantage of the greater depth invested in over the summer. In previous seasons, losing both Little and Wälti for a game would be tantamount to a crisis. Memories of Birmingham City away resurfaced, a shock defeat that proved so costly in denying Arsenal the WSL Title two seasons ago. As for the present, it would be a second defeat of the season, leaving their WSL Title ambitions hanging by the thinnest of threads, even at this early stage.
Yet, what followed utterly defied the logic and narrative that had been constructed up to this point. Within 5 minutes, Arsenal were back in the game. After 10, they were level. 15 minutes in, not only were they ahead, but they had effectively killed off the fixture, undoing Leicester’s 45 minutes of hard work in just a third of the time. And then they twisted knife further.
Jonas confirmed that he hadn’t produced a big Hollywood speech to rally the troops in the dressing room, however, what was said clearly had the desired effect (and then some), as from the off, Arsenal were a different side. They tore through Leicester City at will, exploiting the huge spaces in the Leicester City half vacated by their high press, with a level of speed and energy absent for so long, not just here, but throughout the season. Foord took a Catley clearance on the chest and moved into midfield. Yet instead of checking, observing, looking for options before rolling the ball back, she pinged a long pass through Leicester’s back three, giving Arsenal a 3v3 counter chance. Nevin looked to have won the race, but she hadn’t counted on Lacasse’s speed. She pounced on her prey, stole the ball off her heels and slotted it past Leitzig. And that was only the start.
Cool as you like from @cloe_lacasse! 🧊#BarclaysWSL @ArsenalWFC pic.twitter.com/kiyfYq0ppp
— Barclays Women's Super League (@BarclaysWSL) November 12, 2023
Nevin’s error had opened the door, not just for Arsenal’s comeback, but also to a startling defensive collapse by her entire team. As Arsenal pushed on for the equaliser, Leicester pulled everyone back into their own half, yet contrived to push all but one of their players over to their right side. Russo could hardly believe her luck when McCabe dinked a ball to her in the box with no defenders around, and with enough time to control and place the ball into the corner with Leitzig helplessly exposed.
9 out of 10 of Leicester City’s players are circled here. Russo is in the ‘D’, ready to dart into the box unmarked
This should have been the cue for Leicester to sit deep and ride out what was become a huge surge of momentum for Arsenal, yet neither they nor their manager could read the signs, instead choosing to chase the lead again. It was an invitation to disaster, as continued over-committal of numbers lead to two rapid counter attacks that wiped them out.
A Cain cross was glanced clear, and Arsenal worked the ball to Lacasse on the right. She sent another long pass forward, this time for Russo to chase into the channel. What followed was a moment that exemplified the shift in mentality for how Arsenal were now playing. In previous instances, Russo would have taken the ball and stopped to assess her options. The momentum of the attack would have evaporated, Leicester City would have got their defensive numbers back, and the ball would have eventually been worked back into their midfield.
“Don’t Think You Are. You Know You Are.”
These were the words of Morpheus, from The Matrix, as he tried to get Neo to free his mind of doubt and tap into his true potential. The same too could have been said of Arsenal. Until now, the passes had been safe, low risk, rarely penetrative, and rarely finding the attacking runs the forwards were offering them. Too often they were over-thinking, trying to work out who to pass to, rather than knowing where to pass to. This is an Arsenal side still rebuilding, still trying to forge those intellectual connections, still trying to form that bond of trust, to know that the player will be there when they look for them. For so long this season, it has held them back, but in that second half, the moment of clarity finally struck for everyone, and they became one living, breathing unit of attacking destruction.
And so, in that moment, Russo didn’t think, but acted, with a first time cross that bent around the retreating defence and into the path of Foord. Likewise, Foord didn’t hesitate, didn’t waste time controlling the ball and thinking about where to strike the ball. Instead, it was instinctive, clinical, a beautiful scoop over the keeper and into the net.
What a goal, Caitlin Foord 💫
What a turnaround from Arsenal 🤯 pic.twitter.com/hoJ2yDagf9
— Sky Sports WSL (@SkySportsWSL) November 12, 2023
3 minutes later, Arsenal fans were treated to an action replay. Leicester tossed a set piece into the Arsenal box, which they defended with ease. Cain’s desperate attempt to win a penalty off Russo were waved away, and all of a sudden Cooney-Cross was storming through the Leicester half with little resistance. She chose Lacasse, who unselfishly tapped the ball sideways for Pelova to bundle home.
In just 12 minutes, Arsenal had taken the game away from Leicester City and put it on the top shelf beyond their desperate reach. Willie Kirk’s gameplan of the entire team pushing up, which had given them so much joy in the first half, was now working against them, as Arsenal bypassed their midfield with ease and utilised their pace and energy to counter upon their badly exposed defensive line. It was an incredibly naïve setup, and a manager of Kirk’s experience should have known better than to persevere with it, even as the team crumbled on the pitch and the scoreline grew ever higher.
With the game effectively over, it became a case not if Arsenal would win, but by how many. Stina, Hurtig and Mead all came on to freshen up the attack. Ultimately, it would be just Stina and Hurtig would add to their total, the latter for whom was their first (and long awaited) WSL goal for Arsenal. 6-2 was a mercy, Arsenal could easily have scored at least 10, hitting the post 3 times, missing two further strong chances and Leitzig saving a Mead 1v1. Leicester’s shape was shot to pieces, there was no structure, no team, just 11 players waiting for the referee to put them out of their misery. For all of their early good work this season, this felt like a call-back to the soft, flakey Leicester of old. The manner of which they cast aside such a strong position was nothing short of criminal, and Kirk’s attempts to deflect towards a very debatable penalty shout masked his failure to change his team sooner before they were swept away by a sea of red counter-attacks.
For Jonas, it was job done, three points, and a move up the table to second place. Not bad for a team who started with just 1 point from their first 2 matches. If their win over Man City was them getting their season back on track, then this was them finally demonstrating the attacking flair that has been absent for so long this season. They are still rough around the edges, as they once again failed to claim a clean sheet, and their first half showing was disappointingly average at best. They have shown, however, that they are still capable of that brilliant, devastating attacking football that so characterised them in Jonas’ first season. Arsenal have shown that they now have the connections and instincts to win and win well. Making that the consistent norm for the entirety of the match, for the rest of the season, is the next big challenge.
For more football related articles, click here.
Follow Sporting Her on social media by searching @SportingHerFootball, or use the links: Instagram // Twitter
