Arsenal’s dreams of another European campaign lay in tatters after losing on penalties to Paris FC. A 6-goal thriller saw Arsenal constantly chasing Paris’ lead, before Frida Leonhardsen Maanum and Alessia Russo saw their penalties saved in the shootout to send the Parisians through to the next round of the UWCL.
When the final whistle blew at Meadow Park last season, there was a real sense of jubilation. Despite losing 2-0 to Aston Villa, Arsenal had, despite the odds and the injuries, had managed to secure third place, and the chance to qualify of the Champions League. It was an incredible achievement, tantamount to the spirit and unity within the side, overcoming the setbacks and tragedies that had littered the season. It painted the campaign as a success. The League had long gone, but a trophy and the prospect of European football was a healthy return. Chants from the fans of ‘We’re going on a European adventure’ blared out from the North Bank. There was just the small matter of the qualifiers…
The UWCL group stage is contested between 16 teams. However, 70 teams qualify for the main competition. 4 go straight into the group stage, 11 make it to a play-off. That leaves a staggering 55 teams left. This are whittled down to just 13 via several ruthless, winner take all ‘mini tournaments. No second legs. No second chances. The winner progresses to the next round. The losers are left to contemplate the wasted efforts of the previous season. It is a system not without its critics. For starters, it feels overly complicated. In the Men’s competition, a team would typically play a series of home and away play-offs until the group stage is reached. It would be a simple solution to apply to the UWCL as well, were it not for the fact that the Group Stage is a lot smaller, with 4 groups compared to the UCL’s 8 (although that is changing with the introduction of the ‘Swiss format). To run a play-off system like that here, you’d need two further play-offs, doubling the number of fixtures, and stretched over several weeks. There simply isn’t enough room in the calendar at present to fit that in. The obvious answer therefore is to expand the group stage to 6 or 8 groups, but that comes with its own issues. The group stages have been lauded as a huge success, with lots of high-quality matches condensed into 4-way round robins. Last season, Arsenal played Lyon and Juventus, and they were brilliant games to watch. Chelsea had PSG and Real Madrid. An expansion of this format risks diluting the quality of the teams in each group.
However, the trade-off is that you risk losing high quality teams in these qualifiers. Last season, Man City lost to Real Madrid at this stage. This year, Juventus lost to Eintracht Frankfurt, and Arsenal have lost to Paris FC. The obvious argument is that if you can’t win at this juncture, you shouldn’t be in the main competition. However, these are matches that should be in the Group Stage main, not the early qualifiers. Because of the sheer quantity of teams trying to squeeze in, the qualifiers contain some very high-quality matches. But it also means that the lesser sides can get through whilst the titans knock each other out. Obviously, no team has a divine right to qualify, but there does feel to be a level of imbalance. But the main criticism, and the one that effected Arsenal the most, is the timing of the UWCL qualifiers.
The 15 teams eliminated today from the #UWCL race ❌🇪🇺:
🏴 Arsenal [#AFC]
🇮🇹 #Juventus Turin
🇪🇸 Levante
🇧🇪 Anderlecht
🏴 #Celtic
🇫🇮 Kups Kuopio
🇦🇱 Vllaznia
🇮🇱 Qiryat
🇬🇪 Samegrelo
🇭🇷 Osijek
🇱🇹 Gintra
🇲🇹 Birkirkara
🇬🇷 PAOK
🇱🇻 SFK Rïga
🇧🇾Dinamo Minsk https://t.co/b7FSx9dhQS pic.twitter.com/8vtiotvTgZ— Sportsmedia ❁ (@Sp0rtsmedia) September 9, 2023
It has been 3 weeks since Spain lifted the World Cup in Australia. Players have gone away, to rest, to relax, to celebrate or commiserate. Yet now, before pre-season has even started, they’ve been thrown into a high stakes tournament, the results of which could impact their entire season. Just days before the tournament started, Arsenal released a video of the players’ first day back at London Colney. This was team who had only been back together for 2-3 days. They hadn’t even had a pre-season. The new signings were finally in the house but had been given very little time to integrate into the team, and now the squad were expected to win two highly competitive matches to secure a slot in the UWCL play-offs.
The warning signs of the impending disaster had been hinted at in their first UWCL match. Arsenal beat hosts Linköping 3-0, but that didn’t accurately reflect the narrative of the match. Arsenal were flaky at the back throughout, with Lotte Wubben-Moy partnering new acquisition Amanda Ilestedt in defence for the first time. Early in the first half, the usually reliable Kim Little missed from the spot. Arsenal struggled to retain the ball, with lots of cheap turnovers. Foord was eventually able to give them the lead in the second half, and it took late goals from Hurtig and Blackstenius to eventually seal the tie, but this had been an uncomfortable ride. Ilestedt had gone close to deflecting the ball into her own net, only for Manu to flick the ball way from under her own crossbar. Linköping went close to scoring an equaliser when a cheap concession of possession allowed their forwards to dance into the box, only for Manu to make the save. The problems were there to see, but the quick turnaround to Saturday’s match with Paris FC gave Jonas little time to remedy them.
The first half was once again a struggle. Arsenal initially made a decent start, with Frida having a rocket tipped over, and Lotte having a header from the resulting corner cleared off the line. But after that, Arsenal toiled. There was no fluency to their play. No cohesion or composure. It felt like 11 players, rather than a team, were playing on the Astro pitch. The instinctive connections were absent, there was no pace to the game. Arsenal struggled to sustain any amount of pressure, the ball consistently getting stuck in the midfield. By contrast, Paris FC were happy to dig in and frustrate Arsenal. Paris are a youthful side, and what they are blessed with is pace on the counter. Early on, a ball over the top almost caused panic, but Catley was able to clear as Manu tried to claim it. The more Arsenal tried to commit; the more dangerous Paris looked when the move inevitably broke down. Arsenal’s brightest spark with Cloe Lacasse, who had the beating of the fullback all game. Sadly, none of her teammates were able to connect with her by-line cutbacks. It showcased the disconnects throughout the side. Halftime came with both teams level. Arsenal hadn’t done anything wrong, but they hadn’t done anything right either. But that would all soon change.
The second half was just as laboured as the first, as Arsenal struggled to piece together a coherent attacking phase. But a golden chance came when Kim won possession in the midfield, and Stina threaded Frida through, only for her tow weakly swipe at the ball and into the side netting. It would prove to be a costly miss. Paris FC raced up the right flank and Mateo sent a hopeful cross into the box. With no-one there, there looked to be no danger. But it crashed off the inside of the post and back into the danger area. With the defence flat-footed, Bourdieu was alert to head in the rebound. Manu was able to claim the ball, but the damage had been done. The ball had already crossed the line.
If the first goal was freakish, the second was farcical. Straight from the kick-off, Lia Walti played a pass to no-one across the midfield. Thiney snatched it and sent Mateo clean through. With the defence completely caught out by the turnover, there was no-one at home to stop her slotting in her second in as many minutes. Arsenal, 2-0 down in less time to tie a shoelace. Jonas responded with an emergency quadruple sub, as McCabe, Hurtig, Pelova and Russo entered the fray. It did little to change the tide. For 20 minutes, Arsenal laboured on, and the unthinkable scenario of an early European exit loomed on the horizon. But then fortune swung Arsenal’s way. Sissoko inexplicably dallied on the ball in her own penalty area, allowing Russo to steal the ball off her toes and pull a goal back. With 10 minutes to play, Arsenal had a chance, and they tried desperately to seize it. Frida had a header land on the roof of the net. Hurtig miscued badly when attempting to connect to a cross. As 9 minutes were shown on the board, Jonas resorted to his last play, bringing on Jen Beattie as an auxiliary forward. And incredibly, it paid off. McCabe sent in a deep cross, and Beattie rose unchallenged to glance home a barely believable equaliser. Somehow, Arsenal, had saved the game. Now they had 30 minutes to win it.
The first half bore no fruit, though Arsenal went close. Nnadozie almost punched the ball into her own net from a corner. Pelova had a jinking run into the box but couldn’t keep her shot down. It appeared Arsenal had taken all the momentum from that late equaliser into extra time. But it wasn’t to be. Just 50 seconds into the second half, they found themselves back on the rack. Fluery beat Lacasse and Lotte to the ball down the left wing, and her low cross flew through the Arsenal box. Soyer was unmarked at the back post, and it was a simple strike to sink Arsenal further into the mire. Worse followed, as an aerial collision between Melween Ndongala and Steph Catley saw the latter taken off, and Møller Kühl on to take her place. Everything seemed to be falling apart, and yet, that character and fight that had served Arsenal so well last season was drawn upon again.
A mistake in defence from Paris, Russo stole the ball, and from 25 yards sent an absolute humdinger into the bottom corner and sent the travelling Arsenal fans into ecstasy. 3-3, and still time for a winner. And there nearly was. Deep in added time, Lacasse sent the ball in, Russo glanced it back across, but Frida, not for the first time, couldn’t keep the header down. The chance had gone, the moment had passed.
Instead, it would be the lottery of penalties, and this time, Arsenal’s luck ran out. Kim and McCabe were on target, but Nnadozie saved splendidly from Frida and Russo. And although Manu was able to claw away Corboz’s effort, Ribadeira sent her the wrong way to send Paris through the next round, and to send Arsenal home. The dream was over.
Arsenal are out of the UWCL… pic.twitter.com/jVAUcawowX
— Alex Ibaceta (@alexibaceta23) September 9, 2023
There is no other way to dress it up, this was a disastrous result for Arsenal. All the planning throughout the summer would have been with progression to the UWCL Group Stages in mind. Players like Codina and Lacasse have left UWCL clubs to play here. Now they must all face the reality of the Conti Cup Group Stages, whilst their rivals continue to fly the flag in Europe. No 5-1s in Lyon, no Frida screamers, no Wolfsburg sell-outs. No nights under the Emirates Stadium lights. The ‘success’ of that third place finish ultimately amounted to nothing. And it wasn’t underserved. Over both games, they simply weren’t good enough. Despite the talent on the pitch and on the pitch, the team never really came close to matching the high levels we saw last season, when they achieved more with much, much less. This was a team that came into these matches freezing cold, and on the pitch, they seemed to freeze. Panic, chaos, there seemed no logic to their play. There was a lot of hopefully long balls which Paris were more than happy to head away. And at the back, the absence of Leah and the departure of Rafa was keenly felt. Jonas flipped between a back 4 and a back 3 throughout the game, but neither really made us look us look secure. Defensive partnerships take time to forge, and 3-5 days is nowhere near enough for Lotte and Amanda to build that bond.
Now Arsenal must look forward. Europe is gone, but there is still the WSL, the FA Cup and the retention of the Conti Cup to play for. They also have their ACL players to re-integrate into the side. Seeing Beth Mead back in the team is a huge boost for Arsenal, although what impact she will be able to have in the first half of the season remains to be seen. Arsenal now have to use this season as one of recovery. The lesser schedule will make it easier to rotate the team. The CC Group Stage is an ideal place to give our recovered players minutes. Arsenal now won’t have the March/April fixture pileup that did so much damage to the depleted side last season. As painful as this moment is, they have to also see this as an opportunity. Yet with it comes greater pressure. There was plenty of sympathy for Arsenal last year as their season collapsed and the ACLs piled up. Not so this time. This is a UWCL squad out of Europe. They now have the personnel, the squad depth, and the quality to make a strong challenge for the title. And that squad will get stronger still as the ACLs return. There is now no excuse as to why Arsenal can’t seriously challenge for the League this season. That is the main priority now. Europe has gone, but there is still plenty of domestic success to play for. The night is always darkest just before the dawn. And that dawn of opportunity is there for Arsenal, if they are willing to seize it.
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