Facing low blocks in the Women’s Super League is not a new challenge for Arsenal, but it was one they still needed to overcome to keep their title hopes alive.
Although it was not as thrilling as the last time the Emirates Stadium hosted a north London derby, Sunday’s 1-0 win over Tottenham Hotspur showed the importance of having players capable of changing the picture.
Kim Little was voted the supporters’ player of the match and that was largely because of her diagonal pass to unlock the Spurs defence for Arsenal’s winner, scored by Alessia Russo.
“Individual quality is really important,” Arsenal manager Jonas Eidevall said. “You can see that in the goal but it’s also about the connection and understanding between those players. Without that, the individual quality is not worth anything with the way we play.
“Kim protects the ball and can scan to see the opportunity to play that diagonal pass with pinpoint precision — without that, the goal is not possible. If Beth Mead doesn’t wait for that pass and attack that space, and have that quality on the first touch, the goal is not possible either.
“And still, the goal would not have happened if Alessia had not stayed central as a No 9. If she lost patience and went somewhere else, that goal wouldn’t have…
