Arsenal Women weekly newsletter July mailbag

I know we technically have 4 players in the cm/dm position but Kim and wally are injury prone (understandable) and kühl hasn’t really had any experience with the team in that position given she basically played on the wing during her first few months here - In my opinion we need another midfielder, especially for 4 competitions. Similarly we only have Leah, lotte and codi for the cb positions (+ Steph I guess) and Leah and Codi are both quite injury prone + lotte is coming off a complicated injury - do you reckon Teyah or Katie will be staying until Amanda returns? My questions are basically, I think we are light in these two areas - do you agree? Lucy

Yeah I think this is a really tricky one because I think there is risk in both directions. I think a squad can be bloated and too big and if I am honest, last season I think it was bloated and too big. Clearly not having UWCL football was a big contributor to that. I think if you are going to have a big squad you really have to use it, you can’t have redundancy and players kicking their heels on the bench not doing anything. I think that can sap squad morale. At the same time, we are trying to win the league and the Champions League! I think if Arsenal were to go through with signing Keira Walsh, for example, then someone like Ke probably has to go. Otherwise you probably get a Gio situation where she loses another year and her development stunts and that doesn’t work for anyone.

While I accept Kim and Lia have had injuries, I don’t think you can disaster plan in a squad too much otherwise you end up with redundancy, which can be bad too. I personally think five CMs is too many and last season showed that, Ke couldn’t get a kick even with injuries to Kim and Lia. If we make the decision Ke is not ready, let’s make it and let her move on and play and bring in someone who is ready. So basically if Arsenal decide to upgrade in midfield, fine, but I don’t think we can or should add numbers- Pelova will be back at some point too and that will create further redundancy down the road.

Centre-half I think I would leave for the same reason, unless Arsenal plan to bring in somebody who is really top class. There is no point in buying a fourth choice centre-half, Goldie or Reid and Steph Catley can cover that. I guess my overall answer is that Arsenal’s squad is now so big they should only consider quality, not quantity. I don’t believe in adding ‘depth’ now. Other than winger or goalkeeper, I think that now, any signing should be met with a departure.

Based on any named that you might’ve heard (beyond Kouassi, whose links to us seem relatively tenuous), what kind of profile do you think they’re going for in the young winger they’re after? We know they likely want a traditional/orthodox wide player, but do think they’ll be after an established young player with senior international experience, for ex? Or a player from maybe a lower level team who they think they can develop? Are players who maybe are typically used in other positions but who they think they can shape into a winger also in contention, do you reckon? Basically, do you think they’ll aim to poach someone big from another side or go for someone lesser known from a smaller side that they can mould? Lea

I believe interest in Kouassi is real, last I heard the work permit was proving tricky but that was a little while ago and don’t quite know where things are now. But I think that tells you a lot about what Arsenal are looking at. Certainly someone who is direct, and Jonas signed Heath, he wanted Geyse and he signed Lacasse and Gio. Clearly he likes his ‘take-on merchants’ and I think that is the profile we will probably see and it’s the profile the squad needs.

I suspect the interest in Kouassi shows us Arsenal will likely go for more of a developmental player in that respect, who can challenge Foord but might not go straight in for her on the first day of the season, if you get my drift. I think Arsenal need to get younger, especially in this area but the size of the squad has made it difficult to develop young talent. In the wide positions I think it’s potentially easier to develop someone though because it’s easier to give them cameos from the bench compared to, say, a centre-half.

Are Arsenal seriously trying to sign Rosemonde Kouassi or is she just one on a long list of possible targets? Do you know any other names for the pacy winger we are interested in if she's just one on a long list (or in case she's a serious target but we don't get her so need to move on to another target)? ML

Honestly I don’t know at this stage, information is funny. Sometimes you really get regular drips of information about something over a period of time and gradually get a transfer story together. Sometimes it’s all very sudden and you go from knowing nothing to everything in the space of a couple of hours. I know Arsenal want to strengthen here, that Kouassi has been a player of interest but that’s about all I know right now.

Hey Tim - I’d love to know your thoughts on Viv signing for City! You’ve often said that players moving to rival teams is much less of a “thing” in women’s football, but this one does still feel like it stings. Do you think it may be one Arsenal will come to regret? Ayo

This one is going to rumble on and on I suspect because I think she will do well at City. They play a style of football much more suited to her than Arsenal do, so I suspect it will be a bit painful seeing her perform well for them. But I don’t think that means that she would have performed the same at Arsenal. I think it became clear over time that Miedema-ball and Eide-ball are not totally compatible.

So that’s tough to answer because I do think it was right for both parties to move on (it happens in life and at work all the time) but I also think she is going to strengthen one of our rivals. So honestly I think this is a ‘bit of both’ situation and I hope that Arsenal look a lot stronger so we can focus on it less next season.

I’d also say the picture is changing in terms of players moving to rivals. It still happens a lot simply because the pool of elite clubs is small but clearly, interest in the game is rising, emotional ties for fans are getting stronger and with that comes a greater emotional response to moves like this. And that’s a good thing, this is an elite sport and people care about it, that feeling hooks people in and we will see it more and more at the elite level and rightly so.

Tim, in your considered opinion who would win a shithousery showdown between Katie McCabe and Ben White? Doctor Who Randomised

Katie. Her and Ben White have the same ‘sly’ and amusing shithousing credentials but Katie also has the more aggressive shithousing style. I think she is a more rounded shithouser with more strings to her shithousing bow. That’s no slight on Ben White though, there is no shame in being second to the very best.

How do Arsenal close the gap that’s opened up on Chelsea and City? Obviously the simple answer is “break down low blocks better” — but in a macro sense we’ve just dropped down a tier over the past five years. How can we actually compete for and win the league again? Kyle Crawford

I think Arsenal and City are the same level. In 2022-23, Arsenal finished above them but the underlying metrics showed City were unfortunate to finish 4th. Last season City were clearly better but the underlying metrics show they slightly over performed (which is a course correction on their previous underperformance) and Arsenal underperformed theirs. I think this is a question for City and Arsenal about how they break Chelsea’s dominance.

Clearly, Chelsea could have a transition season with Emma Hayes having departed but, for Arsenal, I think the focus really has to be on greater cohesion in the team. I think the extent of last season’s pain surprised me but I always felt there would be some pain in assembling such a large squad in a relatively short space of time. Arsenal have to show a better understanding and belief in the base principles of the team and to be able to rotate the squad effectively.

Striking that balance between being structurally sound when necessary but being more fluid and free against the lower lights of the league is the key. Can we blend the Eidevall approach in big games with what we used to have under Montemurro against the smaller teams but not become confused and lost? These are all very delicate balances that the best teams strike.

I see evidence of Arsenal trying to be more fluid and unpredictable against low blocks, I still think it looked a little stiff and unnatural at times but the intention was certainly there. That just has to get better because, as we all know, we are firmly in ‘no excuses’ territory now.

I have to admit that I know nothing about Rangers. How difficult a game do you expect and thoughts on their standout players? Dave Brown

I can’t pretend to have watched a good deal of them but Arsenal really ought to be beating any team from the WSPL. They have a mix of experience and youth, with players who have a lot of WSL and international experience like Jane Ross, Lizzie Arnott, Nicola Doherty and Laura Rafferty. But they have some exciting young players too like Olivia McLaughlin who they signed from Aston Villa. But a player to really watch for the future is Kirsty MacLean, who has only just turned 19 but has been a regular for Rangers for two seasons now. She is in the Kim Little mould and I think she is certainly someone who will play in the WSL relatively soon.

How do you feel about the prospect of us playing Rangers & after that possibly Atleti? Roos

I love the Rangers tie, Arsenal really ought to win but it being a British team adds something to the game, certainly. I am not mad about getting Atletico, they and Frankfurt were the two teams we really wanted to avoid. Having these games at Meadow Park, off the back of a relatively quiet summer for a lot of the squad, is a big fillip though. Especially if we are to play Atletico in a second qualifying game, having that match at home will be huge because they are a good team. I think if we fast forwarded to the group stage draw and Arsenal were drawn with Atletico and Rangers you wouldn’t bat an eye in terms of them being group stage quality opponents.

You’ve talked about hoping that Arsenal will start playing more fluid. A style that would definitely suit Mariona. Do you think that Jonas will be able to let go of his own style of playing? The structured style? Leontine Doorn

I think we saw at the end of last season he was willing to try. We saw a lot more interchanging of positions and I think Emily Fox really helped with that with her ability to pop up centrally as well as out wide. The question for me isn’t whether Jonas is willing, I think he is. The question for me is how well it works and how natural it looks. I think there were times that it did work in the last couple of months of last season and times it didn’t (Everton away, for example) but Arsenal also weren’t playing for anything from April onwards, basically, so I find it really hard to judge the level the team actually reached in what were low stake games.

Farewell Viv. Welcome Mariona. Now that deeds have been done do you think the blame-thrower pertaining to Viv's departure be shelved by Mariona's arrival? Chris Humphrey

I hope so but with Viv playing for a rival, I suspect not unfortunately. When Robin van Persie moved to United from the men’s team, every time he scored my twitter timeline went into shared despair and I suspect we will see something similar here. (And I am not here to moderate people’s reactions, whatever my own might be). I suspect we will go through a period too where all of Arsenal’s flaws (and all teams have them) will be attributed to her absence, so any performance that is below par will see the discussion resurface.

That is going to be in everyone’s back pocket ready to be unleashed for every 30 minute period where Arsenal look as though they are struggling (and while I suspect much of it might be exaggerated, it is not to say there won’t be some truth to it as well). Basically, I think this is going to be on the tips of people’s tongues, locked, loaded and ready to go- especially for the early parts of the season.

If Arsenal don’t start the very first game like a runaway train, it will be brought up from the start. The only way to stop that is for the team to perform really well and win games. That always answers all questions. I think it is a decision that will make or break Eidevall’s reign and that is ok because this season was always going to be make or break and that means the manager cannot take any half measures.

It remains to be seen whether it works out but I like the decisiveness of it, there was a lack of clarity last season, the squad was too big and the style not defined enough. It was time for a big decision on a big player somewhere, in my view. Whether Viv was the right one remains to be seen.