Partnership of Miedema and Blackstenius will be major factor in Arsenals title charge

June 20, 2024

Vivianne Miedema’s assist for Stina Blackstenius against Manchester United may have travelled across the world on social media but it was just a snapshot of what those two in tandem could offer.

New signing Blackstenius equalises for Arsenal! 🔴

That ball from Miedema is simply SENSATIONAL. 👏 pic.twitter.com/ksmTbykQH8

— Sky Sports WSL (@SkySportsWSL) February 5, 2022

That came from a broken moment in play, after Blackstenius was introduced off the bench and Arsenal were down to 10 players. Those are not the circumstances in which they will be paired together often, so Jonas Eidevall starting the duo against Chelsea was always going to give a much more real indication of how the partnership would work. Although they were unable to make a goal in the 0-0 draw with Chelsea at Kingsmeadow, they did not disappoint.

As expected after last weekend, Miedema started as the No 10, with Blackstenius leading the line. Beth Mead was supporting on the right with Caitlin Foord off the left, but much of the early focus came from the two central players.

Making her first start since signing in January, Blackstenius was given a much better platform to display what she will add to Arsenal’s frontline. The first example came after eight minutes. Miedema clipped a first-time ball up to her on halfway and she was able to receive under pressure, hold off the Chelsea defender as runs were made off her and then lay the ball off around the corner. It was quite a simple piece of play but resulted in a Noelle Maritz cross into the box.

The 26-year-old Blackstenius continued to take the ball into feet throughout the game, pinning defenders before moving it on which proved useful in dragging Chelsea players out of position. Like against United, her constant runs in behind down the right channel gave Arsenal another option to hit and kept Chelsea guessing.

When Leah Williamson slid those passes down the line for the Swede to chase, Miedema and Foord were the players trying to make runs into the box to meet the low crosses that followed. Other times, when runs were sharper, towards the touchline, Mead would burst inside looking to be played in behind by Blackstenius. That ball did not quite come off, with Chelsea doing well to cover Mead’s out-to-in runs, but it is another aspect of the attack for Arsenal to perfect during the business end of the season.

“It will be a question that a lot of teams will need to answer: how do they deal with that deep threat and a player who can hold up the ball, and then deal with the space in front of the defensive line? It creates a lot of space and a lot of good opportunities and it’s obviously one of the reasons we wanted to bring Stina to the club,” Eidevall explained when talking about the impact Blackstenius could have on Mead and Miedema.

How she works with Miedema will, of course, be a major factor in how Arsenal fare in the title race.

Playing in that deeper role again, the Netherlands international showed once again that her quality is not limited to one area of the pitch. Floating out wide and into deeper areas has been a feature of her game since joining Arsenal, but starting in the No 10 position allowed her to take control and the only thing missing was a finishing touch.

Her best moment came on the hour mark when she received the ball in the middle of the pitch surrounded by plenty of Chelsea players. Rather than instantly driving forward, a couple of feints created her a nice pocket of space and allowed Mead time to make a run up the right wing. Miedema found Mead with a floated ball into the space and she cut the ball across to Foord, whose shot forced a fine covering block by Chelsea’s Jess Carter.

These moments did not lead to a winner, but contributed to a quality display of Friday night football which is just one factor that will encourage Arsenal with eight league games of the season to play.

As well as the Miedema/Blackstenius partnership developing, Eidevall was able to start Williamson and Rafaelle Souza together at centre-back for the first time in the Women’s Super League. Souza was imposing both in the air and when the ball was on the floor and appears a very solid addition alongside Williamson.

And Arsenal’s record against the league’s other big hitters remains intact. Losses against their rivals have hampered Arsenal’s bid for Champions League football in recent seasons but this season they have a win and a draw against each of Chelsea, Manchester City and Manchester United. This was one of Eidevall’s targets when he accepted the role of head coach and, regardless of who lifts the title in May, it will be hugely beneficial for Arsenal in the long term.

The partnership of Miedema and Blackstenius may not have troubled the scoresheet against Chelsea but it was a positive display and they will pose new and different problems for Arsenal’s opponents in the run-in. Chelsea are two points off Arsenal and have a slight advantage with a game in hand. The title race could not be more finely poised.

(Photos: Getty Images)

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