Before Beth Mead left the pitch against United in November, Arsenal netted 18 goals in nine domestic games; since then, the Gunners have only scored seven league goals in five games before receiving another blow.
Three weeks and five days later, Vivianne Miedema was carried off the field and Arsenal were served with an ACL double whammy for the prominent attacking threat in Jonas Eidevall’s squad.
It is evident that the Women’s Super League giants Arsenal are missing the attacking duo. Goal production is low and as a result, the Gunners are slipping down the ranks in the league and the woes were unable to be remedied by the January transfer window after bids for Alessia Russo and Signe Bruun failed to produce transfers.
Instead, Eidevall has had to look inside his own dressing room to find the solution - Caitlin Foord.
New arrival Victoria Pelova told Arsenal media how menacing Foord is on the field: "Caitlin Foord is a machine. She’s so unpredictable on the ball and she’s so dangerous in 1v1 situations – I had no idea she was that good! She can go either way, bully you off the ball and can also score so many different types of goals."
While out on international duty the Australian headed home the third goal against top-ranked side Spain for the 3-2 win, and scored again vs Jamaica in the 69th minute. Her strike clipped the inside of the upright and fired straight into the back of the net from outside the box - two goals in two games on the international stage.
Yet featuring for her club 21 times so far, the 28-year-old has scored just six in all competitions and only one goal in the league campaign. Can she bare the weight of expectation and pressure to deliver in Mead and Miedema's absence?
After losing 2-1 to Manchester City before the international break, the Reds are risking next year's Champions League place by sitting one spot below third place City, and six behind current league leaders Manchester United.
But before Arsenal can impact league standings on the March 8th against Liverpool, they go head to head with Chelsea, back-to-back for the fifth round of the FA Cup followed by the Continental cup final a week later.
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