Mariona Caldentey’s 93rd-minute penalty delivered a win and a hefty dose of relief to fans bouncing behind the goal in the North Bank after the ball hit the back of the net, but Arsenal’s narrow defeat of HB Køge in their Champions League opener left more questions unanswered than answered for the struggling Gunners.
The puffed cheeks of the manager, Renée Slegers, said it all when the full-time whistle went. If it had been revealed after the final whistle that a force field surrounded the opposition goal at Meadow Park, many would have believed it, such was the extent of Arsenal’s ridiculous profligacy in front of goal in their league-phase opener.
“It was a mentality and resilience win today,” said Slegers. “The football didn’t give us the win … but we get the goal as a squad.”
Exactly what is stopping Arsenal from getting the ball in the back of the net with a swagger reflective of their talent-laden squad is hard to pinpoint.
Yes, teams are defending excellently against them, as a battling Køge and their goalkeeper Alberte Vingum did on Tuesday night, but this feels like an Arsenal problem: a mentality one, a training ground one, a ruthlessness one.
Practically solving the issue is a multifaceted undertaking, but “making things simple and easy to understand and easy to execute are probably the main two” focuses for Slegers.
“Then it’s also about involving the players as much as possible. Getting their input: ‘What do you see? What do you feel on the pitch? What’s your perception in the moment and your analysis afterwards?’”
The shadow of Sunday’s trip to Stamford Bridge loomed large at Meadow Park with eight changes made to the team that salvaged a point against Manchester United deep into added time on Saturday.
The hope, without being disrespectful to their Danish opposition, was that this game would alleviate the frustration the Gunners are experiencing in front of goal, breaking the mental block several players seem to be suffering from. Unfortunately, the A-Liga leaders had other ideas.
The Gunners’ pressure in the opening 20 minutes, which the Køge manager, Kristian Mørch, described as “like plunging into ice-cold water” that they just had to “try to survive, calm the panic, calm the fear, and then act our way out of it”, seemed to have yielded the breakthrough in the 13th minute, when Caitlin Foord kept an attack alive before sending the ball to Taylor Hinds. The full-back fed Kyra Cooney-Cross and the Australian midfielder’s neat flick was turned in by Chloe Kelly on the volley with the outside of her leg. It was a fine finish but the video assistant referee intervened to penalise an offside Stina Blackstenius for straying into the line of sight of Vingum. Had the hosts got an early goal, the game may have opened up for them a little.
That the match reached half-time still goalless was somewhat inexplicable, but also symbolic of Arsenal’s stuttering start to the season, with just five points from their three Women’s Super League games after consecutive draws, against Crystal Palace and Manchester United.
The scale of the achievement for the visiting team was demonstrated by the buoyant celebrations of their coaching staff as soon as the half-time whistle was blown. Mørch bellowed “good job in here”, before tripping on a railing and receiving a chorus of boos from the home fans behind the opposition dugout. He walked across the pitch towards the dressing room with a smile on his face and a finger to his lips shushing the crowd.
Their decision to celebrate every positive action was a conscious one. “We agreed before the game that we’re going to celebrate every possible win, even just the goalkeeper sometimes catching the ball, that’s a win,” said Mørch. “I could see that some of the Arsenal players got a bit annoyed by it, but we had to try and do whatever we could.”
“We noticed it,” said Slegers with a smile. “And I understand it from their perspective. It’s a good tactic, I guess, to keep morale in the team high and maybe intimidate the opposition.”
Paris Saint-Germain came from behind to clinch a 1-1 draw at Real Madrid in their Women's Champions League opener.
Felicia Schröder gave the Spanish club the lead after just 96 seconds to make it six goals in five appearances since her June transfer from BK Häcken. But Sakina Karchaoui (pictured) was on target from the penalty spot with 16 minutes left to secure a point for PSG.
Marit Bratberg Lund scored twice – once from the spot – as Benfica dispatched Juventus 2-1 at Allianz Stadium. Alba Redondo grabbed a late consolation for the hosts.
The Malta striker Haley Bugeja settled a hard-fought opening game for Inter with a fifth-minute winner that condemned Swedish side BK Häcken to a 1-0 defeat at U-Power Stadium. Häcken's keeper Jennifer Falk was sent off in the 90th minute for a trip as Inter staged a late attack. Press Association
As the clock edged towards full time, every effort placed high, wide or cut out was wildly celebrated by the Køge substitutes. They were silenced eventually, when Yukina Sakabe upended Selina Cerci in a rare blip from the visiting team and Caldentey converted from the spot.
It was crushing for the visiting team, but Mørch was delighted with his team. “Around minute 80, I came to terms with the idea that if something happens, something happens,” he said. “We were so pressed at that point that these things will sometimes happen. So, for me, I’m not going to say the game ended there, but my judgment of the overall performance kind of ended there. I’ve seen what I could dream of from the team.”
Relief filled the stands packed with red and white after the goal, but with Chelsea up next, nerves of another wasteful season will not settle.
