By Bulldog Drummond
That Arsenal Women beat Tottenham Women was not so much the main story. Nor was it that we stayed third in the league one point behind the leaders Chelsea that made the headlines yesterday. It was the crowd.
At what I suppose we now have to call the Unsponsored Stadium there was an all time record attendance of 38,262, and it called into question Joe Montemurro’s notion of not moving any Arsenal Women matches to Arsenal’s stadium, until the women’s game was able to fill the Boreham Wood Ground.
There is of course merit in that notion, but the fact is that when the game is moved to the club’s main stadium then the crowds can on occasion turn out. Certainly Arsenal’s fixtures against Chelsea and Tottenham could benefit from being moved away from Boreham Wood. After all some under 23 games are played at Arsenal’s main ground each season. Indeed I wonder if the police and safety services are happy with the notion of playing those games Chosea and Tottenham games at Meadow Park with its capacity of 4030.
Joe did recognise the importance of the moment however, saying, “It was an amazing occasion. We’re very proud to have been a part of it. To have the passion, to have the rivalry, to have the tribalism. It was fantastic.” And it was noteworthy that Tottenham had also had a big crowd for the Chelsea game.
Of course there a problem in that the growth in attendances is so rapid (we’re getting to the position where one weekend’s fixtures can get close to the total crowd of last season through the whole league) that there can be worries that it can slip away just as quickly.
But at least we have a league that is exciting with the top three all within a point of each other. Here’s the table…
| Team | P | W | D | L | F | A | GD | Pts | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Chelsea | 6 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 12 | 3 | 9 | 16 |
| 2 | Manchester City | 6 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 12 | 1 | 11 | 15 |
| 3 | Arsenal | 6 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 11 | 3 | 8 | 15 |
| 4 | Everton | 6 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 8 | 4 | 4 | 12 |
Of course we didn’t have the 10-0 result of the last game between the two , back in 2017, but nevertheless Arsenal won, and that’s enough to be going on with.
Naturally the newspapers that have covered the game are full of the merits of Tottenham, how they have risen up the league “on merit” (as the Guardian puts it) suggesting that other clubs have bought their win into the top division, and highlighting a quadruple which apparently meant winning the Ryman’s Women’s Cup, the FA Women’s Premier League Cup, the Capital Cup and promotion (although I am bit vague that these were the competitions Tottenham won, as the Guardian merely makes the claim without giving any details.
It was a shame that with the ground less than half full, Tottenham Hotspur could not see their way to allow more Arsenal fans into the ground, but no, they had to limit the visiting attendance, suspecting trouble I suppose.
Still, we won, and we are continuing to stay in touch with the top big clubs funded with amounts of money that Arsenal’s women’s team can only dream of.
But on the pitch the dream is very much alive.
go gooner girls!
I believe we were in second place prior to this weekend’s games. I believe we were tied on points and goal difference with Man$ity, so perhaps goals for was what had lifted us. So, we did drop 1 place on the weekend.
@Gord, yes Man City scored more goals than us and so moved ahead of us. I hope our loss against Chelsea isn’t going to haunt us at the end of the season. Next game is on Thursday evening in the Continental Tyres Cup against Bristol City. Kickoff is 19:30, then on Sunday we host Liverpool also at Borehamwood in a 14:00 kickoff, a game where our goal difference should improve as Liverpool are struggling at the foot of the table.
Miedema now on 53 goals for Arsenal in 51 games, after the weekend I wouldn’t be at all surprised if she wasn’t on 57 plus in 53 games, assuming she starts both matches.
I was at the game with a family group and it was a lovely atmosphere and a very interesting and enjoyable game . Tottenham are a new entrant to the WSL so there is a reason why their rise has been charted and they played well in the first half.
Montemurro showed a lot of tactical acumen in changing things around in the second half and we ran out comfortable winners. I agree tgat the big derbies should be played at Ashburton Grove .
In a nod to the next article we changed our coach , getting a better one and it has driven the club forward . He is an excellent tactician and an upgrade on his Spanish predecessor just as Wenger was on Rioch who did a solid job
Henry I agree about our coach, and you may have seen my report on his appearance at the AISA meeting. But my point is not that changing the coach never helps. It does in 20% of the time in the Premier League (I’ve not analysed it in the women’s league), but 80% of the time it makes matters worse.
The media are really pushing for a new coach for the men’s team at Arsenal, and they have a long tradition of knocking Arsenal. I am sure a lot of journalists know perfectly well what sort of outcome the statistics show there is likely to be.
Tony
Thanks for your reply. Changing the manager is a risk if you can’t improve on him but most fans are pretty certain we can, In fact Montemurro impressed me much more than Emery. Rioch to Wenger, Rodgers to Klopp, Puel to Rodgers we’re all risks. You need the right people to make tge decisions not stay with a failing manager because change is a risk. That way lies mediocrity