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Arsenal cruise into UWCL knockout stages
Arsenal wrapped up their UWCL group stage campaign with a resounding 9-1 victory over FC Zurich to finish at the top of a very competitive group.
Group C was nothing to scoff at with defending champions Lyon and Joe Motnemurro’s Juventus rounding out the group.
Arsenal cruise into UWCL knockout stages
⚽️⚽️⚽️ pic.twitter.com/TAtfblo7qc
— Arsenal Women (@ArsenalWFC) December 21, 2022
Winning this group started with winning in the away leg against Lyon which was a massive performance that set the tone for the group. Arsenal showed how potent they could be against Zurich with a 9-1 win. Frida Maanum ran the show with a hat trick in the match. She has been on fire this season and that level of form will be so vital as the season progresses. Stina Blackstenius and Caitlin Foord notched braces as Kim Little and Mana Iwabuchi returned to the scoresheet for the Gunners. Blackstenius has had a rough period in form and so it helps that she capped off the first half of the season with a brace. Foord has been one of the team’s best players to start 2022/23 and will have to keep that form going to fill the injury voids.
It’s been a tough period for Arsenal in terms of injuries with Vivianne Miedema and Beth Mead both suffering torn ACLs. This is going to require a massive raise in level from the rest of the squad. Losing two finalists for the Ballon d’Or and replacing them is no small task, but if Arsenal want to compete for WSL and UWCL titles, they have to be able to fill the voids left by them. The form of Maanum and Foord is promising but with January looming, Arsenal should look to the transfer market to try and fill the big shoes of Mead and Miedema.
Via @fbref: Debinha scored 12 goals from 8.8 xG last season for the Courage. Her highest goal tally in her 5 seasons in the NWSL while averaging a .69 goals per 90 minutes https://t.co/iqr3LTujDG
— Mitch Peotter (@mitchpeotter) December 19, 2022
The NWSL is a logical place to look for talent with their season on hiatus until 25 March. A very obvious choice to fill the void Arsenal must fill would be 2022 MVP Sophia Smith of the Portland Thorns.
The USWNT attacker would provide the star power that could massively help Arsenal in the pursuit of titles. Arsenal have also been linked with Debinha of the North Carolina Courage. The Brazilian attacker has performed pretty well in the NWSL for a prolonged period but I can’t help but think the Gunners will benefit from signing a more bonified star. Of course, that will be hard to come by mid-season.