Arsenal Women v Reading

Sunday 12th March 2023

Kick off 6:45pm 

Women’s Super League

Meadow Park

Reading are the visitors to Meadow Park as Arsenal Women look to achieve back to back league wins for the first time since December.

Arsenal returned to league action after their League Cup triumph with a 2-0 win over Liverpool on Wednesday night. Stina Blackstenius turned and finished well inside the penalty area to give the Gunners the lead after twenty-eight minutes before her firm effort was parried straight into the path of Caitlin Foord, who headed the ball into the net.

Liverpool changed their shape and their side in the second half and were able to keep Arsenal at bay but lacked any incisiveness in attack on a freezing night at Meadow Park. Jonas Eidevall accepted after the game that game management was his priority after half time, using the depth of his squad and changing to a back three in the final stages to seal all three points.

The notable absence to Arsenal’s squad in midweek was left-back Steph Catley, and Eidevall confirmed that the Australian will miss tonight’s game against Reading before being further assessed. Catley was seen in crutches and wearing a protective boot following a non-contact foot injury, with Katie McCabe dropping into the full back role against Liverpool.

Reading come into the game just four points above the relegation zone in the WSL, but have been buoyed by an enterprising run in the FA Cup that saw the Royals beat league rivals Leicester and Tottenham, both on penalties, to reach the quarter finals. In the league, Reading picked up their first victory in six games earlier this month thanks to a late thunderbolt from Rachel Rowe in a 2-1 win over West Ham.

Kelly Chambers’ side are well known for their ability to not make things easy for the stronger teams in the WSL. Back in December Reading found themselves 3-0 down to Chelsea at Kingsmeadow at half time, before Troelsgaard and Eikeland both found the net to really make things difficult for the champions.

Jonas Eidevall touched on Reading’s “Never give up mentality” ahead of this evening’s game. " I think their players and their coaching staff have shown that time after time. We understand that we need to give a top performance in order to be able to win the game."

Arsenal remain three points behind Manchester City in third with a game in hand. League leaders Manchester United play Chelsea at lunchtime today in an enthralling encounter that will have large implications on both the title and top three race.

A strong display and three points will be vital for Arsenal today with an upcoming fixture schedule that would worry any side in world football coming up following the Reading encounter. Arsenal have their Champions League quarter final against Bayern Munich with a derby against Spurs sandwiched between the two legs, before taking on both Manchester clubs in the WSL.

The going is certainly getting tough, but Arsenal’s Conti Cup final win already looks to be so significant in terms of Jonas Eidevall’s side turning their fortunes around in 2023. Can they continue their form today?