Arsenal Women Arsecast 132: Pre-season

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0:46Hello and welcome to the Arsenal Women Arsecast on Arseblog.com with me your host Tim Stillman and a little bit of a look back at the two pre-season friendlies that have happened in the last few days against Tottenham and West Ham and how much we can read into them, not read into them, pull at some of the threads at both of those games really and take some listener questions, which I think will guide most of this episode. And here to do that with me as ever is Jamie Spanger in Melbourne, having been up for quite a long time now. Jamie, how are you doing?

1:21Jamie: Hey Tim, I'm good, I'm good. Like you mentioned, I was up early. I'm back in finishing my university degree right now so I didn't have time to re-watch the game so I had to actually get up and watch it live so it was at 4am which was lovely to watch AR pre-season friendly against West Ham at four o 'clock in the morning it's currently 8 30 p.m though so it's not too bad I'm ready to break it down I was lucky enough that the Spurs one actually wasn't live so I didn't have to do that I had to re-watch it back that was a silver lining for the thank you 3pm 3pm blackout but you know let's get into it Tim yeah absolutely and I think having spoken to Rene after both of these games it's always difficult to know what to take out of pre-season like there's obviously a context of those games vis-a-vis all the players need minutes very few of them should be playing 90 minutes so there'll be loads of changes but we also saw quite a lot of players playing quite a lot of different positions and I think the message from Rene was really that they were experimenting a lot in these two games and they were just having a look at a lot of different things, particularly as the game's kind of dragged on.

2:27What are the kind of, I've got a couple of things in mind that I've got a pin stuck in. What are the things that kind of, you know, stick out for you either with individuals or the way the team played over these two games?

2:39Jamie: Yeah, can I be honest? When I woke up the other day to see the Spurs result, I was bitterly disappointed by the scoreline. But you have to kind of, if it's against any other team, it's not a big deal. It's always a big deal against Tottenham. But I re-watched the game and I honestly thought the opening 45 minutes there were a lot of signs, especially with the heavily rotated team. Halftime happens. Basically, the whole team gets rotated through. So you can't really take a lot from that team, from that performance in terms of the, I hate how we're calling it North London derby. Can we not do that?

3:06Jamie: It's a preseason friendly against Tottenham. But there were some things from that game that interest me. I think we're going to speak about it a lot, Tim, but Pulova played two very different roles in both of these games. And I think there's a lot for us to deconstruct there because it's impressive to see a player that, I think I almost forgot how good she was when she's at her best. And we've not seen her play consistent football for the better half of maybe 18 months, at least in the league. So I'm very, very excited about that. And I know we'll break more into that. So I'm going to leave it.

3:32Jamie: But the other thing I wanted to really touch on that brought a lot of like happiness to me was the channels. I think that this is an area that Arsenal maybe lacked depth and firepower over the last couple of years. And this is a time where there's a lot of depth. And I'm very, very excited about that. I think a player that really specifically stood out to me was Taylor Hines. especially in the second half of the West Ham game. I think that she brings a lot going forward. She does remind me a little bit of Trent Alexander-Arnold in the way that she takes the channel, is very good with the ball at her feet and inverts into the midfield.

4:03Jamie: We saw that for free to second goal against West Ham, the one where she, Hines kind of takes the middle, gives it to Nijswonger, Nijswonger dinks it over. So I was excited about that because I think there's always been a bit of a fear for the last couple of seasons that if Katie McCabe gets injured and Steph Cattley's playing left centre-back, what are Arsenal going to do? Like, where's the filler? and I think you've got two very capable left backs in Jenna Naiswonger and Taylor Hines. So I'm interested by those two players. I'm interested between Naiswonger because she had a couple different roles throughout these friendlies and I just, I'm still not sure where she fits into this squad.

4:33Jamie: We've got a couple of questions about that, I think. So yeah, for me, it was an exciting one. I think Victoria Plova was the biggest point for me and I also am excited by what I'm seeing from Taylor Hines. Yeah, absolutely. I think one of the big questions a lot of fans have this season is about squad usage overall because I don't think, I think everyone realises it's a pretty big squad, but it's just, is it a balanced squad? Where do all the players fit? There's a couple of question marks over a couple of players. There are some players, like, we know where they fit, you know, like Chloe Kelly, Caitlin Ford, like the wide players.

5:07I mean, Olivia Smith played up front last night, but I think that was just because Steiner wasn't available. And, you know, but then, like, Taylor Hines played left back and right back, and, yeah, Jenna Nyswonger, we will come on to her in the question section, playing on the left wing, I thought was quite interesting. But the kind of positions, I think, as well, I think a lot of people have questions over centre-back. Personally, I don't, but a lot of people do. But for me, it's the kind of, how do some of those squad players we didn't see a lot of last season fit? Do we see more of them? And if so, where?

5:42And I think Taylor Hines, even though she wasn't here last season, comes into that. But the two players have really had my eye on a pullover and Cooney Cross. We've seen Victoria Pilova start both of these games as a 10. Now, I spoke to Vic after the Tottenham game, and I kind of said, this is the only place Renee's really put you. Is that where she sees you? And she said, no. She said, no, it's just pre-season. We're just trying stuff out, really. But we've seen her do that kind of right-sided 10 thing. obviously she played the second half of the West Ham game in that position we're a bit more accustomed to seeing her but like you said Jamie I forgot it's not I forgot how good she was I think it's just in my mind I liked her so much in that deeper role that I had questions about her playing higher up but actually I think those questions have not entirely been a saged but a little bit because she's just got such quick feet.

6:44And I think I think of her dribbling all the time. But actually what I really saw in this game is how quick she is, both covering ground, the goal she scores against Tottenham, but how quick her feet are around the box. And I think if we can just get her to be slightly instinctive with her shots, a little bit more instinctive, a bit more, give her a bit of what Frieda's got there. I've actually been really impressed by what I've seen from Vic Pilova in that position.

7:13Jamie: Yeah, completely agree, Tim. I think my biggest takeaway from Pilova in that West Ham game was I think she just offers something in the 10 that Arsenal haven't had for a while. And that's in the aspect that you look at Freedom Ornham and like you mentioned, she's a very like box crashing 10. She likes to help Alessio Russo up. She's very, very, very, very high up the pitch a lot. And I think that's very, very helpful. We saw how that transpired in the West Ham game. but in the Tottenham game Vic was that high press player she was leading the press and I think that that is a attribute of hers that maybe gets overlooked because she's so technical she's actually quite quick and she's very very like she knows that she needs to keep running when she's playing in the 10 and something that I think we've noticed is as an overall trend in the Arsenal midfield but really clicked for me is we have all of these midfielders and they're all so good at getting out of tight spaces with the ball at their feet like you look at Kim Little, Leo Volte, Mariana Caldente, Victoria Pulova.

8:04Jamie: These are players that are so good with the ball at their feet. Kyra Kunicross is the exact same. They're so technical at getting out of tight spaces that often they get pigeonholed as the same player, but they're not. They're not at all the same player. And I think Pulova and the 10 bring something that Frieda Mornham doesn't bring. And I think Arsenal need to get to a stage where they're not relying on the same 11. And I think at the back half of last season, there were too many concerns regarding that because I think it made perfect sense, right? It's a manager that's come in. she needs to win games.

8:31Jamie: She's on the road to the Champions League. You want to play that same 11. But they're now going into an opportunity to win four or five competitions this season, and they need to have a depth where every player offers something different. I think that is what Vic Pilova does in the 10. She's so good in the eight. I think in that back end of the West Ham game, she's so good. She sets up that first goal as well. But in the 10, she just brings something that I don't think we see in terms of the fact that she's so, so quick at breaking down teams, not just through pace, not at all through pace, but through the fact that she can just break open a line.

9:02Jamie: And I think when you play her next to someone like Cooney Cross, who I know will come on to, they're both so good at splitting lines with the ball. So I'm with you. I think you can turn her into a goal scorer because when she's almost not thinking, she's quite good at it, but she almost overthinks it too much. She takes too many touches, tries to get a shot off. So I think there's areas for her to develop, but I'm excited heading into this new season because I think Arsenal need to be at a stage like Chelsea are in the league where you've got players that you can put on at any stage. you can back every single one, but they all bring something different.

9:29Jamie: They don't just bring the same thing, which is, I think, something we've maybe gotten a bit too used to. Yeah, definitely. And ultimately, like all of those players where it looked like we had maybe a bit of redundancy last season, same players on the bench all the time. Ultimately, they're all still here. And I kind of think if Rene didn't want them, like they'd be gone by now, or at least they should be if she does. But it doesn't look that way. It looks like they're all still here. So clearly there's got to be a bit of an intent on using them. I'm more, because I had concerns over the number 10 position, like particularly with Rosa going out on loan.

10:10Is there anyone really competing with Frieda for that? But to your point, if Pilova's going to play there, that actually gives us two quite different players there. And I think we saw when Frieda came on, one of the things this game, the West Ham game, was lacking, I think with no Mariana, no Leah Williamson, tactically, physically, Arsenal looks quite good, but they lacked any sort of cutting edge. And then Frida comes on and really gives that. But I'm slightly more relaxed. Like if that's how René sees Pilova as like, you know, a real choice at number 10, then I'm kind of fine with that, to go with that.

10:47And the other player for whom, you know, this has been a really important pre-season. Obviously, all the Australian players have had a full pre-season and that really counts for something. Obviously, Arsenal will pay for that after Christmas because there will be a tournament where we'll lose them and we don't know what condition we'll get them back in. But for the first half of the season, I think Steph, Caitlin and Kyra Cooney Cross in particular, this is a very big pre-season for. All the conversations I've had are that Kyra knows this, is fully aware of the fact that she needs to grasp this opportunity, not least with Leo Valti out, that she recognises that this season's big for her and also that there is an opportunity for her to grasp.

11:35And obviously she's played the majority of both these games because of where she is in pre-season. We're seeing a lot more of her on her socials training and things like that. training with her with Miles Lewis-Skelly who she shares management with which is why they know each other but you know I think there's just a real sense that she understands the opportunity here and that maybe she understands that it's going to be like maybe as a six because other than Leo Valti we don't have those kind of natural profiles what have you made of Kyra in these two games.

12:13Jamie: Yeah, I think the biggest thing about Kyra is we know that she can be a fantastic player, especially in the Arsenal system. We've seen that. We saw it at the early stages of 2025. We've seen it happen before where we know that she can play good football within this system. But the biggest thing for her is she needs to grab that position and she needs to kind of make it her own because with Leo Volte out, like you said, Tim, that's her opening. You're not going to find the opening in the space where Rene obviously prefers Mariana Caldente. And if the Euro said anything about Mariana Caldenta, I think the eight is her position.

12:43Jamie: Like the midfield is where she's flourishing in the later stages of her career. You can't really not play her. And then we've spoken about the midfield conundrum between Pilova and Monum. That feels like it's going to be a rotation. So for Kyra, she's at a stage of her career now where she's no longer really the baby. She's not really the new shiny toy. She's not going to be happy waiting in the wing. She wants to earn that position now. And I think that we've seen over this summer period, I like what you said, Tim, the training camp was the biggest thing. It was kind of like, oh, this is good.

13:09Jamie: Like she's with the fellow Arsenal player. She's kind of integrating herself into the system. It feels like she's finally being like, okay, I need to buy into this because this could be my spot and it could be my spot for the next five, six, seven, eight years. So for Kyra, this feels like the season for her. It feels like this is the season where she can be a senior player. She's no longer going to be a fringe player if she applies herself. But these two friendlies, I've been so impressed and especially the West Ham game is so impressed. I think that she kind of carries, she has a ball carrying ability that I think is very, very different in the Arsenal midfield in the way that I kind of see her a little bit in Declan Rice in the way that sometimes when the ball, whether Arsenal's on a counter-attack or when the midfield kind of opens up, he tends to just charge with it and he takes so much mileage.

13:50Jamie: And I think Kyra does that in a similar way. And her ball distribution is so good. Like she's so good at splitting lines, whether it's a cross ball. I can't remember, Tim. I think it was an article you wrote that I was reading. No, I'm pretty sure it was you, Tim. and was saying she's like one of the at the highest of cross ball and that's something that is so evident in her game. So for Kyra, I think there is elements of a six in her game. I've never, I'm going to be honest, I've never been an advocate for her being a defensive midfielder, but I do think there's areas for her to be that defensive midfielder because she's quite athletic.

14:25Jamie: She just needs to be more defensively disciplined and that worries me a little bit, especially in the early stages of the season when maybe Leah Williamson's not there to dictate that centre-back pairing as much. But yeah, I was really impressed with that West Ham game in particular. I just think she takes space and she takes it with authority. And that's really, really helpful against WSL teams that maybe want to play a bit of a tight, low block. And they kind of want to not overcrowd the midfield. They want to overcrowd the deeper areas. I think that's very helpful. And that's something that can be utilised.

14:52Jamie: You don't always want a player to have the ball at your feet. Sometimes you just want someone to charge the space and ping a long ball. So for Kyra, I think this is a transitional year. this is a really important year for her because Leah Volte is obviously really, really having hard luck right now with injuries and, and, you know, having to get correction surgeries and Kim Little's going to come in and probably have that spot again, but there's no saying why, why Cooney Cross can't be the one in it. So yeah, I've been utterly impressed and I'm very, very excited to see it. Yeah, definitely. There was that, that little bit where she kind of drove into the box down the left yesterday.

15:22And I think also with Kyra, we, all of us, myself included, We're so used to seeing Leo Valti in Arsenal's midfield. But actually, the way Leo's been playing that position since Jonas came has been very different. She hasn't just been sat in front of the centre-backs. It's been a double pivot with Kim, and one goes and one stays, essentially. And they alternate. And I kind of think that that's the model that we'll still see, that it will be a double pivot. The question is, which partnerships work? I think Kyra and Kim Little, that works absolutely fine. Kyra and Pilova, I reckon that would work as well.

16:00The question mark is more Kyra and Mariana. Does that really work as a double pivot? How much does it matter in a lot of games? But Kyra isn't going to go in and be Leavolte. No one's going to do that. It's going to be putting her own stamp on things. And I think things we've seen in these friendlies, like so many more diagonal passes, so like a lot more direct play. you look at the two goals Arsenal actually scored against Spurs, you look at all of the goals actually across these friendlies, it's quite direct. It's quite forward quickly, like ball over the top for Pulova, ball over the top for Caitlin Ford, a counter-attack for Frieda, a cross for Frieda to attack.

16:42They've all been pretty direct goals. I asked Renee about that last night. She said they just want to have a bit more to their game. So it's not like a direction of travel in terms of that's the team Arsenal are going to be. The way she described it to me is like, yeah, we're just trying different things because we want different ways of playing, which I think makes a lot of sense at this stage of pre-season. But I definitely think with Kyra there, that kind of facilitates that perhaps faster kind of play. And on the Tottenham game, like you said, Jamie, you look at the score 4-3. And again, one of the first questions I asked Rene was like, One of the last conversations I had with her last season was about those four three games.

17:26Obviously not in Lisbon. Nobody, even I wouldn't ask a question like that after winning the Champions League. But like around the Man United game, I had a bit of a chat with her about, you know, and she said, yeah, we've got like a big analysts meeting and that's going to be a big thing. But actually, when you look at the Spurs game with Kyra as a six, I don't think that like they weren't running through us. You look at the goals, Lotta loses the ball in her own area, she hasn't played in months. Then there's a misplaced pass to Kadena, who also hasn't played in months in a penalty. I don't think Spurs were really running through us or anything like that.

18:07And we actually haven't conceded in any of the other pre-season games. So I don't know. That's obviously still a question mark. I'm not hand-waving it, but I'm certainly not worried based on what I saw in that game. Why don't we take a break there, Jamie, and we'll come back in the second half with questions.

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19:48okay welcome back to part two of the arsenal women ask cast um yeah so we we asked for your questions once again on blue sky and jamie you mentioned jenna naiswonger in the first half and there are a couple of questions about her and were i asking questions for this podcast that might be the question i might ask because i think that's another kind of player of interest someone we talked about, who came in. And based on the evidence at the end of the last season and the fact that Taylor Hines has been signed, it's still a bit, you have to squint to see the signing a little bit. But we've seen her on the left wing in both of these games.

20:27And actually, particularly her assist for Freedom Ornem, we've seen that that woman can cross a ball. And she's probably the best crosser of the ball in the squad, which is quite a useful quality. But there are two questions here. One from at House 517. For those of us who haven't been able to follow pre-season as closely, how are you interpreting the use of Jenna in non-fullback positions and what that might mean for her? And another one from Catherine at Cathike216. Unpopular statement, but if McCabe isn't performing, I think Jenna should be used. Any possibility of another option to get Jenna more playing time?

21:07So, yeah, what do you reckon about the use of Jenna and Eiswonger in these two games?

21:11Jamie: Jenna Nyswong has played like every position during her time at Arsenal and she's been there for about seven months. So, yeah, Nyswong is such an interesting one because it doesn't make a lot of sense because obviously she signed in January. That was past the owner side of our era. Renee had just really just signed the head coach role. So it's kind of like a signing that feels like it's caught in between two eras. Like which era do you belong to? Which style of football do you belong to? And I think that that is why there's so much confusion around this signing. Had she maybe signed, Renee was already the head coach.

21:42Jamie: She signed, it's like, okay, this is a plan for the future. She's very, very young. She's got a bit of a career ahead of her. Katie McCabe is obviously in the, she doesn't, she's not really in the latest stages of her career, but age speaking she is. So is it a signing for the future? Is this someone you want to keep in your pocket until, you know, you need to make her a starter? But I think that grey area of when did she sign, which style of football, which manager does she really belong to is why it's so confusing. So these friendlies have been interesting. And I think we saw glimpses of it last season.

22:12Jamie: I know no disrespect to Crystal Palace, but that Crystal Palace game in Sutton, she played really, really well. And I think the most noticeable thing about it was how good she was attacking-wise. When she entered the final third, she really, really rattled the defenders. She was able to create a lot of shots. So there's definitely an attacking element to her game that I think that Arsenal can really benefit from. And that's what we've seen in these friendlies. That ball to Frieda Mournem is amazing. And I think she's not the same player as Katie McCabe by any means, but they're both left backs that like to cut into the midfield.

22:42Jamie: And that's where that goal comes from. She inverts into the midfield. She plays it over to Freedom Ornum. And I think that's really, really exciting because she could be a left winger. And I do think that's maybe where we're going to see her play in the, just in the sense of the fact that there's, there's no real chance that Katie McCabe is not going to start the games. And then you've got Taylor Hines, who's a deliberate signing that Renee Sligas has made and brought in. She's a lot more experienced. She was the captain of Liverpool. It feels like she's going to be the second choice left back.

23:08Jamie: So for Jenna Neiswanger, I do think we're going to see her more in forward areas and she's not going to be a starter. She's probably not going to be a consistent sub either, but I think that there are game states where she's going to benefit the game. I'm still not certain about it. I do feel for her. The signing doesn't make a lot of sense, but I do think she's very versatile. The fact that she can cut into the midfield, like before she arrived at Gotham in the NWSL, she spent her whole life, college career, playing in the eight. She then moved on to left back because they needed cover for Crystal Dunn.

23:36Jamie: And then she stayed there and then she signed for Arsenal as a left back. So she's not a natural left back. She's a midfielder, but I think she can play wide, Tim. And like you said, her cross of the ball is very mean. And when you look forward into, you know, 2026, maybe Arsenal are going to need more cover on the left wing. But then you look at someone like Chloe Kelly, and this is a player that Manchester City fans were laughing and saying she can't play on the left, like she can't play on the left. And then in the Euros, it's two assists in 102 seconds from the left channel. So you've got cover in all those areas, which is why I'm a bit concerned for Jenna Naiswonger, which is a shame because hand to heart, I think she's a great player, but I don't really, really see where it works out.

24:11Jamie: But if it is going to work out, I see it being higher up the pitch. yeah I think there are very specific roles I can see for her like having a like we don't have any left-footed wingers um it reminds me a little bit of you know the men's team going for Maduecki to play off the left just to have that something a bit different that kind of let's have a lefty to really stretch it and if you're playing against you know 20 minutes to go you're 1-1 against the deep block someone who can you know get Chloe Kelly on one side Jenna Nyswonger on the other if you want to put a lot of crosses in, but that's still quite a specific and small role.

24:48And she's very similar to Taylor Hines. Like, yeah, I still, and like you said about that falling between eras, it almost reminds me a bit of the summer Jonas arrived. Arsenal, I think, made quite a big mistake and signed a load of players that were like club signings. They got Nikita Paris, they got Mano Iwabuchi, and then Jonas came and it was like, these players don't fit what he wants to do. So it is like she's got loads of quality, though. I really like what I've seen from her. She has that kind of starting position almost in left central midfield. And if you've got a more adventurous double pivot, so in the second half we had Pilova and Cooney Cross as a double pivot.

25:30Having someone like Jenna Nyswonger there is like an extra insurance against the counter-attack because if you look at her, she kind of starts in the center circle and then goes wide um but it does all feel it which is all really useful for Arsenal and Rene I think it just doesn't strike me as like you're going to be starting a lot of games that feels quite a niche role particularly for someone who's you know got aspirations to get back in the US national team where the competition there is so fierce that you kind of have to be starting all the time just to get in the squad like the us do not have you know people who who are like you know niche squad players at club level so i'm really interested in that one but i really like the player like every time i see her i think she really adds something it's just a case of of where um since i i wanted to have a go at that one as well so um we'll we'll go with this one this this is one um that i've seen a lot of discussion um around this online about the the centre-back thing with with leah out and in a knee brace that you know it doesn't look like a couple of weeks which is kind of what what the club have said being like quite deliberately vague i think um and this one's from at benjamin rose given leah will be out for the start of the season i mean have there been any any whispers about signing a new centre-back?

26:55Like, not that I'm aware of. I mean, we signed Lotta to a new contract in March. Personally, I'd find it really alarming if we signed Leah's kind of backup to a new contract, put her in the leadership group, and then immediately when Leah gets injured, go, no, we can't play you. I'm really not aware of a better centre-back that's going to be on the market to do that job. but in terms of do you have like any worries about that at all about the centre-back position

27:28Jamie: the only worry I have about the centre-back position right now is the aerial threat and I think we've spoken about that a lot and it's not even that Leah Williamson's a monster in the air because I don't think she is but she does bring a lot more than I think that the centre-back pairing that we maybe have heading into the opening game will have that is something I worry about I don't worry about it against London City Lionesses in particular I don't I think that that is a raging concern for them, but maybe going into latter stages, teams like West Ham, they love a set piece, things like that.

27:55Jamie: It does worry me a bit. In terms of the centre-back pairing itself, I don't think it's the biggest deal in the world. I didn't really look. The Tottenham game was a bit of a, like you write those things off. Like you mentioned, Lota Wobin-Moye had a terrible season with injuries last season. She couldn't even stay in the squad properly. She couldn't even stick to training properly. She was having really bad luck. Like she goes to the Euros, yes, she's training, but she's not getting playing minutes. Like Adina's had to have an operation. She's not been getting playing minutes. So I think it's just a bit of a work-on thing.

28:25Jamie: The one thing I'm not concerned about is the fact that Steph Catley is fit and has had a preseason for the first time in a long time. And I think that's going to help the centre-back pairing because she clearly has a role and a starting position. I think even seeing her captain in the side against Tottenham when Katie McCabe was in the squad, there's clearly a set role for her. And I think that that helps the centre-back pairing. I'm not concerned about that really, can I be honest? I don't really think a lot of people echo that, but Lota Wobben Moy is a very capable footballer. Two seasons ago, she was the player of the season.

28:54Jamie: She just needs consistent minutes. And I know a lot of people are worried about the fear of the unknown in London City lineups, but I really do think it's going to be okay. I honestly think that, and I think that this is a team where they're not going to be, other than Nikita Paris, London City in particular, they don't worry me in terms of the high press. They don't really worry me in terms of the ball in and behind. And I think Nikita Paris is we can handle her. So, yeah, look, Leah will be back. She'll be back eventually. I think at Arsenal, those players that are going to be stepping into that role are more than capable.

29:26Jamie: I'm a little bit worried about the aerial threat, but in short, a long waffle for a short answer, I'm not too worried. Yeah, I'm curious about clubs who have better depth centre-backs than Laia Kadina and Lotto Wubamoy and who people think those are going to be. I guess I'd have more truck with the, should we be buying a starting centre-back? And that's much more where, you know, I'd look if I felt like that than like Lotta and like Adina, because I just don't think there's a world where you can buy someone else to be Lee Williamson's backup. Have you got a question for me? I do. This one's more of a broad one.

30:03Jamie: It's from Adam Salter 4. Which player do you both think, well, you can just go for this one, Tim. do you think we'll have a Vic Pilova season in the words that who do you think will start the season out on the periphery but will find their spot in the first team and by the end will have developed into a mainstay more so Tim just a player that you really think is going to have a breakout year yeah this is a really interesting one because first of all a lot of the time that kind of thing's dictated by injuries which are obviously difficult to foresee so if you know like one of the midfielders is out for six months then yeah Kyra Cooney Cross and Victoria Pilova are going to play a lot of football.

30:39And I think they'd both be fine, given a long period of football to play in. Likewise, Lotta might be someone who, once she played... I think that's the other thing that gets lost in the centre-back thing. And again, I'm going to allude to the men's team here. I look at someone like Jakob Kivior. I think this is really typical for defenders. When they come in and play one game, they look very, very bad. but when they play six, seven, eight, nine, ten games, they look fine. And I think it's the same for centre-backs. And I think it would be the same for Lotta, who, by the way, was fine against West Ham as well.

31:20If we were in a situation where Laia Kadina had to play for six months, I bet any money you like, it just wouldn't be a discussion. Once she put three or four games together, it'd just be like, okay, Laia Kadina. It's exactly what happened in the men's team with Kivio. Gabriel went down, everyone went, oh my God, it's Kivior. And then three games later, nobody was talking about it anymore. You know, the other thing, so that makes it a really difficult question to answer. I guess the other thing would be, because I think we have to entertain in this question, bad things happening injury-wise. And then it's like one of the only areas that's really not clear is right back with Emily Fox.

32:01What if we lost Emily Fox for a little while? Then you're looking at someone who you maybe wouldn't regard as a right back. So then it might be Taylor Hines, because I think she'll go into the season as the second choice right back. And again, if she got five, six, seven, eight games there, you know, again, would probably start to look really, really good. And then people would say, does Emily Fox get back into the team? I've just, I've seen so many of these discussions. over the years. But I think to answer the question more faithfully, I'll say Kyra. I think she's got a real chance this season.

32:41I think she's got a real opportunity. I do also think that last season Arsenal were reasonably fortunate with injuries, didn't get a whole lot. And in my experience, that never happens two seasons in a row. Right? It just doesn't. Like, so I think we have to be prepared for the idea that maybe Mariana isn't going to play every game this season. And, you know, I think we'll probably have more injuries. So I'm going to say Kyra. I'm going to say Kyra. And in terms of us recognising that she has her own qualities that she'll bring to the role and that it won't look exactly like Leo Valti, but like nobody's going to.

33:25but I just like I said all the stuff I've kind of heard about how much she's applying herself how much she recognizes this opportunity you know like I think there's I think there's there's quite a bit there and I think she recognizes where the opportunity is and what she might have to do within her game to do that particularly with regards to her aggression to go and get the ball back so yeah i'll say kyra i i think that that's something we'll discuss less and less you know these questions are great jamie because they're a great like barometer for what people are thinking about and what fans are talking about and my prediction is that by november december we get almost no questions about kyra cooney cross but purely because it would just be like, oh, it's fine.

34:16Kyra's playing. All good. Maybe on that subject, actually, I was going to ask the one, but you already referenced it with Kyra's similarity to Declan Rice. Well, here's one then from Paulio M. Is there a need to have different formation or lineup for teams that are going to sit versus those that are going to attack? And I'm going to tack on some extra context here. When Arsenal played Tottenham on Saturday under Martin Ho, they were completely different to what they were last season. So much more aggressive in the press. And essentially, I don't think Arsenal had any way of knowing that because all Tottenham's games have been behind closed doors to that point.

35:01And Renee alluded to the fact that she thinks we're going to see more and more of this. And I think it's a natural consequence in women's football of strength and conditioning. and I think we are going to see maybe fewer teams who just sit 10 players in their penalty area. LCL are the promoted club this season. They are not going to do that either. So I think we'll see fewer, not low blocks, but fewer like we're going to put everyone in our penalty area and hope. But what do you think about, I guess, the prospect of a bit more flexibility this season?

35:38Jamie: Yeah, I think just for the WSL as a whole, like you mentioned, LCL coming up is going to make the league so much more exciting. It's actually no disrespect to Crystal Palace as well because they didn't really sit in a low block and that's why they almost always got blown open by opponents. But we've seen that a lot. We saw it with Bristol City. There's a lot of teams that have just come in. West Ham a few seasons ago were like that. They're less like that now. They have more of an identity. So I do think there's going to be less need for the, okay, how do we break down the low block? But naturally, I also think this season we're going to see an Arsenal squad, which adapts the opponent a lot more, purely because it's a head coach that knows the squad a lot better.

36:12And if you look at a team like Chelsea,

36:14Jamie: they change between Vika Kapitain and Sioko Nuskan depending on the opponent, right? Like Sioko Nuskan will often play against Arsenal because she's a lot more physical in the midfield. They need to win that battle and they need to play the ball forward, whereas Vika Kapitain is not that player. She's not that player at all. She's more of the kind of, she likes to have possession. She likes to have time on the ball. And that's a team that have won six WSL titles in a row and that's under two managers as well. So I think that we're going to see that naturally because Arsenal are entering an era, I at least hope now, where they're going to need to start adapting to other oppositions because they have the squad depth to do so.

36:49Jamie: They want to be more unpredictable. And I think this predictability is something that began to catch up to them last season. We saw against Aston Villa and Brighton. Obviously, Barcelona was the exception because Arsenal did win the Champions League. But no, I do think there's going to be a shift. Yeah. No, I don't know. Why did no one mention this? Yeah, I don't think you were there, Tim. Sorry. Sorry that you missed out. Yeah, so I think there will be that shift. And I think it will happen the most in the midfield. I do think that. I think that we've got wingers now that bring a little bit of difference.

37:18Jamie: And something I'm really interested in is the Olivia Smith, Chloe Kelly conundrum, Beth Mead as well. Add her in there as well, because they're all very different wingers. Like Olivia Smith is so direct and I think that she likes to kind of do it herself and she didn't get an assist in the WSL last season, which is maybe I wrote an article on this, but it's maybe alarming. Others could say it's because the Liverpool strikers, they're not getting into the areas or expected assists were actually quite high. So I think that's another way that, okay, how do Arsenal get around back fours or back fives depending on their wingers because they all bring such difference.

37:51Jamie: And that's finally something we have now that Chloe Kelly and Olivia Smith are in the team because Beth Mead and Caitlin Ford, it was getting predictable. Like, you know these two players that have been in the WSL for so long. Arsenal never had that air of unpredictability. So I don't think it's a case of Renee is going to bring that to the team. I think it's just she's got the players now that she's able to do that and she's able to come up against Chelsea and play a different way than she'd play against Man City because they play different football. Chelsea don't play through the midfield. Man City play through the midfield.

38:18Jamie: You can adapt that way and then you can win the game. So I'm excited because it does feel like the squad depth is better than it has been, definitely better than it was last season. So I think we're going to see that a lot more, not necessarily related to the low block, but just necessarily. I think we'll see it more against the top teams than we usually have. So, yes, I am very excited about that. Yeah, I think that's such a great point about the way Chelsea do it. You're absolutely right. That midfield in particular really changes game to game. Do you have a question for me? I do. A bit of a more broad one, but I want to tack something on the end.

38:50Jamie: This is from Giant Cal Gunner. Which academy or young player are going to start to get significant first team minutes this season? And Tim, I wanted to ask what you made of Sophie Harwood. Yeah, definitely. In terms of academy players, I think the reality is they're all going to go on loan, basically except for Katie Reid. Maybe her squad numbers changed and they seem to kind of want to keep her around, which I think makes sense, particularly with Leah out as well. That keeps us at four centre-backs. That's another part, by the way, of the kind of should we buy a centre-back? I think you're kind of kissing goodbye to any potential career for Katie Reid.

39:28And you might have the opinion that, well, fair enough. But that's certainly something to consider. so I think Katie Reid has definitely got a shot at some more minutes whether that's at right back again whether that's at centre back with Leah not there that obviously that puts a one up the pecking order and I think incredibly highly rated and she played the whole second half yesterday and maybe it's because she was over the other side to me but the best compliment I can give her is I didn't notice, you know, like I didn't feel like it wasn't a senior player there, you know, like it was just, it was fine.

40:05And that's particularly for young defenders. That's, that's what you want really is like, it's fine. It doesn't matter. Sophie Harwood really impressed with, um, Renee talked to, I say talked to her as much as Renee does talking up at all. um like she mentioned her unprompted after the spurs game and kind of said you know we we brought her on she looks really good i know very highly rated we got her i believe we got her last summer um and man city and chelsea were interested and you know i i asked renee a question about her last night because she got longer off the bench last night she got like half an hour and in my experience that you know pre-season is such a big time for academy players because it's generally it's almost like they're on trial um and at youth football you're you're so used to being on trial like that every three months they're like right we're bringing 20 new players in so 20 of you are going to go and you're on trial kind of thing so um you know that's very baked into youth footballers and and realistically it might be the only chance they get to really really impress and that's generally where these players' story starts is pre-season.

41:20They come in and the manager's like, oh, they look like they belong actually, both on the pitch and off the pitch. And Sophie Harwood got longer last night, which also meant actually we got less of a look at Taylor Hines at right back. So I thought it felt to me like it was important for Rene that Sophie Harwood got a bit longer because she wanted a bit more of a look at her. I asked her that and with the caveat that Renee gives very little away when you ask her questions, it's more facial expressions, which I can't put in the transcript when I think I might be onto something. But she kind of said, no, not really.

42:00It's just because like preseason, we're managing minutes and everything. I did think it was significant. She got a bit longer than she did on Saturday. I think that was maybe because Rene did want to have a bit of a look. Maybe they're not sure what to do. Like, do they put her out on loan or do they think, actually, let's keep her here for a bit. We're a bit light at right back anyway, so maybe there's a route in. But no, in terms of the academy players, like most of them will go again and Katie Reid will stay. I don't know what will happen with Sophie Harwood. So those are the two. And again, if anything happens to Emily Fox, which hopefully it doesn't, there's potentially a bit of a route there.

42:40So those are the two. I don't think in the forward positions, I think everyone else will go out on low. Let's do one more each. I had that one down as well. Where are we? Oh, yeah, okay. As we kind of look ahead a little bit to the LCL game, This one's from Aidan Dullery, AidanAlst12. Based on what you've seen to date, what would your starting XI be for the London City game? Not what you think Rene would do. Caveat here, there's going to be an intra-squad friendly this weekend at the training ground, which will obviously be behind closed doors. And I imagine that will be the starting lineup for LCL versus 11 other squad players.

43:32So only Rene knows what that's going to be. Well, no one outside the club knows what that's going to be. But what would you do versus LCO in terms of your starting lineup?

43:42Jamie: Oh, I love doing this. My favourite one. Okay, gaffer. Daphna Van Domsla between the sticks, obviously. Katie McCabe and Emily Fox on either side. Steph Catley. I'd go Lotto Wobben-Moy next to Steph Catley. I would go, God, the midfield is really not fun. Like I would hate to be René's Vegas. I'll go up front. Alessio Russo in the nine. I'd start Chloe Kelly on the right. I think I'd go Caitlin Ford on the left. Midfield is an issue. Midfield is an issue. I think I would start – when you look at LCL, like their midfield, they've got Daniel Evanderdonk. They're going to have Kosovar Aslani. I wonder who they're going to play in the more 10 role.

44:31Jamie: It's a bit physical. They're not like the quickest. So I'd probably go Kim Little, Mariona. Oh, I want to kind of go Kyra though. I kind of want to go Kyra just because like there is room to drive into those spaces. They're not the quickest of midfielders. If I was honestly doing it, I think I'd go Kim Little, Kyra Cooney Cross, Freedom Ornam. I just, I can't really bench Mariona Caldente. So I apologize for that. Yeah, I'm with you. I kind of think the back four goalkeeper picks itself, the nine picks itself. Then there's four choices in the kind of wide areas. Definitely, I think Chloe Kelly should start comfortable with any combination of those wide players.

45:16But yeah, probably go Kaitlin and then look at Beth and Olivia Smith kind of coming off the bench. um and yeah that i'd because the thing is i i kind of think we will and should look after kim's minutes a little bit this season and kind of reduce our dependence on her but at the same

45:39Jamie: time i just don't like kaya and marionna together not the first game of the season either no i I wonder if particularly because Mariana didn't play against West Ham, told like minute management at this stage of pre-season, which could be the truth as it was with Friedem Ornum, for example. She wasn't in the squad against Tottenham. Apparently there wasn't a problem. She played last night and it was all good. Hopefully that's what the case is for Mariana or whether it is a knock. I don't know. I guess the fact that she went to the Euros final, you could take the view. let's let's manage her a bit we got West Ham and Man United away after this so that's when I think you really really need Mariana so I'd maybe be conservative with her and go with Kim and Kyra and then it's a case of what you do in the 10 as well between Freedom Ornum and Pilova I kind of think with the first game of the season you should be governed by who's had a good pre-season that's why I think Kyra should play because she's had a whole pre-season and that's going to be quite rare, no tournament.

46:45And I think you should try and lean on those players as much as possible. So I'd go Kyra Kim. I might go Pilova ahead of them. Is it because you don't want to copy me? Well, it's more consider Frieda as a potential impact sub for this game and then maybe at the away games, I'd like Frieda as the 10 against West Ham and Man United. um so yeah and and that emphasizes a lot what we talked about in this episode jamie like there is the potential to be a bit more horses for courses what do we want at home versus away from home who are our counter-attacking players who are our possession players who are our pressers um that's particularly in the wide areas as well and i have to admit i don't know enough about lcl to really be familiar with what their weaknesses are and to be honest they've got so many new players i i actually kind of think this might be the best time to play them um in a weird way because they've got so many new players it's you know i don't really know what that's what that's going to look like for them and i think they started the championship season last year a little bit relatively slowly because it took them a few games so yeah a lot of it will be probably be governed on kind of what LCL are and aren't, which I think is a bit of an unknown, but I'm with you, like van der Donk and Aslany, great, great players, but that midfield doesn't scream quick and physical to me, which is another tick in the Kyra box, as far as I'm concerned, and maybe a tick in the pullover box as well, with Frieda as more of an impact sub.

48:25So I think that's what I'd do. One thing we didn't actually discuss, Jamie, and actually isn't in the questions, I think just to finish it off. But Leila Harbour, who is much more of a traditional number six and maybe is a long-term solution in that position. Portland Thorns, I didn't see that coming. What did you think of that?

48:49Jamie: Yeah, a lone move to the NWSL. Interesting considering the fact that their season wraps up in November. Portland Thorns are looking to make the playoffs right now, so it might be a bit of a longer stay. this is an interesting move because as much as I do love the NWSL she's going to a club where club captain and probably best six in in the NWSL in Sam Coffey plays and she starts every game she's the traditional number six of that squad so there's an element of yes you're going to be learning off a player that is so so good in that position and has that unlock there's also an element of when are you actually going to get minutes because Portland don't rotate Sam Coffey you don't need to in the NWSL because you don't have Champions League football you don't have four competitions going on.

49:28Jamie: So I think there's an element of, okay, I understand because you're going to learn off a player, but then at Arsenal, I guess you're also learning off another great number six in Leo Volta, you're learning off other midfielders in your own environment. So it's a bit odd to me the Portland Thorns move, not necessarily the NWSL move, but at the end of the day, if you're going to be learning in a different environment, a different style of football, it's going to add a new element to her game as a number six as well because it's just a completely different battle in the midfield in the NWSL as it is in the WSL.

49:57Jamie: It's quicker. It's like almost more athletic in the fact that it's just faster paced in terms of running, not just ball movement. So I understand. I think it'll be really good for her game. I just don't think she's going to play much, which is a bit of a concern when you look at the lone move. Yeah, I think the physical properties of that league and probably the training environment, when you look at Layla, she's a ball playing six. Yeah, I think there's potentially something in that, go and learn in an environment where maybe it is a bit quicker and a bit stronger. and that gives the opportunity again for her to come back and do maybe an English loan in the second half of the season.

50:32What I will say, I'd love to be a fly on the wall and I'll try and see what I can find out about that a little bit more over the coming weeks. But one thing, I'll point to the Arsenal Women newsletter we do every Monday, not this week, last week. I wrote about how these loans are decided and they use James Honeyman, who used to be the academy director, is now in a role as head of player development. They discuss these things very closely with the players and they have really dedicated resource for exactly this type of thing. So it might look and feel a bit random to us. I don't think it will be though.

51:09I think they'll have, well, I know they will have had very detailed discussions. And I reckon you might be onto something there, Jamie, about the physical properties of that league and going and learning off someone like Sam Coffey. Then she can come back, learn off Leah Valti and Kim Little a bit more like that sounds like a very rounded education, but you're right. I don't imagine she'll get a lot of minutes with Thorns and maybe there's something they've talked about in terms of the environment as well because that feels like that's mainly what that loan is going to involve. It's going to involve training probably more than playing.

51:44So maybe they've just looked at it and said, let's put you in a different environment for a few months, come back, and then we'll look at a loan where actually you might, maybe in WSL2 where you might go and play a bit more. But yeah, really interesting one. But I think kind of interesting in a good way. Yeah. But anyway, I felt we should discuss that. And had this podcast been a couple of days earlier, I think we might have had more questions about that. But Jamie, I know you've been up a very long time now. So we're going to let you go. Thanks for that.

52:16Jamie: I appreciate it, Tim. I will go get my eight hours and see you next time. Yeah, perhaps we'll do a little podcast before the LCL game, properly previewing the season. We'll have season preview content with myself, Jamie, and our match reporter, Aidan Gibson. We'll be doing a kind of a bit of a squad overview, which we'll do when the transfer window actually shuts. We'll have loads of season preview content, player profiles, all the stuff we always do, and we'll do a podcast for you too before the LCL game. And keep an eye on the LCL program. and all Arsenal Women Home programmes this season because I'm going to have a regular feature in all of them that I'm very, very excited about, which are actually not to do with me at all, but I'll be able to say more about that in the next couple of weeks or so.

53:04But I'm very excited about that. But anyway, thanks very much, everyone. And we'll speak to you in a week or so.

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