Arsenal Women boss Renee Slegers rued her side’s profligacy in front of goal, with 19 attempts only mustering a single goal, as Aston Villa snatched a deserved point in stoppage time at the Emirates Stadium on Saturday.
The Gunners missed a raft of chances to put the game to bed, and were punished deep into stoppage time when Lucy Parker reacted quickest to a knocked-down Lynn Wilms corner to smash beyond Daphne van Domselaar from close range.
“I think they did what we expected them to do and made it hard when we’re in our own half with their player-for-player pressure,” said Slegers.
“I think we had 19 shots today. The quality we have in the team, I think, we didn’t bring in the final third today.
“I believe in the team and the players. It was just not coming out today. We’ll have to review that. It’s frustrating if you get an early goal. We need a second goal.”
On whether scoring is an issue for Arsenal, she added: “We’ve scored 10 goals, so it’s not a problem. It will be very important that we review this and are very open and honest because we need to learn and learn fast.”
The result means Arsenal have drawn successive league matches having fired blanks in the stalemate at Manchester United – they remain a point behind leaders Chelsea, who face a trip to West Ham on Sunday.
Aston Villa remain in 10th, after two draws and a defeat from their opening three matches.
It all seemed so rosy for Arsenal when Frida Maanum converted following good work from Mariona Caldentey, but Villa improved and fully deserved their point, ending a run of nine wins in a row at home for Slegers’s side.
Speaking in his role as a pundit for Sky Sports, former Arsenal striker Ian Wright said: “It’s very disappointing from an Arsenal point of view. I think they were very poor. The West Ham and London City results have given people a false sense of where Arsenal are.
“They’re very negative. A lot more balls should be passed forward. We should have had more shots against a Villa side that came and were very open. They weren’t intense. I think Arsenal got everything they deserved in this game.”
What swung the tide was Villa’s bold second-half approach, with manager Natalia Arroyo turning to Hanson at half-time in place of captain Rachel Daly, while it was another substitute, Parker, who was in the right place to strike the decisive blow.
Parker, speaking to Sky Sports, said: “It’s massive for us. I think we were pushing, just come in, help the team get up the pitch, and add some energy, and the ball fell my way.
“I don’t know if I won the first header, but I jumped for it, and it dropped, and I poked it in. The team created that chance, and they worked so hard the whole game to create an opportunity like that, so it’s a credit to the team.
“I think it shows we can compete with anybody, and the points will come. And that’s all that matters. If we can keep putting in the performances, the wins will come and we’ll be fine.”
