Arsenal conceded a stoppage-time equaliser against Aston Villa on Saturday – and Ian Wright said afterwards that it was an example of the difference between the Gunners and defending Women’s Super League champions Chelsea.
“What Chelsea have done and the way Chelsea have dominated this WSL, it’s because of those games that they are able to finish,” Wright said on Sky Sports’ live television broadcast. “Chelsea don’t lose that game, for a start. Chelsea don’t draw that game. Chelsea win that game.”
Arsenal drew only three games last season, and they have already drawn two of their first four in this campaign – the 1-1 draw against Villa, and a goalless draw against Manchester United last week.
Chelsea also drew three last season, but did not lose a single game, and have again won all three matches that they have played so far this season.
Ian Wright: Arsenal need to have a good think about themselves
And having already called for fringe players like Kyra Cooney-Cross, Victoria Pelova and Jenna Nighswonger to play a bigger role in matches, Wright said that Renee Slegers and her side had some serious work to do if they were going to be title contenders.
“They really need to have a good think about themselves and what they’re doing and what they have to try and achieve this season. I think that the minimum for Arsenal is to be challenging for the WSL title, and I think the way we’ve started the season – it’s not been great.
“You can take those kind of performances if you win the game, because you’re going to have to up your ante in respect of the results and making sure you put teams like Villa away.
“Villa should get a lot of confidence and momentum from that, because they hung in there. They made good substitutions, whereas Arsenal, they weren’t quite as ruthless as they should have been and then in the end you can see them falling back into negativity.”
The current WSL standings
Arsenal still sit second in the WSL table, but are likely to drop significantly later on Sunday following the completion of this round of fixtures, when third-placed Manchester United travel to Liverpool, and fourth-placed Manchester City host London City Lionesses.
Fifth-placed Tottenham Hotspur could also leapfrog their North London rivals if they beat Leicester City at the King Power Stadium.
