The Breakdown: WSL title race hots up after Arsenal triumph
The Women’s Super League title race is hotting up, with Arsenal and Chelsea neck and neck at the table’s summit.
The Gunners’ convincing 4-1 home victory over their London rivals on Matchday 9 wiped out the three-point gap between the two contenders, who are now separated by goal difference alone.
We’ve used Twenty3’s Toolbox to break down both teams and their key players, as they battle for this year’s crown.
Arsenal
Staunch work off the ball and security on it has been fundamental to Arsenal’s WSL title charge so far this season.
Only Manchester City have conceded fewer goals after nine league outings than the Gunners’ nine – but it is their underlying numbers that are most impressive.
Jonas Eidevall’s outfit are among the best in the division at limiting their opponents. They boast the lowest tallies for number of opposition sequences ending in the final third (402) and percentage of opposition sequences ending in the final third (29.34%).
They squeeze up the pitch incredibly effectively, evidenced by their league-leading totals for ball recoveries in the opposition half (394) and offside traps (28).
The control Arsenal exert on games has a natural knock-on effect on their opponents’ ability to threaten their goal – they also rank top of the WSL for non-penalty shots conceded (75), non-penalty shots on target conceded (27) and non-penalty xG conceded (7.94).
The Gunners exhibited this excellence until their third goal shortly before half-time on Sunday, after which they allowed Chelsea more of the ball with the game firmly in their grasp.
If Arsenal do claim the WSL title, they will have their iron grip on games to thank.
Lotte Wubben-Moy
Fundamental to Arsenal’s ability to dominate games is ball-playing centre-back Lotte Wubben-Moy.
Her technical prowess and security makes her the undisputed hub of the Gunners’ passing moves.
She is unfailingly positive in possession, completing more forward passes (191) than any other WSL player.
Wubben-Moy’s vision is such that, not only does she regularly and reliably move the ball forward, she is also capable of firing passes into dangerous areas – ranking top of the league for completed final third passes (87).
Without the London-born 24-year-old, Arsenal would surely fail to exert the same level of control over their opponents.
Chelsea
Chelsea are no slouches when it comes to controlling matches either, evidenced by their WSL-leading total of 4,473 passes completed.
However, it is their clinical efficiency in attack that has propelled them to the top of the table this term.
They have scored more goals than any other side in 2023-24 thus far (29) and boast the highest tallies for non-penalty xG (25.53), non-penalty post-shot xG (26.48) and non-penalty shots on target (75).
The foundation for the Blues’ impressive numbers is their capacity to create chances and penetrate the opposition area.
Emma Hayes’ side rank top of the WSL for both shots assisted (103) and touches in the opposition box (314), which is naturally leading to positive goalscoring form.
Chelsea’s fearsome attack underpinned their eight-game unbeaten start to the season – and they remain a force to be reckoned with, despite their humbling derby defeat.
Jess Carter
Plenty of possession is necessary for Chelsea to be as effective as they are at hitting opponents with wave after wave of attacks – and England international Jess Carter is crucial to achieving that.
The centre-half has both received (494) and completed (592) more passes than any other player in the WSL, while also featuring in more possessions (452) and sequences of 10 or more passes (125).
The 26-year-old’s reliable, secure presence on the ball keeps things ticking over at the back and provides the platform for her more attacking team-mates to take risks higher up the field.
Carter is the heartbeat of the reigning champions’, who would surely be a much weaker side without her.
All visualisations in this article were produced with the Twenty3 Toolbox. For more information, please get in touch below.