I don't get Arsenal wanting to sign Blackstenius. She is an excellent player, obviously--but Arsenal don't really need another forward. They've got Parris and Mead on the right side, already--and Mead has been in excellent form--plus Foord and McCabe on the left. The team needs a quality centerback or maybe another midfielder before another forward, IMO.
My understanding is Blackstenius is coming to take over from Miedema when the Dutch striker leaves on a free in June. And a left-footed Brazilian defender is coming too.
Intriguing about Miedema: So where have you heard she's going? Blackstenius is an excellent player, to be sure--but not really a center-forward, is she? I think she usually plays on a wing and can be very dangerous on counters. To me her game is much like Mead's.
I think Miedema is not happy with the way Arsenal have been playing for a while, so you get what you can get as a replacement.
Yes, the play by the midfield as regressed and without Williamson the centerback play is weak. Two of their veteran centerbacks had been out injured for many weeks, Beattie, also a veteran, is just not very good anymore, and Wubben-Moye is still relatively inexperienced. I think she will be good with a bit more seasoning. At right back, Maritz seems very overrated to me. A decent defender--though not physical. She has offered zero in attack since she signed. Heath has been hurt and not played for weeks--not sure what the problem was. Apparently she's back training now--but she's been a completely wasted signing, as she was for Manchester United. I think getting completely bossed by Barca twice knocked the confidence out of this team--which, though leading the league, has some definite holes.
Blackstenius is the very defintion of a center-forward! Never seen her used as a wing on the national team or at club level (BK Häcken, Kopparberg Göteborg FC).
BTW, GP (Göteborg) is reporting that Blackstenus at Arsenal is now a done deal: https://www.gp.se/sport/fotboll/stina-blackstenius-25-ut-mittbacken-lisa-löwing-17-in-1.63614942
Can't they wait till this season is over to get Blackstenius in. It feels a little of an insolent move essentially replacing your top striker while she is still playing for your team and still in the middle of the season. Not to mention you've got more pressing issues to take care at the moment like your defense and midfield. Maybe for tactics or strategy reasons?
No, she is was of contract from the start of the year so anyone that wanted her had to sign her now. And she had other offers, Man U first among them (she for some reason think WSL will match her style of play best).
If Blackstenius is joining Arsenal soon, I assume she would play on one wing with Mead on the other, Miedema in the middle. That's an excellent trio if Arsenal can start playing more effective counter-attacking/transition soccer. It would seem to leave Parrris and Foord--also very good players, though Parris' star has waned from lack of consistent playing time the last two+ years, as subs/spot starters. We'll see what Miedema decides to do in the coming months....
I actually have not seen her that much at club level. If Arsenal thinks she will be a fitting Miedema replacement then good for them. I hope we get to see an in depth thoughts from Viv going forward though. If winning the WC, Olympics, CL are her objectives then I understand her seemingly frustrated aura lately...
Ok, since I've seen her play a lot the past 2 seasons (including live at home games), I'll comment... Häcken like their previous incarnation KGFC plays with an intensive high press not unlike that of the Swedish national team. Blackstenius plays center-forward both at the club level and on the national team and is really good at harrying opposing backs when the other team starts their attack. She is strong, fast, a good target player and extremely difficult to get the ball away from. She is excellent on the break but she's at her best inside the box. Always seems to be in the right place at the right time. Not being the most gifted of dribblers nor especially good at crosses, she would be wasted on a wing. If she was to play alongside Miedema it would be better to put Miedema on the outside.
With all due respect to Blackstenius, Miedema is on her way to becoming the sport's all time goal-scoring leader--and she doesn't even take penalty kicks. She's been the best finisher in the game for a long time--tell me who's better. She's twice led the WSL in goals and has played center-forward for most if not all of her professional career. Miedema is a very good passer, and comes out from the box quite a lot to help with possession and to pull out a packed-in defense. Still, she's not a winger. It's certainly possible that Eidevall would switch Miedema for Blackstenius---he's Swedish!---but it would be an astoundingly gutsy move and might certainly indicate that Miedema will be leaving Arsenal. Eidevall might be on shaky ground himself if he doesn't pull Arsenal out of it tailspin. It will be interesting to see how this all plays out, especially given that winger Tobin Heath is finally back training again. I imagine the club will want to get her on the field again.
Actually, you'll get no disagreement from me here... I think Miedema simply has more dimensions than Blackstenius. And if you are going to play them together it would be wiser to use Miedema as a second forward or as an attacking midfielder (I never said she should be a winger). Look at Messi. He's used in all three positions and I believe he scores a few goals...
There are two options, one subs in for the other or Miedema plays in the 9 1/2 position while Blackstenius plays in the 9. But that would mean one less midfielder in 4-4-2.
I hope she proves me wrong but I feel uncomfortable even using Blackstenius in the same sentence as Miedema. Miedema looks like she's just mailing it in and counting down the days. Was Evans to WH a harbinger?
Well, I imagine you're uncomfortable right now But hey, maybe we're all getting the wool pulled over our eyes and Blackstenius will end up (as originally thought) with Man U or somewhere else. I must say I find it ironic that Blackstenius would wind up under Eidevall. There was no blood lost between Rosengård and KGFC where she spent her first year in Gothenburg. Mats Gren and Jörgen Ericson managed KGFC then and I don't know how many times it looked like Ericson and Eidevall were about to duke it out on the sidelines. KGFC even punked Rosengård by publishing the wrong line-up before a match, a move Eidevall later called "juvenile". Of course, they did it to wind him up. I don't know how he's been behaving in England, but I remember one sports columnist commenting on his exodus from the damallsvenskan saying "well, the refs are certainly not going to miss him".
Miedema played attacking mid as a teen, to start her career, I believe, but isn't really suited to the role now. (Fran Kirby comes as being close to Messi-like in the WSL as anybody I've seen, but of course nobody is really Messi-like. Low-center of gravity solid build, good dribbler, quick and can shoot.) Miedema may be in a bit of funk--whether because she's decided to move on from Arsenal or because she's not happy with the state of the team and the fact that she's not gotten many scoring opportunities in the last six or so matches, or something else--but it's hard to know. I watched her pretty closely in the Birmingham City match and she seemed engaged and doing her thing--but as has been the case recently, the team gave up an early goal and couldn't generate scoring chances--not for her and not for anybody. She thrives on getting service, like all good target center-forwards, and there's been very little of it lately. Speaking of the Swedes, I'm still PO'd that they lost the Olympic gold--a match they deserved to win.
😍 BLACKSTENIUS FRIDAY 😍 pic.twitter.com/ynqpBrI5f9— Arsenal Women (@ArsenalWFC) January 14, 2022 And in other news Sofia Jakobsson is leaving Bayern München after only 6 months. Unknown destination.
50% possession and only forced the opposing keeper into three saves in two hours and missed 4/6 in a shootout. Not the strongest argument for deserved to win.