Arsenal Women: Trailblazers

Hi from the Emirates Stadium and I give my instant reaction following both the first half and full time whistle at the Arsenal v Birmingham City match which ended 1-1.As I predicted in the preview, Oceane Hurtre did have an impact and scored, we had to fight back from 1-0 down and managed to salvage a point thanks to a moment of magic from Olivia Smith. I'll be back soon with the full match report and analysis.

Arsenal Women are back at the Emirates this Saturday, and after a brilliant international break for several of our players, I'm hoping they've remembered to bring their scoring boots home!But there's some worrying injury news to discuss before Birmingham City arrive.Mariona Caldentey faces eight to ten weeks out with a hamstring injury, while Selina Cerci has undergone knee surgery. Two significant setbacks for Renée Slegers, but could this finally be Géraldine Reuteler's opportunity to establish herself in the Arsenal starting eleven?In this episode, I'm looking at what those injuries mean for the squad, who moves up the pecking order and why I'd love to see the Smilla Holmberg and Lisa Baum partnership reunited on Arsenal's right.We also preview Birmingham City, including the threat posed by Océane Hurtré, who's already scored five league goals this season.I'll share my preferred Arsenal starting eleven, explain why I'd make some changes following the international break and give you my score prediction.And congratulations to Trailblazer Aris from Kentish Town, who's joining me in Club Level on Saturday after winning my spare ticket!My prediction? Arsenal 4–1 Birmingham.Perhaps all those international goals have gone to my head, but I'm feeling optimistic!

We only had a good news episode on Monday, but apparently the Arsenal Women players decided we needed another one!It's been a remarkable few days for our Gunners on international duty, with Alessia Russo, Georgia Stanway, Stina Blackstenius, Smilla Holmberg, Caitlin Foord and Olivia Smith all finding the net for their countries.Alessia scored twice for England, Stina bagged another brace for Sweden and Smilla celebrated turning twenty with a goal and an assist.Seven Arsenal goals on Tuesday alone, plus Olivia's contribution for Canada on Monday. Not bad!After a difficult few weeks at club level, Roberto takes a few minutes to celebrate the players, enjoy their international success and look ahead to their return to Arsenal.Sometimes it's nice to have absolutely nothing to complain about.Trailblazers: The Arsenal Women Podcast follows Arsenal Women, tells the stories of the players behind the shirts and explores the why of it all.Website: https://www.arsenalwomentrailblazers.comInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/arsenalwomentrailblazers

It's been a good few days for Arsenal Women on international duty, and Roberto Revilla is back with a shorter, more cheerful edition of Trailblazers.Alessia Russo has been named England Women's Player of the Year and celebrated with a goal against Greece. Georgia Stanway was on the scoresheet too, while 19-year-old Lisa Baum made her senior Germany debut against Australia.There's more good news from Sweden, where Stina Blackstenius scored in a 5-0 victory over Lithuania and Smilla Holmberg returned to action following her recent foot injury, just in time to celebrate her 20th birthday.We also catch up with Caitlin Foord and Steph Catley's international appearances, the Netherlands' emphatic victory over Hungary and the latest ahead of Arsenal's return to Women's Super League action.No lengthy tactical analysis today. Just a chance to celebrate our players, enjoy some good news and look forward to what's coming next.Follow Trailblazers:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/arsenalwomentrailblazers/Website: https://www.arsenalwomentrailblazers.com/If you enjoy the podcast, please follow, rate and share it with another Arsenal Women supporter.

It's been a difficult start to the season for Arsenal Women, but there's still plenty to celebrate, and sometimes it's worth reminding ourselves of that.In today's Trailblazers, we're catching up on everything happening around Arsenal during the international break, from worrying injury news to some fantastic achievements by players who deserve their moment in the spotlight.Selina Cerci has withdrawn from Germany's squad with a knee problem, Smilla Holmberg has suffered a foot injury and Mariona Caldentey is also facing a spell on the sidelines. But could Cerci's injury explain some of the selection decisions we've been questioning recently? Roberto shares something he noticed in Arsenal's training footage before the Manchester City game that might change how we look at the situation.There's also some much happier news.Kyra Cooney-Cross has been voted Arsenal Women's September Player of the Month, Michelle Agyemang has received her MBE from Prince William and Lisa Baum has earned her first senior Germany call-up.Meanwhile, Arsenal's Academy have given us something to celebrate with a 3-1 North London derby victory over Tottenham, featuring two goals from Mia Dixon and another from Cairo-Evea Antoine.We also look ahead to Arsenal's upcoming fixtures and what Renée Slegers needs to work on during the international break.And finally, Roberto has a message for supporters who are finding the constant negativity surrounding Arsenal Women difficult to deal with. Sometimes taking a break from football social media is the best thing we can do for ourselves.Because supporting Arsenal should still bring us joy, even when the football doesn't always cooperate.In this episode:Selina Cerci, Smilla Holmberg and Mariona Caldentey injury updatesCould fitness concerns explain Cerci's limited playing time?Kyra Cooney-Cross wins September Player of the MonthMichelle Agyemang receives her MBEArsenal Academy beat Tottenham 3-1Lisa Baum's first senior Germany call-upWhat comes next for Renée Slegers and Arsenal WomenLooking after ourselves when football social media gets overwhelmingConnect with Roberto on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/arsenalwomentrailblazersFollow Trailblazers for thoughtful, independent Arsenal Women coverage, player stories and the why behind what's happening at our club.If you enjoy the podcast, please follow, leave a review and share it with another Arsenal supporter.

Arsenal led Manchester City twice. They still came away with nothing.But this doesn’t feel like another episode where we simply list everything Arsenal did wrong.Because for periods at the Etihad, I liked what I saw. Arsenal pressed aggressively, caused City problems and showed flashes of the team we were watching in pre-season. Then City changed the game from their bench and Arsenal couldn’t change it back.So what happened?In this episode of Trailblazers, I look at Renée Slegers’ substitutions, Arsenal’s recurring problems managing leads, why Géraldine Reuteler and Selina Cerci remain so difficult to understand from a squad-planning perspective and why I’m not convinced by the argument that seven summer signings mean we should simply write this season off as a rebuild.We also need to talk about Renée herself. Has she lost the dressing room? Should Arsenal be considering a change? Or is the bigger problem that she appears to have stopped trusting some of the ideas she was developing with this squad only a few weeks ago?Five points from five WSL games is nowhere near good enough. But after watching this game back, I’m frustrated rather than hopeless.The international break has come at exactly the right time.