Chelsea and Canada defender Ashley Lawrence has said the upcoming London derby against Arsenal will be a “tough battle” and a “really good test” for her side after an unbeaten start to the season.
The Women’s Super League (WSL) champions have surged ahead at the top of the table, lying seven points clear of second-placed Arsenal.
For Reneé Slegers, now Arsenal’s permanent manager, it’s a must-win encounter. Defeat would see the gap stretch to 10 points with just 10 games remaining in the season. However, Lawrence believes both teams are evenly matched heading into the clash.
“I think it’s going to be an amazing atmosphere,” she told ESPN. “Every time you play against Arsenal, if it’s home or away, the fans are incredible. And just playing at Stamford Bridge, it’s always a special occasion.
Chelsea’s 2-1 win in the reverse fixture in October was their first-ever win at the Emirates Stadium. The match also proved to be Jonas Eidevall’s last in charge of Arsenal, with the Swedish manager resigning days later.
“I would say that it’s going to be a tough battle when we look at the last time we played them, it was a close scoring result. But that just shows, again, on paper, you have the two teams and we’re pretty on par in terms of our level. It really comes down to the small details of who’s going to come away with the victory,” Lawrence said.
“We know that and we know we have to come in with our best version of every player, mentally, physically, because it really is the small margins that will make the difference. So yeah, I’m expecting a very physical game, but a high level, technically, I feel like there’s going to be a lot of goals or maybe not a lot. It’s really one or the other, but it’s going to be a lot of action, a lot of goal scoring opportunities for the fans. It’s going to be good. And of course for us, we want to go into it to get the result.”
Chelsea remain unbeaten this season, with no losses since Bompastor took the helm. Their only dropped points came in a 1-1 draw with Leicester City in the WSL before the winter break.
Lawrence attributes the team’s strong start and consistent performances to their momentum and steady accumulation of points. However, the upcoming clash with Arsenal will be a tough challenge, especially given their impressive 12-game unbeaten run since Slegers took charge on an interim basis in October.
“It’s about consistency,” she continued. “We always want to go in and start the game strong. That’s something we’ve been working on, not always waiting until the second half. We want to come out with a force, and it can be to our advantage; playing at home, having the energy of the crowd, we want to really use that.
“Arsenal, they have a really good transition on the counterattack. They have a lot of pace up front, so it’s really for us to understand how to control those counter attacking opportunities that they could have. And then of course, imposing ourselves on the ball, being patient, and then when we have our opportunities, we need to be lethal in front of goal.
“I think whenever we go into a game, we always try to say that no matter what the opponent, you want to go in with the same mindset. But of course when you’re going against Arsenal, it is a bit different. It could be kind of like a cup final, and that just adds a little bit more motivation for us to go in.
“I do agree it is kind of a moment that kind of set the tone for the second part of the season, but we also don’t want it to add too much pressure before we play them. This is going to be a really good test for us after this first part. We’ve been doing really well, but again, there’s still a lot of games to play, and I think this game is going to be an important moment for us.”
Teammate Guro Reiten highlighted that Chelsea’s mentality has been crucial to their remarkable winning streak in recent years, with the team on track to secure a sixth consecutive WSL title.
“Mentality, I think, just look at me off the pitch. I am one person, and then on the pitch, it’s someone else,” she told ESPN. “I’m not laughing or being funny; I want to win and I don’t care who is on that pitch. I want to win.
“I think every single one is like that. So there’re going to be moments where you struggle, and you’re not playing as well as you want to, but you want to get it over the line. You need those three points and then we can work on how to improve the performance after. And I think that’s been so special about us the first half of the season we’ve kept moving and kept moving.”
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