Victoria Pelova: The Future of Arsenal's Midfield
If Arsenal can just keep signing creative Dutch players then we'll win it all
With Kim Little and Lia Walti out for a tough away game against a much-improved Leicester City, this game seemed like a potential banana skin for an Arsenal side who haven’t always looked convincing this season and needed a real standout performance to show who they are.
They have historically struggled when captain Kim Little is missing, with all four of their WSL losses last season coming in games where she was injured. She is the heartbeat of the team and one of the best in the world in her position, so Arsenal have struggled to replace that role when she sits out.
Luckily for Jonas Eidevall, Victoria Pelova decided to have what could be seen as her true breakout performance in an Arsenal shirt on Sunday evening, showing why Arsenal signed her this past January. In a first half where they found themselves 2-0 down after conceding twice in three mad minutes, Pelova showed herself to be a calm presence on the ball whilst simultaneously not allowing the team to stand still.
There were plenty of good performances on the day, especially in the second half, with Cooney-Cross impressing on her WSL debut as she moved the ball forward with purpose, while Alessia Russo did not stop running all game as she was as far back as her own box at points, but it was Pelova who was the real stand out.
Arsenal’s issue in the first half was a lack of bravery in possession, they were often too conservative when they had the ball in the middle and weren’t looking to exploit Leicester’s high backline and play that line-breaking pass to split their defence.
Her teammates looking to play safer limited what Pelova could achieve creatively, as perhaps due to Leicester's aggressive pressing game and high numbers forward, Arsenal were scared to find themselves outnumbered at the back.
Here we can see Pelova receiving the ball with her back to goal after a run of play where Leicester’s forwards hounded the Arsenal defence, not allowing them to slow play down or play a simple pass. This led to an awkward position for Pelova as she received the ball from Katie McCabe just outside her box, with Jutta Rantalla marking her tightly and being surrounded by four other Leicester players who were ready to pounce on any easy pass she could’ve made.
This player-for-player marking that Willy Kirk’s side played had worked very well in putting Arsenal under pressure and forcing them into uncomfortable positions such as this, however, Pelova’s technical brilliance and bravery on the ball allowed her a way out as she turned her marker brilliantly and takes on another.
She looks to play a one-two with Russo just inside their own half to get herself completely free and leave Arsenal with a numbers advantage and Lacasse, Maanum, and Foord all in perfect positions to capitalise on Leicester’s high line. However, Russo instead opts to cut inside and hold onto possession, allowing Leicester the time to get players back as this run of play ends with a throw-in.
This was the story of the first half, Arsenal played within themselves and didn’t look to move with any pace or fluidity, despite Pelova’s efforts. After a chaotic three-minute spell where Leicester scored twice, Arsenal needed a big second half to get back into this game, but Eidevall had recognised these patterns and in his post-match interview said he didn’t want to change his side’s structure, but instead they needed to apply themselves better and that “if you lose your one-on-one duels high up the pitch you get exposed.”
Pelova embodied this change in the game, as aside from her creative output, she also played an important role with Walti and Little out in winning those 50/50 duels and always picking up loose balls. Her awareness of space both on and off the ball is so impressive for someone her age and that ability and desire paid off massively in the second half.
A twelve-minute spell at the start of the second half completely blew Leicester away as the entire team reached a different level and played their best football this season so far. The pace and fluidity in every attack were beautiful and most importantly, they started to play into the space that Leicester had been leaving because of their high line, and that Pelova had been trying to expose all game.
She played a crucial role in the second goal as twice in the build she won her duel and managed to pass the ball out of a pocket, playing a perfect one-two with McCabe on the edge of the area to create a huge amount of space for Russo for the easy finish. Whilst for her goal and Arsenal’s fourth she showed her willingness to keep running and always find that space. Her awareness of space and ability to drag defenders all over the pitch was absolutely vital for Arsenal.
I can’t show every example of her importance to the attack in the second half because there are simply too many, but I have picked out two that show how crucial she is to the future of this side, especially in games where Little is out.
This shows the build-up to her second assist of the game and Arsenal’s fifth goal, really putting the game out of reach for the hosts and is a great example of Pelova’s spacial awareness and her being one step ahead of the opposition
Here we see Russo on the ball deep in her own half, surrounded by Leicester players looking to collapse onto her and block off any pass. During this, Pelova has recognised the amount of space this has opened up on the left-hand side which she can exploit so she floats into there to get a head start on her marker
Russo was able to play the ball out to Catley and that’s when Pelova made use of her explosiveness and attacked the space highlighted, an area she could exploit because of her movement while Arsenal were still penned into their own half. She has the run on the backline and goes on to play a perfectly weighted pass to Stina Blackstenius for an easy finish.
This final example is from the dying minutes of the game as most players have let concentration slip a little as the result had been decided for some time by now, however, Pelova was still looking to create problems for Leicester.
Here she is just inside her own half and facing her own goal, with her and Catley being tightly marked, as is Hurtig, their only real outlet pass from this situation. Leicester’s player-for-player marking system means they have left a big enough gap in the space highlighted that Pelova knows she can exploit.
In the blink of an eye, she has played a quick triangle with Catley and Hurtig, moved into that free space, got herself in the perfect position and allowed her teammates the chance to attack the half spaces and get Beth Mead completely unmarked for a one-on-one with the goalkeeper, that she unfortunately misses. Look at the time in those two pictures, within six seconds Pelova has taken what would usually be a forgettable late-game situation into a clearcut chance for Arsenal to attack using her awareness of space around her and her quick feet. This ability was crucial in Arsenal's eventual 6-2 win over Leicester, a game which at points threatened to be a disaster for Eidevall’s side, but instead was a chance for Pelova to really show the type of footballer she is.
Pelova was signed with a lot of hype surrounding her, but at twenty-four years old she is coming into her own now in what was previously a very settled Arsenal midfield. She replaced last season’s player of the season Frida Maanum in the starting eleven but this game showed their ability to play together, so crucially we have learnt that she can very ably deputise for Little when needed. She is about to reach a year of playing in England and if she continues to improve at this level, she will very soon become not just one of the best midfielders in the WSL but will enter the conversation of best midfielders in the world.