Steph Catley: Arsenal have another level | OneFootball

Steph Catley. (Dylan Clinton/SPP)

Arsenal defender Steph Catley admitted that she was disappointed with her team’s goalless draw against Manchester United on Sunday.

And the Australia international assured fans that there will be more to come from the Gunners this season.

Describing the match as “a tough one”, she reflected on the sharpness of their hosts, who progressed to the main draw of the UEFA Women’s Champions League in midweek after beating SK Brann over two legs in the third qualifying round.

“They’ve played a lot of football, they’re playing Champions League games, so you can see the intensity, but I think our basics probably weren’t good enough today,” she told Arsenal’s official website.

“Obviously, a clean sheet is great, but we didn’t play the way we would like to and not up to our standards, I don’t think. We’ve definitely got another level.”

There were not many goalscoring chances during the match, although record signing Olivia Smith went close when she hit the crossbar in the first half.

Indeed, Arsenal – who had scored nine goals in their opening two matches – had only one shot on target throughout the game, with United managing three. Such statistics may seem surprising when the Arsenal starting eleven included Stina Blackstenius, Mariona Caldentey, Caitlin Foord and Alessia Russo as well as Smith – with Chloe Kelly and Beth Mead both coming on as second-half substitutes.

United, on the other hand, had Melvine Malard, Jess Park, Fridolina Rolfo and Ella Toone in their side, with Elisabeth Terland and Rachel Williams both getting late run-outs.

The match was perhaps most notable for a record WSL attendance at Leigh Sports Village of 8,665.

Steph Catley: We’ll improve

Renee Slegers’ side return to the Emirates next week for the first time since the opening match of the season, when they beat London City Lionesses 4-1. Next weekend they will be facing Aston Villa, and Catley said that the squad would welcome playing in front of the thousands of noisy home fans.

“Obviously, can’t wait to get back to the Emirates,” she said.

“Everybody feels like we’ve been gone too long and yeah, we love playing in front of our fans. They came out in numbers today, and we could absolutely hear them. And yeah, disappointed not to get the full points for them today, but we’ll bounce back and we’ll improve on it.”

Arsenal play Villa on Saturday, 27th September, kicking off at 12 noon. Manchester United’s next WSL game is a trip to Liverpool, on Sunday, 28th September.