[via: getty]
Sweden international Lina Hurtig has joined Arsenal Women from Juventus. She becomes the third Swede to become part of the club since just last summer when manager Jonas Eidevall was appointed, with Joe Montemurro taking over at Hurtig’s old Italian club. Eidevall signed Stina Blackstenius from BK Häcken to add attacking depth to a squad full of quality.
That is exactly what Hurtig will do, too. Arsenal’s attacking options are already pretty impressive, boasting Vivianne Miedema, Beth Mead, Caitlin Foord, and the aforementioned Blackstenius among positionally rotational others. With Nikita Parris leaving the club to join rivals Manchester United after a largely disappointing stint in north London, it would appear that Hurtig is more or less a replacement in the squad.
She contributed to 8 goals in the Serie A last season, scoring and assisting 4 alongside a further 4 goals in the UEFA Women’s Champions League. With a return of 0.33 goals and 0.33 assists per 90 last season, her stats aren’t at the level of the Arsenal stars she’ll be fighting for a starting spot with.
It will take a big improvement from her to match their numbers last season, which are: Vivianne Miedema with 0.72 goals and 0.41 assists per 90, Beth Mead with 0.57 goals and 0.42 assists, and Stina Blackstenius with 0.85 goals and 0.14 assists. Her stats from last season are better than Parris’ though, who scored just once in the WSL for Arsenal.
Hurtig can play anywhere across the front three, making her a versatile option in Jonas Eidevall’s Arsenal (no pun intended). For Juventus, she has featured mainly on the left and upfront, with the occasional appearance at right wing. At the Women’s Euros this summer, manager Peter Gerhardsonn displayed her both as a left winger and a striker as she featured as a rotational piece in a side that reached the semi-finals before being defeated by eventual champions England.
With Arsenal’s starting eleven packed with such high levels of quality, it’s important they add sufficient squad depth if they want to win the WSL title this season. Adding international standard players like Lina Hurtig help take Arsenal one step closer to what is sure to be their target this season.
AFCTALK 