View: Tottenham Women will feel the absence of 96th percentile star Olga Ahtinen
Olga Ahtinen has been a standout performer since arriving at Tottenham Hotspur Women during the summer transfer window.
After a disappointing campaign last time out for Tottenham Women, Ahtinen was one of many fresh faces through the door at Hotspur Way during the summer, as the club looked to turn their fortunes around.
And so far they have done just that, and then some.
New head coach Robert Vilahamn has overseen a positive start to life in north London, leading Spurs to fifth in the WSL, four points behind fierce rivals Arsenal in second, having lost just one league game from seven.
The football is exciting and Spurs are dominating games, even in the absence of last year’s standout performer Beth England. Three consecutive draws have stunted their impressive progress, however, they are three games that Vilahamn’s side deserved victory in, with a lack of clinical finishing to blame for the dropped points.
All signs are pointing in the right direction at this moment in time, although the loss of Ahtinen during their recent 1-1 draw with Liverpool Women could perhaps prove to be more costly than the two points they let go of that day.
In the closing moments of the clash, which took place on Sunday 12 November, the Finland international midfielder went to ground in some discomfort and needed to be carried off on a stretcher.
Vilahman confirmed in his pre-match press conference ahead of the 1-1 draw with Leicester City Women on Sunday, that Ahtinen had avoided a more serious ACL injury, but will be sidelined until after New Year with an MCL injury.
“She will be doing some recovery for a few weeks and hopefully will be on the grass directly after the New Year. Of course, you always expect the worst so it was really, really good to hear this wasn’t an ACL injury.” (Tottenham Hotspur Official, Thursday 16 November).
As the stats reveal, losing Ahtinen is a big blow and could threaten to derail the incredible progress Vilahamn has made so far during his time in the WSL.
According to fbref, the 26-year-old sits in the 96th percentile of her positional peers in the WSL this season in regard to the number of assists she has provided (0.36 per 90), her progressive passing distance (338.67 yards per 90), her pass completion rate over a medium distance (93.3 per cent per 90), and the number of passes she has made into the final third (6.99 per 90).
Ahtinen also finds herself among the top four per cent of WSL midfielders for the number of through balls she has played (0.18 per 90), her progressive carrying distance (96.27 yards per 90) as well as the number of passes she has received (55.04 per 90).
All of these attributes are crucial to the high-pressing, attacking style of football that Vilahamn has looked to implement since his arrival, and it will be a real test of the manager’s ability to see how he adapts to life without Ahtinen.
In other Tottenham news, one of the men’s team’s stars disappointed during his most recent international display.