Chelsea: Should the WSL champions be concerned by Fran Kirby’s recent goal drought?

Fran Kirby was taken off with 10 minutes to go against Arsenal, making it nine matches without a goal. 

This barren spell is uncharacteristic for one of Chelsea’s best players ever. Kirby is the club’s all-time leading scorer, the reigning WSL Player of the Year and someone that has relished the big occasions in the past. 

Indeed, back in December, following Chelsea’s victory over Arsenal in the FA Cup final, Blues boss Emma Hayes hailed the English star as a national treasure. 

Kirby dismantled the Gunners at Wembley on that day –– scoring after just two minutes and providing an inch-perfect assist for Sam Kerr to hammer home. It was perhaps her finest game in a Chelsea shirt – a match in which, for large parts, she was simply unplayable. 

But since that cup final, Kirby has not scored once, and on Friday night against Arsenal, the Ballon d’Or nominee was far from her majestic best. 

With Chelsea searching for a winner in the dying stages at Kingsmeadow, Hayes decided to take off the club’s record goalscorer –– replacing Kirby with Olympic gold medallist Jessie Fleming. 

In truth, the 18-year-old has been lacklustre for the majority of 2022 so far and was even dropped to the bench against Man United a couple of games ago. 

How big a concern is Kirby’s current form then? Chelsea’s draw against Arsenal ensures the title race is likely to go down to the wire and the Blues can ill-afford to drop points between now and the end of the season. 

While Hayes’ team are unbeaten in five matches, they have failed to score in two and have relied on impressive defensive displays to grind out wins. 

But what’s more concerning is that this rough patch is so non-typical for someone who has been consistently brilliant for a long time. 

K