A late equaliser from Lotte Wubben-Moy gave Arsenal a heard earned 1-1 draw in their UWCL Quarter-final first leg against Wolfsburg at Emirates Stadium on Wednesday night. Jonas Eidevall spoke to the press post-match, the first two questions are from Arseblog News.
On whether his half-time team talk focused on tactics or intangibles like intensity and belief…
It was both. It’s obviously sometimes tactical too. We created a lot of situations in the first half and we weren’t decisive enough in the final action. We wanted to show the players the possibilities and how well they had done to get into those situations so that the players could see it was just about small details and they could feel the possibility to score.
On playing Frida Maanum as a number 9 when she came on in the final eight minutes…
I didn’t want to disrupt the spaces that Viv was occupying and I felt like Frida’s pressing in the penalty area could give us an advantage as well. You could also see that Stina and Beth were pretty tired, which was natural given how much intensity we used in the press. We substituted all of our three forwards for that reason.
On how well Arsenal controlled space tonight…
There is a very good system installed for the quarter-finals from a company called Second Spectrum that gives you live positional data. You can see the average positions in and out of possession. You could see after the game that it’s not only my feeling, we kept our shape incredibly well during the game. We had our defensive line ten metres higher on an average than Wolfsburg during the game. So, in order of space control and being the more dominant team, it’s both my feeling and backed up by stats. Then, in football you need to be there in every moment. The goal Wolfsburg score – it’s not good space control from us. We were lacking in that moment and got punished, that’s how it is against top teams. It’s a little unfair because you do it right so many times, you miss once and they punish you but we have to learn from that. The only solution is to strive to do it perfectly next time.”
ARSENAL GET THE EQUALISER 🔴
What a ball from @TobinHeath and @lottewubbenmoy with a superb finish 🤩
🇬🇧🎙👉 https://t.co/ngIlqDajM8
🇩🇪🎙👉 https://t.co/m66X2bVMV0 pic.twitter.com/yFpdtswlqm— DAZN Football (@DAZNFootball) March 23, 2022
On Arsenal fan and local girl Lotte Wubben-Moy scoring at the Emirates…
Looking at the goal, it is a very good finish, of course it is a very special moment being a childhood fan, being at the Emirates and scoring an impmortant goal like that. You work with a player like that every day, they get to live a moment like this. Of course we’re all very happy for the goal as a team but also for her as an individual and understand that’s a special moment. Sometimes in football you experience bad times and great times like that, special and we’re really happy for her.
On how much Arsenal learned from the game…
Of course we’re still developing but I also said to the team after, yes we will learn, yes we will develop but we have the potential and ability to perform and get results. Let’s not go in with a mentality to just be happy with good performances, the way we want to go, it has to be both performances and result. Let’s be that ambitious. We know it’s going to be a tough return leg in Germany but we’re going to give it everything. The only thing that will make us happy is to go through.
On having the belief to win the second leg in Germany…
I don’t believe anything else, I know it will be very different to what it was today, I’ve been many times away in Germany with teams in Sweden, I know it will be a different game, it will be in front of a different crowd, it will be a different kind of intensity, but if you ask me I believe 100% that we will win, and I will always believe that.
On whether Saturday’s game against Spurs is in danger after Spurs’ game this evening was postponed due to COVID cases in the Tottenham squad…
I have not had dialogue with the league yet but we want to play, that is always our attitude, we want to play football games. We want to play in front of our fans and keep our run going but obviously, we will have to see what the officials say. At the moment, I do not know more than you.
1.Zinsberger; 16.Maritz, 6.Williamson, 3.Wubben-Moy, 7.Catley; 13.Walti, 10.Little(c), 11.Miedema; 9.Mead (14.Parris ‘82), 15.McCabe (77.Heath ‘76); 25.Blackstenius (12.Maanum ‘82).
Them Wolfsburg ladies are really physical, aren’t they,? They disrupted our passing game. Stinus needed to bold the ball more and bring others into play, but she was a bit out of sorts, yesterday. Hope we address these issues ahead of tbe 2and leg.
I thought we were all generall too slow in turning to face the goal in attack, hence losing the key moment.
Conversely, we caused trouble when we did put the ball behind their defenders. If we can work on this, perhaps Parris can make a difference in Mead’s absence.
True, we were slow. There were many times when we kept passing backwards. Where they were putting our defense under pressure with long passes over the top, we were reluctant to do the same. We can only hope we learned from this one.
I saw the same–counterattacking opportunities that went begging because a midfielder or outside back opted for more lateral/backward possession rather than going forward. Arsenal had a lot of possession but did very little with it.
I thought we really matched them in that department and were quite physical ourselves…Oberdof didn’t have a moment’s respite on the ball and the pressing Arsenal players were quite physical with her and in general to prevent the Wolfsburg midfield from imposing itself and controlling the match.
Blackstenius gives me Auba vibes. A really top class striker who can get goals from anything. But also pretty limited outside of the area. I’m sorry this might seem unpopular but it’s what I’ve noticed from her.
Outside the area, she seems overly ponderous and never in proper control of the ball. In the box, she’s a killer and her movement is superb. I just don’t think she is a great all round footballer. I never feel assured when the ball is at her feet anywhere not the box 18.
Stenus, She is very poor at holding up the ball , gets outmuscled , passing woeful. Can run through to goal when there is acres of space.
how many matches have you watched her plays? Cuz her hold up play, physicality and finishing has been amazing so far since she came, except some mistakes yesterday. And her stats support that.
and you even spelled her name wrong… it’s stina blackstenius.
Absolutely agree – she is a very very effective Player!
Possibly one of our most important signings in recent seasons. Stina plays as a proper centre forward and allows Viv to create magic a bit deeper.
You only need to look at the smile on Viv’s face to see things are beginning to click!
Disagree profoundly – Stina has been a superb signing. In last night’s game she made several very good passes including early on to Beth Mead, who shot at goal. She seems deceptively strong too & has been a VERY effective Number 9 so far. And let’s not forget she has scored a few goals already!
Stina is a classic centre forward. Think she has shown that she has the right mix of speed, strength and goalscoring instinct for that role.
On another note: Was she that poor individually yesterday? When she was subbed off, i actually thought we were taking off the player with the highest chance of scoring. But of course understandable, since the front trio had covered extreme ground already.
Well, by then nobody else seemed a bet to score, that’s for sure. Mead played well but was spent by then; didn’t see much in attack from Catley, McCabe or the midfield, and Miedema now plays away from goal and had, what, one shot on call that was speculative?
Precisely because wolfsburg defended very well that a goal is likely going to be scrappy or a moment of magic. Among our players, Blackstenius is most capable of scoring an ugly goal, because she is a goalscorer.
In the end,it was a moment of magic from an unlikely source that did it 😉
I’ve just got home from the match so haven’t seen any replays yet. My first feeling is that we showed that we belong at this level. Barcelona are above everyone else, but there are four or five teams a little bit below them; I think Arsenal can make a good claim to be part of this group. We can certainly improve and one area where Wolfsburg were better was the speed and precision of their attacks; it always felt dangerous when they were on the counter. When we went forward too many of our passes went astray. However, I also… Read more »
Agree that our passing was abit off, but Wolfsburg are also very robust and disciplined in their defending.
Separately, i think Real showed until the nothing penalty (VAR now ruining the womens game as well) how you play Barca: with belief, courage and commitment.
Very happy for the away fans, what a game to look forward to. We can absolutely do it. Concur with about everything else, just adding a side note, I imagine it must be an absolute pleasure for viv to play in her new position, certainly is for us fans to watch her showcase all her skill sets. Have a great trip.
Spot on! it’s so good to see the development of the team. Still remember everyone was so negative and grim when we drew Wolfsburg but here we are now thinking we should score more and win the game! I really believe this level is where we belong. The strong belief that we can do it is what we need to go farther. In an interview, Tobin was asked if she thought this team could win the cl and she answered before the question was even finished: “for sure. In terms of the teamsheet on paper and the group that we… Read more »
Is there a mechanism for appealing cards? Felt that mead’s was extremely harsh, especially in the context of similar situational non-calls within the game and given the consequences and how important she was in the game plan today.
True. Oberdoff should be missing the second leg, too. She got away with it.
Despite the lower than expected attendance, what a brilliant evening. Atmosphere was electric. The team responded excellently and the belief is still live to progress.
How did Wolfsburg only have three yellow cards!?
There seemed to be a reluctance to show Rauch a second yellow, and I’m not sure what else Oberdorf had to do to get booked. She tried her hardest, but didn’t happen…
Optimistically confident we will win the away leg. Even though Wolfsburg were very physical, I liked how Arsenal maintained calmness in possession. If Stina scored the easy chance early in the 2nd half, I think the outcome would have been different tonight
Very pleased for Lotte, who lived the dream of all Gooners.
Hope the players take confidence from this.
Perhaps wolfsburg were trying to just protect the result/conserve energy by being passive in the 2nd half (although in Waßmuth, they have such a dangerous outlet), but i did think we gave them a bit to think about, and finally got the reward. Abit more quality in the execution and decision-making in the final third would have made the result very different!
I loved the game. I missed the first 25 minutes so missed the goal (heard it through my phone as I was biking home) but I was happy with the way we pressed and handled ourselves. Sure there were some mistakes. We definitely have played better. Wolfsburg had a few clear cut chances. (Two post hits in 10 seconds) and it’s safe to say they could’ve made it 0-2 with ease. But that slide by Viv could’ve made it 1-1 sooner as well.
I did like the suggestion on the player-of-the-match voting that it should have been given to the Clock End goalposts!
But if the ball had gone in, VAR may well have been POTM as Wassmuth was offside…
Looking forward to the McCabe Vs popp rematch.
In KT we trust
Just to think, if everyone had been fit, Lotte Wubben-Moy would not even have been playing. She’s not the quickest, but her instant control and shot in the opponent’s box makes me wonder about whether defence is her best position.
When watching live, I thought our goal was a bit flukey, not Lotte’s contribution but how the ball came to her in the first place, but when you see it again you see her making the move just as Tobin Heath took the free kick, so now I’ll say that it was great play all round!
Very good 2nd half performance. The German team were very physical and there should have been at least one dismissal. Roord should have got a Yellow for hacking down her ex-Captain. Liked the American co-commentator – who was brave enough to say that Kim is the best player in the world – my opinion too. Viv continues to be a revelation in midfield – she was wasted as solely a number 9, in retrospect. Blackstenius performances have been superb so far. I felt we were missing Rafa, but then Lotte pops up with a “stormer” Tobin should have been brought… Read more »
Viv “wasted” as solely a 9. Seriously? She’s led the league in goals, what, 3 times? She broke the Olympic record in Tokyo by scoring 10 goals in 4 matches. She’s easily on pace to be the game’s all-time leading goal scorer. A waste as solely a 9? I have to laugh in response.
Viv isn’t, and doesn’t want to be a No. 9 so get over it! She will still score goals and make considerably more assists than she would standing in the penalty area on her own. Surely even you can see from recent results and the chances being made that the team are developing into a top level side ready to take on the best in Europe. The days of thrashing everyone except Chelsea and City 9-0 are over but we never won much by doing that! Taking points off Chelsea and City and beating the rest by only a couple… Read more »
Monte must be having a bit of chuckle. After getting nudged out of his job at Arsenal, I presume, his Juventus squad just beat Lyon, 2-1 in CL. Granted Lyon was depleted by injuries AND lost a player (Carpenter) to injury in the second half, but who would have predicted the rise of Juventus after getting waxed–I believe it was 5-0–by Arsenal 3 years ago. Happy for the guy.
Carpenter was sent off.
I don’t often agree with you but in this case you are right. Lyon are not the force they were but Joe’s latest team have done well so credit to him for that.
It was a great story for Juve, womens football in italy, and Joe given his Italian roots. Watched the Italian stream and he did his interview in Italian. Not to mention the final will be in Torino, so they can certainly dream. I am sure he will fancy a reunion with the club he supports in the final 😉 But just a side note: Lyon is pretty much a team in transition with their injuries and ageing players. Juve’s squad is no slouch -full of solid lesser-known internationals complementing an italian core. It offers an interesting take on building a… Read more »