Arsenal won 5-0 at Leicester on Sunday in the WSL thanks to goals from Beth Mead, a brace from Vivianne Miedema, an own goal and a goal from Tobin Heath. Jonas Eidevall spoke to the press post-match, the first four questions are from Arseblog News.
On exposing Leicester’s weakness for defending crosses this season…
Yeah we discussed a bit, it was pretty apparent when you saw their last game against Chelsea as well. I don’t think it’s necessarily our strength to just cross the ball, it’s just one method, you saw today some goals from crosses and some from combination play, we always want to do both.
No hesitation from @bmeado9 to give @ArsenalWFC the lead!
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On the importance of Lia Walti…
She was excellent. I told Lia when we got back from Germany that it’s a good thing and a bad thing. The bad thing is that we missed you in the game, the good thing is you can see that we miss you. That was not a feeling i had in November or December, i thought she was more replaceable then and that shows how much she has grown in her game. That’s a great testament to her and the consistency of the performances she is putting in. I was very happy to have her back.
On the conversation at half-time after going 1-0 up early but not adding a second until much later…
We had to be patient but also to play with energy but i think we deserved at least one more goal in the first half with the chances that we had. It’s easy for one counter attack or one set piece and all of a sudden the game is different. As well we had two players on yellow cards who could easily have been put in situations where they get another yellow.
It was really important not to let the game change, so we talked about all the details and making sure that we kept attacking. No way we were going to be passive, no way we were going to sit back, we had to keep attacking. When we scored the second, we needed to go for the third and so on. It’s the only way to play these games and these teams. We also had good help from players coming on from the bench was a really, really positive factor.
Feed @VivianneMiedema and she will score!
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On the contribution of Nikita Parris from the bench…
That’s what I mean, as a player you can choose two ways when you do not start. You can be disappointed when you are not playing but what matters in the end is what you do when you come on the pitch. She was brilliant today, she was focused, she was taking initiative, she showed quality in her actions. It was great to see.
Cool, calm, collected!@VivianneMiedema slots home her second ✌️
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On the relentlessness of the attack…
It’s our philosophy, we have the ball and we attack. It was important for us to get back winning again but also to have a lot of respect for the fact that we played Thursday night, we travel home on the night and then we come back here on Saturday night. We’ve barely been home and we needed to get our head right, new opponents, focus again and have confidence and belief in the game plan.
It’s not as easy as we made it look today, it’s because it’s well done by the players and the staff to achieve that. When you compare to last season, this is another layer. We have been in Europe, we’ve played lots of games and that adds to the schedule. We know there are things we have to improve for next season but we have shown that we can deal with playing in Europe midweek and then coming into these games and be able to perform. That is so important because that is where we want to be.
Right place, right time!@TobinHeath adds to the goals!
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On the importance of goal difference in the title race…
In 2012 i was the assistant manager at Malmö and we lost the title on goal difference. I have learned that lesson, i never relax, everything matters. Every goal matters, that you score that you concede, not just now but I am always like that. I never want us to slack off or take it easy, we can control things when we play games and that means every second is important. Usually you think it is the last game when you think about goal difference, but what about the first game of the season? What about earlier in the season when you are winning 2-0 and you tried to do a fancy finish instead of scoring? Everything matters and we have been good at that so far and continue to be good at it.
On whether he will tell his players about his experience at Malmo…
No I don’t think so, maybe they will read about it now! I believe that people’s experiences shape their behaviour. The players don’t need to know that I lost a title on goal difference, they just need to know they have a coach that demands focus for every second that we play and that every margin matters.
On whether he will watch Chelsea’s game against Reading later…
No way, I am going home to spend time with my wife and my twin boys. I have been travelling a lot this week. I will watch Chelsea’s game after because we play them next and I need to watch it to prepare but, tonight, no.
1.Zinsberger; 26.Wienroither, 6.Williamson, 3.Wubben-Moy, 15.McCabe (7.Catley ‘62); 13.Walti, 10.Little(c) (12.Maanum ‘62), 11.Miedema (8.Nobbs ‘79); 9.Mead, 19.Foord (77.Heath ‘79); 25.Blackstenius (14.Parris ‘70).
Abit worried that we would be hit by a sucker punch, until the 2nd goal came.
Hope Parris can go further from here- shame she didnt get a goal to cap it off.
Was Nobbs abit too trigger happy? Good to see us taking shots, but thought she may have been too eager, unless she was instructed to?
Thought Laura W may be massive next season once she adapts fully to life.
Maybe it’s just me but I feel like Jordan is letting the burden of the next goal being her 50th WSL goal get to her a bit, like she wants it to go in just to get that monkey off her back, same with Parris
It may simply be over-eagerness related to her not playing much. Will be happy when she gets it.
Certainly Fara Williams in the commentary wanted Jordan to shoot. After it was mentioned Jordan swung her boot at everything that came near her!
Agree with you that it was probably Keets best game for Arsenal so far and probably deserved her name on the score sheet. Let’s she can push onwards from here.
Also agree that Laura is a positive acquisition although not quite on the same wavelength as her team mates yet she is young and in her first season.
tbf, not much opportunity for Jordan’s other key strength – runs from midfield.
Going back to that rushed 90 second substitution v Brum for her 250th appearance, I can’t help feeling a sense of annoyance at what is happening with Jordan.
Yesterday’s game would have been the ideal opportunity to have rotated her in from the start. Judging by the reaction of a fair number of Gooners in the crowd I am not alone with this opinion.
Jordan has given so much to the team that it is a real shame to see her on the periphery at the moment, but to be fair to Jonas I think he wants a relatively settled starting 11 so the team keep developing their cohesion and fluidity.
Also, did anyone else think Leah should have been substituted yesterday? She seemed a little groggy after miscuing a header from a corner in the second half. She was checked over and I guess she was fine to continue, but I couldn’t help but be a bit concerned.
Oh I do appreciate that Jonas’s job is to produce a team to win trophies and I certainly support that aspiration. My previous response in this thread, I accept, is driven by emotion rather than logic. If supporting a team was all about logic then I would go and watch chess being played!
I know what you mean, it’s impossible to keep emotion out of it. Logically, for example, I know that the team have had a good season, regardless of what happens in the last few games. They’re definitely progressing under Jonas and there’s no reason to think they won’t keep improving. At the same time though, I’m desperate for them to win something so they’ve got a proper reward for all their hard work!
What would you see as the main areas of progress we have made under Jonas?
Good question: The team seems not much different that it was under Monte, IMO. The Gunners comfortably win nearly all their matches against inferior opponents–save for the disastrous loss to Birmingham City that will likely cost Arsenal the league title–and struggle against top opponents. We did beat ManCity early in season, when ManCity had lots of injuries, then tied them later. Maybe a bit of progress against ManCity and Chelsea, but the team was not competitive at all against Barcelona, was dreadful in the 2nd leg against Wolfsburg. We’re a good team but a level below the best teams, which… Read more »
Obviously Jonas inherited a strong team from Joe, but I think he is developing them nicely. He likes them to press and counter-press and although this is still a work in progress there have been glimpses of how effective it can be, for example in the game against Reading at home. I remember being particularly impressed by Miedema’s pressing in that game. Speaking of Miedema, I personally am in favour of her playing as a 10 (I know others disagree). She’s equally adept at scoring and assisting/creating and I think her new role therefore gets the best out of her.… Read more »
I agree that things have improved overall, but the intensity has dropped over the past couple of months, and this was exposed in the big matches. Midfield balance is imo the issue here.
While i agree that things are in transition, the issue is that time is a luxury in women’s football. With player contracts up, the last thing you want is for next season to be another transition year because of wholesale personnel changes, esp with Euros disrupting pre-season.
If you watch how the Frauenbundesliga teams play (esp Hoffenheim), they tend to pass the ball into space, and the players are comfortable to run with the ball before releasing. I hope bringing Laura in is part of this development because at the moment we are too static in our buildup play.
We were particularly static vs Leicester that’s why we failed to put the game to bed in the first half and it’s what causes the sideways and backwards passing. When you see the top teams play, even Chelsea, once they regain possession their attacking players are moving forwards for an out ball. We tend to hold the ball, look round for a receiver by which time the opposition defence has restructured and is in position to prevent us going forward. If we can get more into the habit of leaving Stina upfield from opposition corners for example, it gives Manu… Read more »