Arsenal thrashed holders Lyon 5-1 on an unbelievable night in France. Beth Mead and Caitlin Foord each grabbed a brace while Frida Maanum scored. Jonas Eidevall spoke to the press post-match, the first two questions are from Arseblog News.
On starting Frida Maanum ahead of Vivianne Miedema…
Frida is one of our strongest runners and she carries the ball very well. We gave her a role that requires an extreme amount of running because she basically had to defend two players. She was absolutely brilliant tonight, on and off the ball. It was an excellent performance from her and she should be really proud.
GOAL FOR ARSENAL!
The Gunners take the lead over Lyon thanks to a goal from Caitlin Foord 🌟#UWCL LIVE NOW ⬇️
🇬🇧 🎙 👉 https://t.co/fZCJCq1pLe
🇫🇷 🎙 👉 https://t.co/0VIUGFNcvS pic.twitter.com/I6aXSG2HNa— DAZN Football (@DAZNFootball) October 19, 2022
On targeting the space behind the Lyon full-backs…
It has been a bit of a surprise for people who have been following Lyon since pre-season and the first couple of games this season, they have been a little bit exposed in the space behind their defensive line. But I am pleased that we did it in different ways because it’s not easy that you just play long balls into that space. We prepared with patience and good positions and drew them out and played the passes at the right time. I was really pleased with that.
🚨 SHOCK ALERT 🚨
On her first UWCL start, Frida Maanum doubles Arsenal's lead over defending champs Lyon 🔥#UWCL LIVE NOW ⬇️
🇬🇧 🎙 👉 https://t.co/fZCJCq1pLe
🇫🇷 🎙 👉 https://t.co/0VIUGFNcvS pic.twitter.com/Og5DOoSeFj— DAZN Football (@DAZNFootball) October 19, 2022
On what to make of a historic result and performance…
We were very effective tonight, I told the players tonight that they worked extremely hard at the game plan in offence and defence and when you do that, sometimes these things happen. Of course it is a special night and we understand that. We deserved to win tonight but 5-1 is unexpected but I am very happy about that. When you do the right things you don’t always get the rewards but I think this will convince us to do the right things again in the future.
WHAT A STRIKE! 🚀
A BELTER of a free kick by Beth Mead makes it 3-1 to Arsenal over Lyon 🔥#UWCL LIVE NOW ⬇️
🇬🇧 🎙 👉 https://t.co/fZCJCq1pLe
🇫🇷 🎙 👉 https://t.co/0VIUGFNcvS pic.twitter.com/9bCxGGz1YU— DAZN Football (@DAZNFootball) October 19, 2022
On how much Lyon’s injuries were a factor in the result…
On our side and their side i prefer not to talk about the players who are not playing. I can only speak on behalf of Arsenal and we put in a really strong performance, it’s the strongest performance I have seen from us. We more than played our part in making this result.
WHAT A HIT! 😮
Caitlin Foord nets her brace to extend Arsenal's lead to 4-1 over Lyon 🔴⚪️#UWCL LIVE NOW ⬇️
🇬🇧 🎙 👉 https://t.co/fZCJCq1pLe
🇫🇷 🎙 👉 https://t.co/0VIUGFNcvS pic.twitter.com/jsDL8rr7Aa— DAZN Football (@DAZNFootball) October 19, 2022
On how Arsenal can build on this result…
Of course it is very nice to be able to do that but we are not entitled to anything. Every game you play starts with your preparation and the way you train, it starts with everyone working with the game plan and having a big belief in that. You have to do that in every game, nothing comes for free in football, you are not entitled to anything.
IT'S FIVE! 🔥
Arsenal score their FIFTH goal over the defending champs Lyon on their home turf with Beth Mead netting in her brace 💫#UWCL LIVE NOW ⬇️
🇬🇧 🎙 👉 https://t.co/fZCJCq1pLe
🇫🇷 🎙 👉 https://t.co/0VIUGFNcvS pic.twitter.com/NDgi64mRlx— DAZN Football (@DAZNFootball) October 19, 2022
1.Zinsberger; 26.Wienroither, 3.Wubben-Moy, 7.Catley, 15.McCabe; 13.Walti (8.Nobbs ‘76), 10.Little(c), 12.Maanum; 9.Mead, 19.Foord (17.Hurtig ‘79); 25.Blackstenius (11.Miedema ‘80).
Unbelievable team win. POTM could have gone to any of the starting XI! Hoping for the same result in the reverse fixture in December!
A result to make rest of Europe stop and take notice! And we did it with Midemma starting on the bench. What it will do for their confidence is immeasurable.
Unbelievable team win. POTM could have gone to any of the starting XI! —-
Can not agree more… the whole team played fantastic !!
Massive massive result! Welcome to Europe’s top table.
Correct link for the second goal:
https://twitter.com/i/status/1582817217371983872
Brilliant performance from us tonight. Front 3 were absolutely wonderful today. Shame Stina didn’t get a goal herself but her hold up play was significantly better. This is the kind of performance we’ve needed in Europe for a long time. I don’t buy the Lyon injuries. You play what’s in front of you and we did. Still don’t get the Hurtig over Iwabuchi sub each time though. Hurtig has shown nothing in her displays for us so far and I still don’t know why we signed her tbh. Her getting minutes over Iwabuchi is frustrating, especially as Mana has worked… Read more »
Agree on Hurtig… maybe she’ll show out against Juve. Right now, she leaves a lot to be desired but hopefully we’re wrong!
Agreed. Iwabuchi needs to get a fair chance and now would’ve the perfect time to give her some minutes. Let’s give Hurtig more time though. For me, Blackstenius is a bigger worry. She’s just not sharp enough in front of goal, has a poor first touch and lacks pace, trickery and the ability to hold the ball up or receive with her back to goal and then link up the play. We saw that again tonight on the second goal. A brilliant opportunity that a top striker would be putting away. She also gets herself offside way too often. I… Read more »
what game did you watch? Stina is the reason we scored most of the goals. If Miedema played in the beginning the press wouldn’t have worked as well because she cant press like Stina or run behind the defense with Pace off the ball like 25. Sometimes i wonder if guys watch the 2022 matches but are stuck in 2019. You won’t find a better 9 on the market than Stina. Any striker can score goals but not all strikers can press and defend from the front which is overall better than just scoring goals in the long run. one… Read more »
The girls were awesome tonight. Just annihilated their opponent with so much ease. Mead is going to get the next BdO if she keeps going at to his rate. Well done, girls.👊🏾💪🏾👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾
What a night!!! We out played them player for player and probably could have had more. This team is special🤞🏽
Superb.
I agree with Beth in the other article – the team hasn’t changed much since last season… And yet the players are completely different. We finally look like we belong in Europe’s elite and we look like we believe that. Same goes for Jonas.
Basically we all play like Kim Little now.
Very well put i.e. all of the above. Kim herself frankly is better than Putellas, better than Hegerberg, better than Popp, better than Henry, better than Rapinoe, and has been the best player in the world for quite some time, and will be for some time to come – Little for the 2023 Ballon d’Or!
They were all stars out there tonight. But what about Laura Wienroither? I’ve never seen anyone go so quickly from “not sure why we signed her” to “one of the top defenders in Europe”.
Player of the Match contender for me. She was very impressive.
She takes a lot more chances than Maritz. Tonight they payed off.
Now *that’s* what you call talent ID!
We just did that to a team that totally dominated Barcelona in the finals. Awesome. Let’s keep going girls.
I hoped that the team would step up to the challenge, but wow! Thumping the champs on their home turf. The lack of first choose central defence partnership had made me a little concerned (accepting that Lyon too had injury issues). But what a result. So happy for the team and the whole squad. Time to believe and see what heights we can reach.
Awesome. Anything to Miedema not starting? I understand the explanation from the coach, but is there any element of preparing the side for Miedema’s expected departure at the end of the season?
Why not read the article? JE explains why he picked Maanum in the first paragraph.
Football is a funny old game!
Struggle with a 1-0 at Reading then thump Lyon away 5-1!
As I have maintained for several seasons now the squad have the talent but the psychology was missing. The team tonight showed how it should be done, 100% commitment and believe in your own ability and the results will come leading to greater confidence.
On the point of Lyon having many injuries- they still put out a worthy starting XI. And last season, bayern was decimated by Covid and injuries and still ran PSG close. So i think we should give credit where it is due.