Arsenal went out of the Women’s FA Cup on Sunday after a 2-0 defeat away at Chelsea. Jonas Eidevall spoke to the press post match, the first two questions are from Arseblog News.
On whether the story of the game was Chelsea taking their chances and Arsenal not taking theirs…
That is my story of this game, yes. If that is too simple I apologise, but that is how I see this game. It is not normal or ordinary to have so many more goal scoring opportunities than Chelsea at Kingsmeadow. I don’t expect us to come here and create more than we did, we created enough in order to win the game. But they are brutally efficient, hats off to them, we are not.
On whether there is a risk of the profligacy in front of goal becoming a mental issue…
If you are a pessimist, there is, because then you think ‘it was like this today so maybe it will carry on and you start thinking negative thoughts. Or you can think ‘next time we are going to score five goals because we are a good team. The margins were not on our side today so in the next game we are going to get that.’ That is how you look at life, it doesn’t guarantee success but if you are an optimist or a pessimist.
I am an optimist, so I don’t choose to think in that way but it’s also down to making things on the training ground like habits. It is so easy to overthink when you don’t convert your chances and you start thinking ‘ maybe i need to do something different and what if I do this when that situation happens again?’ Trust your instinct and keep on going and keep creating that on the training ground and making that environment where we can bring those things into the game next week.
On whether Chelsea were able to conserve energy during the game…
I don’t think Chelsea wanted to give away a lot of goal scoring opportunities and I can’t see that. You run more when you don’t have the ball, we had the ball more today. The data probably shows they are running more today. I was happy to see players today who did a lot of travelling and had a heavy schedule to see how sharp they looked, how well they moved. I was afraid that we would have to sub people after 60 minutes because of fatigue but I didn’t see that today. It means the players and the staff are doing a good job in preparing them.
On whether Arsenal’s defending is becoming an issue…
Before today and Manchester City we didn’t really have those individual errors. Chelsea at home was 1-1, we can defend the cross better but it was one of those goals that happens. After that, Aston Villa we get a clean sheet, Leeds was 9-0 clean sheet, West Ham didn’t have a shot on target, City at home clean sheet. City away we gave away poor goals and today, I think the second goal is a poor goal. But I don’t see it as a story of the team, we can have a lot of self confidence in the way we defend.
On the space Lauren James found to set up the first goal…
It is small margins sometimes. It starts with us pressing their goalkeeper, we jump with Caitlin and they end up going out on that side and we lose Lia Walti from the centre when Lauren James goes inside. Our balance is not great in that moment, we needed to delay better and not rush in to defend. Those things happen in football but there are things we can learn, definitely.
On how to boost Stina Blackstenius’ confidence in front of goal…
It is about creating the environment in putting players in those situations in training so they can make it a habit and not over think it. To keep on going, going, going. A lot of times players think they need to do differently but it’s just small details. I would be worried if it was players I had never seen score before, these are players that know they can score a lot of goals so it’s easier to keep that belief.
On whether there is a mental block against Chelsea…
It starts with performances, for us when I see our performances against Chelsea, we are getting closer to them. The games I saw when I prepared before i came, Chelsea were very dominant in some of those games and were very effective in the way they pressed Arsenal high. Arsenal could not impose their possession style on them. I think we see today an Arsenal side that moves the ball well and plays well out of pressure. But i am always the optimist so I am always trying to see the things we are doing better and I can see that development. I am sitting here with that feeling but we need to keep on working hard to give Chelsea an even harder match in the future.
1.Zinsberger; 26.Wienroither (16.Maritz ‘80), 6.Williamson, 2.Rafaelle, 7.Catley (21.Pelova ‘67); 13.Walti (3.Wubben-Moy ‘80), 10.Little(c), 12.Maanum; 19.Foord, 15.McCabe; 25.Blackstenius (22.Kuhl ‘80).
Blackstenius doesn’t need confidence she needs selling. Dreadful player. Slow. Cant trap a ball. Lacks focus.
Arsenal bidding for Russo indicates that we are aware of the lack of attacking quality.
The fact that Stina is caught offside 80% of the time bothers me the most. It’s weird how the coaches haven’t worked on that with her.
Arsenal bidding for Russo has probably cause a player confidence issue for Hurtig and Blackstenius. Especially the reporting by various media that a players was offered as part of the package to United. Pelova isn’t a threat, Khul isn’t a threat, Goi doesn’t get played, Foord isn’t much of a goalscorer and Blackstenius is not seeing many chances. Should we really need Russo to win games? You can’t really believe that these players just aren’t good enough. Look at the whole team, almost all of them starters for their national teams yet now our results are being put down to… Read more »
That was my first thought when I saw us going for Russo. BUT, you either choose to feel bad about yourself, or if you’re a good player, pick yourself up and try to be better.
This is why I claimed from the beginning that moving Miedema to the 10 position to accommodate Stina at at the 9 was not a good idea–even if Miedema is good/likes the 10. You need someone who can put the ball in the net. Stina cannot finish like Miedema can. Stina’s strength is in direct-ball counter-attacking when she can use her speed; otherwise, not so much. Of course with Miedema hurt this issue is moot.
a decI think Blackstenius is a decent player, but has no support and has lost her confidence, which is no wonder under this coach. Eidevall is a second rate coach and manager. He needs to think about how Blackstenius can be given better service. Foord was so dangerous, had the left back on toast, but he moved her back to the left. It would have been worth putting her alongside Blackstenius. Walti is a class player, but I don’t think she was fit. Katy McCabe is being messed about. Bring back Iwabuchi. Her treatment has been disgraceful. Time for a… Read more »
We should have gotten a striker during the transfer window, because the way i see Blackstanius, she’d do better as a wide player rather than playing her as a striker…
Or you need her as a hold up player and have runners from midfield, Maanum is perfect for that but McCabe and Foord are too wide and Little stays back with Wally to defend. It’s a midfield problem for me as Blackstenius has played this way for years and has been successful at club and country doing it. Trouble is there’s no dynamic ACM and Jonas doesn’t play 3-5-2 its always a variation of 4-3-3 and it works against weaker teams but it the same old, same old tired script that Hayes can get her team to break down. Where… Read more »
Yes, the service from midfield just isn’t there, is it?
It’s really not, and this is where I say Miedema is really missed because not even Kim Little has been able to step up and control the play the way Viv can when she drops into the 10 position. I like Maanum but she’s not the same level as threat and no one else in the time has been able to fill the void. I really thought bringing Gio back from Everton we would have seen her in there running the ball but alas she’s hardly getting any minutes under Jonas.
Viv at 10 might help but it’s not like Stina was scoring goals when Miedema was playing as ACM; she wasn’t. She hasn’t.
Arsenal had 20 shots today. 11 on target. There was no issue breaking Chelsea down, the issue was poor finishing.
But why lean on logic Tim when they can copy and paste the same moaning from last game. …it’s getting really old.
There are other ways to support the club other than bashing both Coach & Players…no ?
Have to admire Emma Hayes insisting Chelsea were ‘comfortable’, giving away nearly 60% possession, being limited to just over a handful of attempts on goal, and sitting back deep for most of the second half. As at the Emirates, the result was largely due, as you say, to poor finishing by Arsenal.
Given our goalscoring record I was hoping we would keep it 0-0 at least – if you can’t score goals you can still win Cup competitions on penalties if you have a good defense. After having the best defensive record in the WSL our defensive stats are moving in the wrong direction unfortunately.
She isn’t even a holdup player. She’s terrible.
She had one great season in Sweden where she averaged a goal a game but apart from that at all her other clubs and for Sweden she’s close to a goal every other game. That just the type of player she is and she had that stat last season for us. This season she 1 in three games. Jonas had his eyes wide open about the type of player Stina is so he couldn’t have expected her to suddenly become a 20 goals a season player in a tougher league than the Damallsvenskan. I really don’t know why fans are… Read more »
She’s just not good enough for a team like Arsenal.
We need a world Class striker and Blackstenius is not one.
Oh god, the ‘small marigins’ excuse again…
It’s not a defensive issue that’s the problem! We kept a very good team down to 3 or 4 chances and we had a similar number. Difference is Chelsea are converting theirs! To be fair Jonas is well aware we are a genuine striker short as he publicly announced during the transfer window but a coaches job should not just be giving marks out of 10 for possession when it’s blindingly obvious that our most likely chance was a long ball over the top as missed early in the game by Stina. Shooting at Berger from 30 yards out is… Read more »
I like this. Go out with all guns blazing!
I’m a big fan of Kim Little. But I don’t why she keeps on passing backwards instead being more progressive. Rafa is also guilty of making two many passes to Zinsberger. A case in point is Chelsea’s second goal. It’s quite painful with all the support these ladies are getting from the club and the fans, things seem to be regressing. Man City lost so many players in the summer but look how Taylor is doing now. Jonas seems to believe in Blackstenius when in reality she’s more of a starter at clubs like Brighton rather than Arsenal. We should… Read more »
Not enough movement ahead of them?
It’s more a question of patience and something we’ve done more in UWCL games which has seen a big improvement. You need patience and sometimes you need to draw teams onto you, draw them forwards and then pass through them quickly. We did that really well a few times today but, no doubt, we did it badly in the build up to the second goal.
We lost 2-0. Patience only goes so far when the ball is being passed about at the back. Nowhere near enough attacking transitions in this game. Not enough (or much at all) high pressing their backline. AKB is not a great gk she always wants to palm the ball, almost never catches the ball clean yet hardly any pressure on her all game. Pelova, Gio, Khul should have started and just been instructed to chase down and pressure the ball holder until they needed subbed off.
Excuses are just that Tim. We lost the game.
I get really bored of people griping about ‘EXCUSES!’ Football is not like this, you have strategies and approaches and the game is so dynamic, it’s not about ‘EXCUSES!’ Patience pays in big games, but so does execution. I said pretty clearly in that post that the idea was right but the execution was poor, idk how on earth you read that and say it’s an excuse?! Like, in what world is ‘the execution was poor’ an ‘excuse’??? Chelsea were also very patient in the way they built, their first goal is the absolute gold standard example of a patient… Read more »
To look at a game properly you have to take your priors out of it. i agree AKB is not great on the ball but the whole reason we concede the fist goal comes from us pressing her, she gets the pass off and two key players are pulled out of position as a result. It’s more logical to say we lost the game *because* of the very thing you’re suggesting Arsenal should have done. That’s not an *excuse* that’s just what happened.
Tim. I liked your tactical piece on this the other day & agree in general. But attack seemed extremely left wing biased in that game & today. Very little down the right until Foord switched & not many balls over the top. Just seems a bit laboured and predictable at times
Yes this goes back to what I asked Jonas about on Friday. Mead played pretty much every game on the RW in the last five years, they’re still figuring out what to do without her on that side.
If only Parris was still at the club…
Nikita Parris is not going to replace Mead, Beth is the real Ballon dOr for a lot of people, Diani or Cascarino can replace Mead. The team is rediscovering themself; we don’t know when or how Beth is going to comeback after the injured, same with Viv, the game was planned and played around both since Montemurro, since DVD and Jill leave, we don’t have the same strength in the midfield. Stop blaming Blackstenius, look Sam Kerr performance with Chelsea, she’s focused and confident on goalscoring out of the structure of midfield, not in national team, where she’s playing a… Read more »
Replacing Beth ain’t easy, that’s for sure. I thought Laura and Katie had really started to click in the Villa game, so I was a bit disappointed we didn’t get a bit more of that today
I accidentally posted this comment under the previous article so I am going to attempt to repost here to the extent that I can remember what I said. So sorry if you see this twice! We could have won that game 4-3. They weren’t tearing us apart, they were just a lot more efficient. We seem to have reverted to the weaknesses we had under Montemurro – low intensity, passive, one-paced – and the weakness of JE’s style – not taking care of the ball. Without the positive aspects of either style. Frida Maanum is taking/has been given too much… Read more »
A frustrating day. Chelsea were much quicker at making the transition from defence to attack. We do seem to hesitate when we get near the halfway line. And then too many of our through passes were inaccurate. If you don’t get the ball to attackers when they’re in the penalty area, you are reduced to making too many long-range shots. I can’t let myself think it’s all hopeless. Caitlin gave both fullbacks a hard time (and I have to mention the inconsistency of yellow cards: Maritz and Charles). Reiten got very little change out of Laura. Kim and Lia did… Read more »
This guy needs to go. Wont win anything with Jonas in charge.
Absolutely spot on, he has taken Arsenal Women backwards significantly in a relatively small space of time. Poor style and coaching, tactics poor, average players brought in. It’s like watching the Swedish ladies national team ala watching paint dry. As long as he remains as coach we are winning nothing and going nowhere. Hope the club hierachy wakes up soon. Arsenal Women’s place in the game as one of the top teams in world football is eroding under him.
I preferred Joes style of play to what we saw today. Jonas said when he joined that he wanted the team pressing high all game, talked about starting and finishing teams but what have we seen since last winter? He doesn’t seem to want to use subs, there’s no constant pressing for the ball and if it’s not give the ball to Leah for a pass it’s down the wings and none of that matters when no one can score
So, how many games have you watched the swedish national team??
At the moment he certainly seems more Emery than Arteta.
Benitez for me. Eighteen months and over 10 new players later he still hasn’t a team HE trusts. Not sure how players feel in such an environment. In any case he got until end of season to prove that Lyon game wasn’t a fluke. Arsenal women is different beast to the mens team, two seasons without trophies and out of champions league just won’t cut it. Let’s hope for the best.
Absolutely agree on squad management- dont think the players were too impressed with how nobbs and iwabuchi were treated.
The issue is not Blackstenius or our defence. It’s the coach. He’s too average for a team like Arsenal. Clueless, tactless and effortless. The team is saturated with potential star performers but he’s got neither a gameplan nor a plan B.
We need a coach pronto.
We need a coach that can inspire this wonderful team to stardom and Jonas ain’t it. Too lucklustre for women to feel any motivation.
Yes. These players are top quality national team players. This is the best squad Arsenal have had in years yet the ‘misfit’ 18/19 team that really struggled with player injuries are the ones that last won this club a league title. They fought to the last seconds in every game that season for every point they could get from a game. I miss that. I miss the team fought for every challenge and every ball. Joe didn’t get the money or the club backing like Jonas does and yet he had two trophies to his time in charge yet two… Read more »
That comment hasn’t aged very well.
When Mead and Miedema are on the pitch, they can give the opposing defence something to think about, which gives others that little extra time and space. But without them, they can mark our other attacking players out of the game.
As horrible as it is to say it about a player (and lve felt this for some time) Stina is just not good enough. The only time she’s played well is either when Viv is behind her or we are already 3 or 4 nil up. Circumstances dictate and unfortunately we will not win anything this season and we’ll just fall futher behind chelski, city and even now the mancs !! 😡
😡
Send Jonas packing and appoint Little as player-coach for the remainder of the season. Am willing to bet she would outform him in the remaining games.
That’s a very interesting idea
The Gunners were a bit unlucky but also lacked cutting edge. Stina missed a good scoring chance in the first half, and then, later, her centering pass to Maanum, which should have been a goal, had a touch too much pace and the midfielder missed getting her foot on it. Frustrating. Then in the second half a deflection in front of the Chelsea goal hit their keeper in the head–that ball, with a bit o’ luck, could have gone in. McCabe seems to always shoot the ball high; I think hitting the ball low and hard to the far post,… Read more »
As everyone else I’ve been frustrated by Blackstenius lack of scoring, she just isn’t a natural goalscorer. But then I watched one of our games against Zurich and for one of the goals Stina runs on the right and assists Caitlin Foord who scores. Before sacking Blackstenius I say we should try her on the right wing doing assists, not as good of a one-on-one player as Mead of course, but still. We need someone there. The question is though who should be in the box tapping those crosses into the net…