Arsenal were 2-0 victors over Liverpool on Wednesday night in the WSL thanks to goals from Stina Blackstenius and Caitlin Foord. Jonas Eidevall spoke to the press post match. The first three questions are from Arseblog News.
On whether the connection is beginning to reappear in the forward line after some tough weeks in front of goal earlier this year…
Yes, it wasn’t the same front four as Sunday because Victoria (Pelova) starts today. Sometimes it depends on how the opponent presses but sometimes you can see it’s very similar today to the Chelsea game is that we get players facing forward in front of the opponent’s defending line. While we were getting a lot out of those situations against Chelsea on Sunday, I think we created almost twice as many of those situations tonight and that is where we need to be critical and say we need to create more because they are good situations we got into. But we created enough to win the game but we need to look for the next step.
On how Liverpool’s half-time triple substitution changed the pattern of the second half…
They did a triple sub at half-time and changed to a back three and they went player for player in their pressing. That takes a little bit of time to settle into and we are also killing their rhythm by making lots of substitutions in the second half. But it’s important for us to invest in the squad in these games. With the talented young players we have brought in it is important for them to get game time in game states that are still a bit nervy. That is when you can show trust when you put them on. We managed that. In the end we found some really good solutions playing out of their pressure and it shows the adaptability this team is getting, that we can handle different formations. In the end we changed to a back three and that made us see out the game really well. We were not defending low but defending higher up playing out from the back.
A beautiful touch and finish from Blackstenius 👏#BarclaysWSL @ArsenalWFC pic.twitter.com/w06K9ayeoA
— Barclays Women's Super League (@BarclaysWSL) March 8, 2023
On Steph Catley’s injury (she was on crutches and in a boot at the game tonight)…
It’s a non-contact foot injury. We need to assess it further, she is definitely out for Reading but we have to see after that.
She's red, she's white, it's very cold tonight 🥶@CaitlinFoord heads it home for @ArsenalWFC!#BarclaysWSL pic.twitter.com/Mt7uVKvIyO
— Barclays Women's Super League (@BarclaysWSL) March 8, 2023
On the performance of Victoria Pelova…
She is a versatile player, we are very happy to have her here. She showed today she can play as a wide forward, she can play as a six, as she did in the second half. When we have a squad with numbers like we have now, it is important to us that she is already at such a high level that she is ready to come in and step up and take important roles for the team. We are delighted for her.
On preparing for Reading on Sunday…
It is one game at a time and no game is going to be easy. That’s why we need to be relentless in being focused, prepared and doing our very best.
1.Zinsberger; 26.Wienroither (16.Maritz ‘68), 6.Williamson (3.Wubben-Moy 60), 2.Rafaelle, 15.McCabe; 13.Walti (22.Kuhl ‘60), 10.Little(c), 12.Maanum; 21.Pelova, 19.Foord (20.Gio ‘68); 25.Blackstenius (5.Beattie ‘82).
Pretty good performance from what I could see on the live stream (some training needed in lens-wiping there). We seemed to lose some control when Leah & Lia went off, and the back line dropped a bit, but Liverpool never really looked like scoring (from what I could see…).
solid 3 points in tricky conditions. Would have been easy to lose focus after the high of winning the Cup on Sunday.
Exactly – not only because we were coming down from Sunday, but playing in the freezing cold, heavy rain, and knowing that there was doubt about the game even going ahead at lunchtime…
Well done, girls. Three points in the bag.
I’m devastated about Steph Catley’s injury. Thank goodness we have Katie McCabe but it’s still a blow. Steph has been stellar.
Very true that we are still too wasteful, but at least we are scoring *some* goals. For a “downer” game, this was OK. We’ll do even better on Sunday, I’m sure.
I was there, it was bloody cold. The girls played well all things considered 😊💪
Cold and wet. Looked miserable
Good result given the conditions. Nice to see the youngsters get time.
Thought Pelova grew into the game, and nice to see her in the middle. Could be an option there.
Kühl in the brief cameo shows what the hype is about. Pure talent and intelligence.
I wonder if Gio could thrive down the left like Foord, given her dribbling.
Maanum btw is just turning out to be a sumptuous player. Such a strong dribbler. Next step is to optimise her decision-making (when to pass and when to shoot).