Jonas Eidevall will take charge of his 100th Arsenal match this weekend away at Liverpool. The Arsenal boss reflected on some of the most memorable moments of his tenure in his pre-Liverpool press conference, pinpointing last season’s Champions League semi-final defeat to Wolfsburg, for good and bad reasons, in particular.
Asked what his biggest memories are, Eidevall responded, ‘There are a few we have achieved together. I think it was special to go to Lyon and win 5-1 when they were the reigning European champions. It was special to win a trophy and beating Chelsea in the Conti Cup Final.
‘It was special going to the Champions League semi-final with the team and going so close to reaching the final with so many injuries and taking Wolfsburg to extra time and so close to a penalty shootout.’
An injury hit Arsenal came back from two goals down to draw the first leg 2-2 in Saxony before succumbing to a 3-2 extra time defeat in the dying moments of the match in front of a sold out Emirates Stadium.
‘That is probably my most memorable moment for good and bad reasons. I was so proud to see the team there and performing so well despite all the difficulties and sharing that moment with a packed Emirates Stadium, that was special.
‘That is the sunny part of that memory but you have the dark side of going so close to going to penalties and then losing everything in the last seconds and not being able to repair that, that is going to stick but that is what football teaches you and you will have both good and bad memories and sometimes they are combined into one.’
Arsenal Women have seen an explosion in interest and attendances during Eidevall’s time at the club, with several record breaking attendances, both home and away. The Swede, who was appointed in the summer of 2021, says the growth in support is a big part of what the club are trying to build for the future.
‘I think one of the things that makes us unique is our supporters. How they fill the Emirates, how they travel in numbers. On Wednesday we go to Reading and all I see is red and white and all I hear is Gooners.
‘It is incredible, how it looked two and a half years ago and where we are now, there has been incredible movement. It’s such a huge part of what we are trying to build here.
‘Let’s hope this is only the beginning and it should do that. Once a snowball starts rolling it goes faster and faster and picks up more snow so hopefully we are building something big.’
Yes, Wolfsburg was a bittersweet highlight, that’s for sure.
Congratulations to JE on this milestone. I must say, it feels like longer than 100 games ago that he took charge.