Arsenal were beaten 3-1 by Chelsea at Stamford Bridge in the WSL on Friday night. Kim Little scored a late consolation as the Gunners found themselves 3-0 down at half-time. Jonas Eidevall spoke to the press post-match, the first two questions are from Arseblog News.
On why Arsenal looked so disorganised out of possession…
I agree with you, it is one of the things i am most disappointed about in our performance, how much we allow Chelsea to play within our organisation. Of course that is their plan when they play Lauren James as a 9, to drop with her to be able to get her turning with the ball and dictating play and she is very, very good at that. I think we deal with that very, very poorly, especially in the first half. That is a big part of us not performing well enough to achieve the result we want. Then to ask ‘why is that?’ It is always the coach, it is always the coach that needs to prepare that better.
On Chelsea playing with greater intensity than Arsenal…
They clearly set out to be very compact with a 442, they want to win the ball in midfield and counter attack from there. It is a very clear strategy, what you can’t do against a team who does that is turn the ball over in midfield. Because when you turn the ball over in midfield, they have two forwards and two wingers to deal with and naturally you will be more expansive. That is the one moment you cannot turn over the ball and in the first half, we keep doing that, turning the ball over in those situations. They have a lot of players facing forwards and they are ruthless with the opportunities they have. I do think when you look back at the first half they almost score with all opportunities, they are very effective with that and we are poor at dealing with it. To turn over the ball that many times and to be that poor in our defensive organisation then we cannot expect to win the game.
On whether Arsenal’s title hopes are finished…
This game has been taking 100% of my focus before, during and now after. The league table has not been, that is not where my energy goes.
On what happened with the Arsenal socks which caused a delay to kickoff…
It was a clash in the colour of the socks and it came to our attention very, very late. We go out and we get told we cannot go out with the kit we have and we have to adapt. I think this is a first and we had to make the best of the situation. But i need to be very clear that it was the same for both teams and i will not make any excuses, that would be ridiculous. It is the same for both teams. I was not involved in the process of revolving, other people do that. Eventually we got kit that enabled the game to go ahead.
On whether he thought there was a foul in the build up to the first goal…
Margins sometimes, yes but I will also be very clear, the referee had no part in why we didn’t win or lose this match. It was down to our performance, turning the ball over too many times in transitions and being too weak in our defensive organisation. It had nothing to do with the referee or the game starting late, we take full accountability for the performance.
On how late they found out kickoff was delayed…
It was when we were going out from the dressing room that we were told. It is what it is and we had to adapt and it was the same for both teams.
On the game mirroring the reverse fixture at the Emirates…
I can see that point. A home crowd can create momentum when you score a goal, they capitalise on that momentum in the first half and they did that well. I said before the game that the performance Chelsea had at the Emirates really hurt them because that is not the side they see themselves as. If there was one thing absolutely given today it was that they were going to come out and, from an effort level and a physical level, trying to prove that performance in December was wrong. We were prepared for that but we didn’t deal with that well enough. That created a lot of those moments and when you lose the ball in the wrong moments, and Chelsea did that in the December game, that is the similarity. You always look very slow in those moments because you don’t anticipate. Their first step is in the right direction. I am disappointed we didn’t deal with that.
1.Zinsberger; 15.McCabe, 6.Williamson, 3.Wubben-Moy, 7.Catley (2.Fox HT); 21.Pelova (12.Maanum HT), 13.Walti (32.Cooney-Cross ‘71); 9.Mead, 10.Little(c), 19.Foord (24.Lacasse ‘56); 25.Blackstenius (23.Russo HT).
Unused: 14.D’Angelo, 27.Codina, 62.Reid, 86.Bouhaddi.
Fighting for Conti Cup and top 3 then like last season albeit with no Champions League semifinal and no injury crisis this time….
Jonas should quit honourably
Incredibly poor performance. This should not be happening after 3 seasons in charge. You know you’re in for a long night when an experienced player like Walti already looked out of sorts less than 5mins into the game. Too many of their chances came from our left hand side. Walti, Foord, and Catley were incredibly poor. Catley, especially, has been on a rapid decline all season long and her positioning in this game was laughable. She’s always been defensively suspect. It has just gotten worse. Whatever is happening with Foord, she needs to sit on the bench for a run… Read more »
Where was Mead and McCabe. They both were missing all game. Swap Blackstenius and Russo they are basically the same player so there’s no difference in the performance when he subs one off for the other. What do we have to offer beyond them? Is that it, two players are our whole attacking focus? That’s crazy from Jonas. Crazy.
I don’t think it is fair to pick on individuals tonight they were all poor. This game to me highlighted all of Arsenal’s trouble in putting together a winning run. Watch how Chelsea played. Where ever they were on the pitch, receive the ball and pass it immediately then move position. Next player does the same. What we do is receive the ball, stop and look up, move forwards a yard, stop and look up again, and play it sideways. Then it comes back again so this time we play it into the feet of a player with her back… Read more »
I mentioned there was no point picking on individual players in my comment but still think some have been poorer than others over the course of the entire season. Catley, Foord, and Manu have had subpar seasons so far and I really think we’ve outgrown them in all honesty. I agree with you on how ponderously slow our football seems. You’d think we are the only big team that comes up against low blocks in the league the way Jonas goes on about it. Same with aggressive pressing as shown by Chelsea yesterday night. We suddenly forget how to pass… Read more »
Yup. Every word.
Couldn’t agree with you more on the second paragraph. Just really surprising how poor she has been / continues to be. I can only imagine Eidevall didn’t start Katie there and Fox at right back because Fox only got back on Tuesday / Wednesday. But that’s where the agreement ends. By getting a new coach you are basically ripping it up and starting things again, especially with Cortes who plays a completely different style to the way we’ve been playing and would mean another 2 or 3 years of transitioning just when Chelsea and Utd are getting new ones. Now… Read more »
‘Don’t expect too many Chelsea fans were calling for Hayes head after the 4-1.’
Oh man…..
Because they were top of the table and didn’t lose to West Ham, Spurs and Liverpool. And also, she won 4 WSL in a row and I don’t like Hayes.
Tell me what has Jonas achieved in the last 3 years with all these players at his disposal?
Yeah, that was my point ! I wasn’t agreeing with the poster who said it !
Conti Cup win and getting to the Champions League semi-final for the first time in god knows how long despite having two world class attackers?!
Why would they after the amount of trophies she’s brought to that lot.
The call for the managers head is due a very clear lack of progression despite an incredible squad.
Can’t believe you referenced Hayes after the 4-1defeat when it was an outlier. She’s a serial winner who keeps winning every season. Of course no sensible fan is calling for her head after that defeat and she probed why. She always learns. Lost to City at home? Went to theirs and beat them. Lost 4-1 to us? Trounced us back at Stamford Bridge. What learning does Eidevall show exactly? He’s always telling the media we have to learn from everything but the application is never there. We still face the same headache with low blocks as we did all season… Read more »
Outlier, we battered them the previous season 3-1 in the Conti Cup Final and should have beaten them comfortably in the Emirates game last season – you just seem to conveniently forget / discount that and then there is the CL run. And if you are meaning this season, Man Utd at home who were also battered by us. But no doubt they are too rubbish this season for you to count that. You are just being unrealistic about how long it takes to integrate a lot of new players at once especially with no pre-season and playing far fewer… Read more »
You can repeat all our results against Chelsea all you want and do a lot of coulda woulda shoulda but facts are facts. Chelsea are not the only team we face in the league. We’ve also regressed when facing teams that are not City, United, or Chelsea. This was our first loss in the league against our big rivals but we already lost 3 times to Liverpool, Spurs, and West Ham. You keep yapping about time but next season will be his fourth full season in charge. To give someone time, they need to show you actual progress. What’s the… Read more »
I have never been wanting any Arsenal Manager out, i was close with Arsene, it was time for a change, but i am close to voting for this fella to go. Is our ladies squad the most expensive in the world ever? a) in transfer fees and b) in salary? I suspect Yes. And, as mentioned, after 3 years …. i appreciate it is not pc or woke or whatever, but a big money signing getting pregnant, come on ….
I never ever wanted Arsene out, l knew he would leave us at the right time. I never wanted Jonas out but now l can’t see any alternative. But who we could get who is good enough is a big, big problem. I totally agree with you about a player getting pregnant, not good at all!
Gosh, gunnosaurus isn’t the only dino at arsenal for sure. It’s not about being woke or pc, it’s about appreciating that players are humans not slaves you own…?
The whole starting line up against Chelsea have been at the club for at least two years.
What integration are you talking about? The fact is Jonas got all these players but doesn’t know how to use them.
Arsenal haven’t played that poorly vs Chelsea since the 2020 (December) Cup Final which I went. A lot of players off the pace. Having gone to the game it was interesting to note how they promoted the game in the build up against how Arsenal do it and as one expects from Chelsea a complete lack of class. They are over a year behind the times in that they still promote the game as a “nice family evening out” with a DJ rather than a football game. When you go to the Emirates it seems much more of this is… Read more »
Why did we decide to play in red and white anyway? Back in my day Arsenal always played in red and white unless they were the away team and the colours clashed with the home team and then they played in yellow shirts and blue shorts. Now they seem to change strip even if it is unnecessary to the point where they need an “alternative” third kit in case the away one clashes with who they are playing. I understand it is a money earner for the kit manufacturer and indirectly the club but if they had been wearing the… Read more »
Arsenal have always worn the Red/White kit home and away versus Chelsea whether it’s the men, youth teams or Women.
“The league table has not been, that is not where my energy goes.” Good news then, no need to focus on that in the future as well, as I can already predict the end of the season league table: We will finish third. Bad news, however: We’d probably also finish third if in the remaining games we were coached by a Tesco cashier from Dagenham or the gorilla from the London zoo. So with the apparent lack of regard for our league position, it begs the question if we need a professional coach for the rest of the season at… Read more »
I’ve given up on Arsenal Women and Eidevall, a gutless coach and a team becoming more gutless by the week. Every time I decide to watch a game they’re pathetic, and it’s all too boring. Carry on like this and they won’t be filling up the Emirates much longer. Eidevall should go, he’s making the team worse instead of better. The kit thing is a major embarrassment, a really amateur error.
Agree totally, awful coach. Talks a good game but at the highest level he is far far from what we need. His position never seems to be under threat or under pressure or even questioned from the club and sporting media. Has had an “easy ride” as Arsenal Womens’ coach and will continue to do so. Look at this interview tonight as a case in point, it’s all so supposedly “reasoned” and “rational”. This coverage here and continued interview techniques with regard to him enable him to avoid any criticism or pressure whatsoever. It is actually becoming patrionising in terms… Read more »
My questions were ‘why did Arsenal look so disorganised?’ And ‘why did Chelsea play with greater intensity than Arsenal?’ You continually jibe at the questions but I’m now convinced you don’t actually read them at all. Those are not soft, patsy questions and it’s becoming very irritating that every time there’s a bad result you come here and point fingers at us for it. Like I said though, I no longer think you read them which makes it even weirder that you put so much r energy into blaming this website for poor results.
Well said, Tim and I second PST’s comments. Being a fan and reporting on Arsenal is a tough balancing act and I think you do it well.
I’m not your personal punchbag when Arsenal don’t play well and I’ve completely had enough of you turning up here, not reading the questions and barracking me on the same point over and over. If you have something constructive to say about me or the coverage that’s fine, but this is no longer constructive. It’s about you just lashing out at me and I’m fed up with it.
As a blogger and having access to the team. Why are you not interviewing people like Clare Wheatley to get their perspective on what’s going on? These are the people rewarding failure at the club by unnecessary renewing contracts without looking at the bigger picture.
It also seems as they’re more interested in marketing and how many tickets are sold than the teams performance.
Nobody interviews Claire Wheatley, nobody has that access. It’s not like it slipped my mind, if I could get an interview with CW I would on a second. It’s a very big compliment to this site that you expect that from an independent site that provides this level of coverage totally free of charge and on a site that doesn’t even carry external advertising. I can tell you precisely how many club correspondents there are providing this level of coverage in the WSL too, you only need one finger to count them my friend.
I even got him to say this was his fault, the thing you whinge about endlessly- I got him to say it. I asked whether this was a game plan failure or an execution failure and he said it was down to him. If you’d read the transcript rather than turning up and having a pop at my professionalism, you’d know that.
Well done Tim. It is obvious that there is a small minority that come on here just to complain about anything and everything and do not even give you the courtesy of reading your text before blasting their frustration. It’s not like it’s your fault the team failed to turn up for the game and you did your best to extract an explanation when everyone you could speak with were obviously deflated. This blog and your pieces on the women in particular are far superior to the official club site and any other media coverage so please keep up the… Read more »
Best soccer blog in Europe or the U.S. that I’ve seen.
Fair enough. I accept your points and will address my narrative. I would not want to question your professionalism and have never set out to do that, so apologies for that. I appreciate your writing on Arseblog greatly and have always enjoyed reading your quality articles/pieces over the past years – so much so I often share them with fellow gooners who do not follow the site. I think as this is perhaps the only site that covers every aspect of our club, including detailed analysis and reports on the women’s side, I have let my frustrations with regard to… Read more »
I don’t think the questions in the interviews are the problem, Tim basically gets Eidevall to admit the problems every time. The huge issue for me is that Eidevall is very good at identifying the problems after the event but absolutely useless at stopping them happening again. Nobody at the club seems interested in holding him to account for being incompetent at his job. Arsenal Women are stagnating on the pitch, and all the effort the club has put in supporting them and financing them will be completely wasted if Eidevall continues the way he is. He’s wasting our players… Read more »
Jonas is a good analyst and he can see exactly what the problems are as he reveals game after game. Unfortunately for him, the management job requires that you find solutions to the problems and not just be able to identify them!
Would make a great analyst in a backroom staff but perhaps he needs to work under a manager that can get the players to “run through brick walls” for them.
Yes I think that’s a completely fine position to take. I’m not here to moderate people’s opinions on the manager, I just get pretty annoyed when people continually implicate me personally and question my professionalism to a degree that I find unacceptable. I’m open to criticism but this is just badgering. If people have issues with the manager and the answers that’s totally understandable and exactly what this comments section is for.
I’m sorry but being 3:0 down after 32 minutes in the most important game of the season is just pathetic. One of the worst perfornances I’ve seen from Arsenal Women. It’s really concerning that we’re turning into a ”Conti cup” club. No CL meant we could focus on the league but we looked far from focused on anything this season. With Eidevall in charge I cannot see us being different next season.
This team are bottlers and don’t think that manager helps, well he’s all mouth! all that talent and they duck out of it
Most talented squad we’ve ever had at Arsenal and they looked like they’d rather be anywhere else than facing Chelsea. Pathetic. Jonas makes weak excuses, small margins being his go to, and then we celebrate like champions beating London City! It’s the culture and expectation of the team that filters through from Jonas to the players. Look at Jordan at Villa, that’s a player we needed in the midfield yesterday but she was frozen out by Jonas as ‘not his type of player’ well his type is Russo and Blackstenius neither are lighting up in front of goal, and Bunny… Read more »
Totally agree about Jordan
Neither the result or the performance needed, if the game boiled down to just a couple of deflected shots that went in then you can shrug your shoulders and say bad luck but when the performance is so bad and the game is gone after half an hour you have to question the setup. That sits with Jonas, I wonder what were they doing all week in training and meetings, it comes across that he was surprised at how Chelsea setup with their tactics standing pitchside bemused how it’s all gone wrong after only 32 minutes, his title charge in… Read more »
And I heard someone saying we don’t need Hemp because we got Foord. And that just sums up how some of us think.
I’d take Hemp over Foord any day and now Chloe Kelly has fulfilled her development loan term can we have her back too!
I’d love Chloe back, the way she hits the ball is phenomenal
I’d prefer Hemp over Foord
Not sure if my commentary here in Norway was the same as Sky back home but at one point it was said that Buchanan fancies herself against Kim Little!
I had to laugh but that wasn’t the only physical battle we lost all of our players were just bouncing off The Chelsea Monsters. It wasn’t until Emily Fox and Cloe Lacasse came on and started putting themselves about a bit in true North American style it looked like we had anyone to match up to the brutes.
Pelova is the future I think, but….she really wasn’t last night (worst game in ages). Midfield isn’t the issue for me upgrade wise though. Foord is decent, but she needs competition & a rest occasionally. Manu isn’t a title winning goalie… I like her, she’s not terrible, but……we need an upgrade! The obvious thing though is the inconsistency of performance & that’s down to the management ultimately. I’ve given Jonas loads of slack because of ALL the injuries last season & trying to rehabilitate this season…. but, I just don’t believe in his vision/plan anymore (& I’m starting to think… Read more »
How many would be surprised if at the end of next season would see Gio, Foord, Miedema, D’Angelo, Hurtig, Walti, Catley and Little moved on.
Contracts recently signed or not.
He should react by moving on.
Arsenal Ladies are going nowhere under him.
I don’t understand how we can be so good in the reverse fixture, thrashing them 4:1 and so bad in this one. But then again this also applies to the Chelsea team, so good in this fixture but so bad at the Emirates. The ladies are clearly capable of walloping them so why didn’t they? is it a psychological thing? Does their mental strength go south when away from home at the biggest matches? Incidentally, I do think we need a new manager now as we haven’t progressed any Jonas sadly. I am not going to slag him off or… Read more »
It is always a psychological thing. It is a significant part of what turns a good player into a winner. You do have to question the statement from Jonas regarding not looking at the table when his job is to make sure we are at the top of it! If he had taken the trouble to look he would have known how important this game was. In an odd way because we beat them comfortably at the Emirates I wonder if there was some complacency there and by the time anyone had twigged that things were different this time we… Read more »
That really is a worry. You highlight what has been our biggest problem this season: we cross the halfway line and then move slowly or sideways with no decisive progress into the penalty area. Chelsea did the complete opposite and, add in the worst performance I’ve seen from Leah in five years, we’re three down in 32 minutes.
I don’t think it’s psychological in terms of big matches at all. We just don’t look a very well coached side. Even in many games we have won this season against poorer sides (I.e. not ‘big’ matches) have been average/poor.
Chelsea & Man United at home. 2 really good performances jn the league all season. Just not good enough at all.
Not good enough by the manager of a team that player for player, pretty much has the best squad in the WSL.
You can’t help feeling that a better manager would achieve more and release the potential from these incredible players.
What you say might be true but the players nevers turned up. No manager can legislate for a team that does not turn up in the mood to play as instructed. It is not the first time ever or this season and it will not be the last.
A player can have an off day but all of them on the same day? Even the substitutes could not rouse the team. Something more than socks was seriously wrong with that game. Have the players had enough of being coached as they are?
When it’s not the first time they haven’t turned up you can indeed blame the manager.
Socks were not all they left behind!
I could not watch the match because I don’t do SKY, but really?
One question from what I gathered: Why does McCabe have to take free kicks, not one was worthy of the name?
A new day, but it doesn’t feel any better. There was something psychologically wrong from the start or, more likely even before they arrived. I’m now feeling a shake-up is needed. We’re paying Sarah Bouhaddi’s wages, so let’s use her. Start Stina and Lessi together. Rest Beth and Leah for Cloé and Laia. 90 minutes for KCC. “See Emily Play”. Pray that Vic’s performance last night was a one-off. I’m now going to walk along Broadstairs beach, hoping the sea air blows away some of the gloom!
55 what are you suggesting with the Pink Floyd reference? Some wacky baccy before the game?
I think so 😯😁
I felt quietly confident before the match – we played so well in the reverse fixture and clearly know how to pick Chelsea apart. However, 5 minutes into the match and we looked off the mark and that confidence disappeared very quickly. It was a summation of our struggles from this season: slow in possession, not enough progressive passing, very static play, and not enough creativity in attack, then no conviction when we have the chance. This match shows how heavily we rely on that strong midfield protecting the defence and when we lose that, we lose control of the… Read more »
Jonas Eidevall’s management stint is basically summed up as “failure to launch”. He’s got to go now, as has that set piece coach. We don’t have time, the players don’t have time to let JE sort himself out. Other posters have talked about information overload, I suspect inability to communicate what he wants, but I no longer care what the reason is. He’s not good enough to coach Arsenal Women. I’ve got nothing to add to what’s been said in criticism of the match performance – that this was bad, no excuses – but it would have been bearable and… Read more »
Blimey! That coming from you FG! Someone else said that certain players are too comfortable in the squad which is also true. It doesn’t matter how poorly they perform they get selected for the next game regardless. For all of her faults, and Emma Hayes has a few, she has been ruthless enough to do what is best for her team and the players have been rewarded by the team being successful. We appear to have half a squad that signed contract extensions mid-way through their existing contracts and feel they have done enough and just go through the motions… Read more »
I was very emotional, I’ve calmed down a bit now!
🙂
But having said that, I don’t resile from my conclusions.
And there *is* complacency in the club, I often feel – too much consciousness of our illustrious history. Efforts are being made to combat it, but it is our besetting sin. Complacency in the squad could be addressed by a new head coach but I think the club might have to go outside its comfort zone to find the right person, maybe someone who isn’t Arsenal through and through, isn’t a fan of the club, someone who grates with them a bit.
Yes we were great mainly because despite being amateur under Vic Akers we were run like a professional outfit. None of the other teams were. Now the opposition are professional with good facilities too so we cannot any longer stroll along the corridor at the training ground amiring our history and believing that’s where we belong without putting in the effort that our competitors are having to do.
Thank you Fun Gunner, I’ve learned a new word today, ‘resile’.
The team may be uninspiring but at least you and some of the other posters make up for it with interesting posts!
👍 Happy to be of service!
All those people who call for the manager to be sacked after a defeat or three but NONE of them put down who they suggest as a replacement. Before Jonas took over I had hoped that Casey Stoney would be asked but am not sure she was. There are maybe one or two ex players but no more than that and certainly none of the current crop in the WSL. The thing is that absolutely none of them can guarantee we won’t be back having this conversation after a season and a half because the players “Won’t run through walls”… Read more »
I have named a few potential managers in the past. I thought we should have made Casey Stoney an offer she couldn’t refuse before she went to united, I have always rated Carla Ward too. Ok not such a good season this time round but we don’t know what goes on behind the scenes at Villa but someone I would love to see in charge of the current squad is Jayne Ludlow. She will not stand for any of this shirking nonsense and always managed to get more out of the Welsh national team than could have been expected. The… Read more »
I like those suggestions a lot! Wasn’t it Jayne Ludlow who had to be escorted out of training when she was four months pregnant because she couldn’t stay away?
I think you’ll find Fara is always having a subtle dig at Arsenal
It’s not our job to find a replacement – that is part of CW’s and Edu’s job. – if they decide JE needs to move on. Arsenal Women are at a critical point. Everything hinges on success now. The move to the Emirates as a full-time home stadium. Our place at the top of women’s football. The WSL will soon be awash with cash (relatively speaking) and many other clubs will be able to attract players with handsome remuneration packages. Our success has to be recent for it to count for a talented 22-year-old. The club recognise this, to their… Read more »
Top of women’s football? We aren’t winning our own league we aren’t wining FA cups, we have 2 Conti Cups in 6 years and one league title in the same. Being regular third place does not put us ‘top of the game’ Sure we have the fans to fill the Emirates but be for real please, this team needs someone other than Jonas to take it to that next step. He’s had years now and just a conti cup to show for it. It’s not good enough for what he’s being given.
Obviously meant as ‘where we should be’
Thanks, sumsang61, yes. It’s an aim, like playing all our home games at the Emirates.
I agree about needing our support but football is not about not being able to please everyone all of the time, its about winning…. End of
The time has come for Arsenal to have a female Coach, they should analyze this possibility. I’ve never seen a female Coach at this club.
We had Shelley Kerr some years ago, but I don’t think she was quite up to it and the players didn’t seem to respect her, unfortunately.
But in principle, I agree.
Yes, unfortunately we lost a lot of good players under Shelley Kerr and she didn’t last long in Scotland either.
We’ve had plenty of female assistant coaches including someone called Emma what’s her name? Oh yes Hayes. I suspect she still resents not getting the top job.
You will note all 3 of my suggestions in the thread above are women!
I did indeed notice! It’s not that I am against male coaches, and ultimately it comes down to the personality and talents of the individual, but I think a woman coach can bond in a different way with women players and perhaps get that extra 1% out of them.
Hayes wanting and not getting the top job at Arsenal has been her fuel.
Agreed. Fuel we gave her 😐
I always felt Hayes is so anti Arsenal because she didn’t get to top job there
I say this because Arsenal’s football os not going well, ig they play like this in the qualifying phase there is no Hope for club