Arsenal drew 2-2 with Manchester City on the opening day of the WSL season. Frida Maanum gave Arsenal an early lead before Vivianne Miedema equalised. Jess Park put City in front in the second half before Beth Mead came off the bench to equalise. Jonas Eidevall spoke to the press post-match, the first two questions are from Arseblog News.
On whether it was deliberate to have varied tactical approaches during different phases of the game…
That is a lot of questions in one question! You are right, in a game like this there are different phases and that is part of what makes a game like this so stimulating. I hope it is stimulating as a player, it is certainly stimulating as a coach and I hope it was for you guys and people watching. That means it is determined by small margins, I think you can see throughout the game that we have a clear plan about how we play out from their pressure, which I think is one of Manchester City’s real strengths. Overall I think we did that very well.
We created a lot of opportunity as a result of being really good in our build up. What pleased me a lot was that we turned over the ball in build up 30 or 40 seconds before Frida scores the first goal. It really shows what we are about as a team that we don’t start to question if that is the right way, we just make small adjustments and 30 seconds later we are successful with the same pattern and we get the result of a goal.
We were not good enough to sustain that in the first half and I don’t think we got our structure right there. So that was an adjustment during the game so we had a better structure so we could sustain pressure and we did that better in the second half. Then it comes to the phases in press and there we varied a little, sometimes we are in a mid block, sometimes we are higher pressure looking for transition opportunities and that is where we were most flexible in showing different faces without the ball and still be in control and controlling spaces where we allowed them to have the ball and understanding where we had the ball and how we wanted to hurt them.
Then on XG, if we zoom out, we are the team with the better chances, especially if you consider the goal we have ruled out for offside, if that is onside that would’ve increased the goal tally and the XG by a lot. But they also had chances in the game and we showed incredible morale as a team in a difficult situation, being 2-1 down and after that second goal we have a tough momentum against us for a first five or ten minute period but we managed that and turned it around by changing the way we press and change some personnel and once again we start creating chances and we see the finishing eleven and it is not a coincidence that two of our game changers are involved in the second goal. Then there is two teams that go for three points and neither team is content with a point and that is the way it should be.
On playing Rosa Kafaji out wide when she came on…
It comes down to qualities that you want to utilise at the time, Rosa can play as a wide forward, or a 9 or a 10. You get really good attacking runs from her, she is a great finisher, she is great one v one. Sometimes that is easier to utilise on the side. A lot of times when you look at us winning the ball in transition moments against Manchester City it is our wingers on the ball in these decisive moments. It was really important to keep fresh legs on the wings because those moments are going to be the most decisive and that was part of the plan of playing Rosa and Beth as wingers later on because they would have the freshest legs at that time.
On whether Leah Williamson was close to playing today…
She was not close to playing today, with the concussion protocol I have to be guided by the medical team as to when she can play.
On starting Stina Blackstenius upfront…
The thinking was to know that in the first half there was going to be space in behind, both when we win the ball against them, we know we were a bit lower in our approach but also when we play out of their high pressure, there will be moments where we can go in behind. You could see that in the first half, Stina came into a number of opportunities, she made a number of good runs and that was why I thought it was good to start her and when legs got more tired, we put Alessia on.
On his emotions when Miedema equalised…
For me it is a player scoring against us, it doesn’t make any difference who it is.
On the timing of City’s goals and the response…
Goals change football games, of course. But it is so important to show resilience in these moments and understanding when you play against another top team, the momentum is going to shift. We were in a tough period after we concede the second goal with a combination of hard work and good defensive play, we managed to not concede a third and it gives us the foothold to come back into the team. It is so important to manage those periods in a game.
On his emotions during such a tense, topsy turvy game…
A good question, I have to say that sometimes in games I can feel nervous, that is human. In these games, there is no nervousness at all because you are so switched on, you can’t allow yourself to be nervous for one second. You are constantly taking in information, making decisions, understanding what part of the game plan we execute in the right moment, being good in communication and communicating things in the right way to the players. It is a state of alertness, then afterwards you are tired. You feel you have stimulated your brain a lot without doing any physical work, so I definitely I need to put on the running shoes and go for a run later on!
On whether he will watch the men’s game against Manchester City…
I certainly hope so, because it is a great football game not only as an Arsenal supporter. I think the whole world is going to watch this game. It is two of the best teams globally there are so many interesting tactical battles, I think we are all excited to see that game.
On Katie McCabe’s performance…
She had a very solid game, it is a great piece of skill on our second goal to set up that situation. Steph Catley not being available, you see how reliable Katie is and has been for us, being able to put in big shifts.
On whether he feels the team are close to their peak physically…
We still haven’t had that much time together so we are still in that process of working out what is going to work best for us. Hacken was a prime example, that was a step backwards for us performance wise. Sometimes that is necessary to have a performance like that because it becomes clear what we need to do differently and the demand we have to have on each other to not have that happen again. That is what defines great teams, the ability to learn and move forward and take the necessary lessons. While i would hope that we would be in a performing state all the time and everything flows, I think we are in a good learning phase.
On the importance of having an impact sub like Beth Mead…
It is so important, if we are going to utilise the squad to its full potential, sometimes you are going to be a starting player, sometimes you are going to be an impact player or game changer. What you owe to the squad is that you do your very best in either one of those roles. Sometimes that is tough on players, they want to start games, but sometimes they have to accept they are going to come on. I think that it what is so great working with these players, they are disappointed not to start but they understand what they will bring to the team and they do it fully with 100% quality and if we can keep that, we are a very strong football team.
1.Zinsberger; 2.Fox, 3.Wubben-Moy, 5.L.Codina, 11.McCabe; 10.Little(c), 32.Cooney-Cross (13.Walti ‘73); 19.Foord (9.Mead ‘63), 12.Maanum (16.Kafaji), 8.Mariona; 25.Blackstenius (23.Russo ‘63).
Unused: 14.van Domselaar, 22.Kuhl, 26.Wienroither, 56.Godfrey, 52.Reid.
Incredibly frustrating game today. Lots of positives and negatives but my overall feeling after was one of frustration. There’s just something about this team that keeps us from being truly elite. Don’t know if it’s a mentality thing or ruthlessness thing or just quality thing but it’s there. We keep shooting ourselves in the foot. Let me address a few things: 1. The importance of winning your duels cannot be overstated (not to sound too much like Arteta) and Viv’s goal was a prime example. Two very poor efforts from Little and Lotte and we get pegged back. Viv should… Read more »
It’s the manager, I can’t click with him. Seems like a bit of a weird guy too.
Tell me you lack critical thinking without telling me you lack critical thinking.
The finishing is beyond diabolical… like! are this the strikers to deliver the WSL for us??
Agree with all of this. Blackstenius is a real workhorse and has many good attributes – she may even be the best runner of channels in the game (as Jonas often says) but her chance conversion is poor. And as much as I love Russo’s all round skill and application, her decision-making in the final third is lacking. It doesn’t seem she’s progressed since joining.
A balanced analysis. On the striking situation, it’s clear that Stina & Alessia must somehow find the net more often, but Mariona & Rosa clearly look very exciting signings; and Beth Mead is Ms Reliable – perhaps playing her at centre forward is indeed the way. Manu is a decent goalkeeper, but it’s definitely time Daphne is given her chance in this crucial position – starting on Wednesday. Our Captain Kim Little, is still a magnificent player & the best player in the WSL imo, even at 34. She is absolutely irreplaceable, but I do agree some rest would be… Read more »
Meado is a centre forward she was forced out wide to accommodate Miedema in the middle so everyone has become used to Beth being on the wing. Guess what, Miedema has left now so why can’t Beth, as our most potent finisher, go back and play in her squad number postion and get Lessi to do the clever stuff like holding up the ball and playing Beth in? We could almost play Lessi instead of Kim in some games.
It’s a useful option and I wouldn’t mind seeing it but I just think Eidevall values her work rate far greater on the wing and my guess down the middle would be a last resort for him. There are some “out there” options that could be played in some of the “easier” games like Mead as 9, Blackstenius and Caldentay out wide, Russo 10 to really mix it up.
Difficult to know how to feel after the game. Before it I would have taken a draw after last week, but the way we played and the chances we had we should have scored more and won. However a lot of strong performances today particularly our back 4.
Two negatives were our finishing – Kelly Smith has got a big job to do – and I don’t think Manu had one of her better games resorting to her old habit of parrying in to the danger and her distribution let her down a couple of times.
Obviously couldn’t do too much about the goals today but anyone else sick and tired of the way Manu just stays glued to the spot for a good few seconds after the ball has gone in? Makes the goal conceded even more annoying to me. Lmao.
Yep! Exactly the words I used on the previous thread. “Sick and tired!” She is paid to keep the ball out of the net. If she dives and it goes in then so be it but she ain’t going to stop it by standing still and watching it fly past her. She has always had a problem moving her feet and being in the correct position to act which is strange for an international goalkeeper and that is the most important improvement she could have made during her time at Arsenal and she hasn’t. I think it is too late… Read more »
Sorry, so let me get this straight, you think she should performatively dive at shots to make everyone feel better???? The critique of Manu in these comments is ridiculous. First goal was from as tough a deflection as you are going to get. Her momentum was already in the direction Viv shot at, she had no chance to change direction once it hit off off Laia. So, what? You require her to dive to the ground anyway? That’s absurd. The last was a worldy off the crossbar, pray tell, where should have been diving to in that case? You’re saying… Read more »
Watch the second goal again. Manu moved in the direction of the ball and stopped presumably expecting it to go wide.That is not good enough from a first choice international goalkeeper!
She had no chance with either. The first one is a big deflection so I am not sure why she would carry on diving in the wrong direction when the ball is diverted?
Just full of cliches
He prepares more for thr post match presser than the games.
Not sure I can see a single cliche there?
A game of two halves here, from Eidevall’s perspective the gameplay worked, get the ball move it up the pitch quickly before they can press and 1 or 2 passes later were behind them, ala Chelsea many times against us. This worked numerous times, the biggest downfall was we only took advantage once. Blackstenius being Blackstenius where she creates the chaos in the opposition’s box but can’t put away those opportunities and against the bigger teams you can pay a huge penalty. It’s why Eidevall pairs Manuum with her I’d imagine, she positions herself close by or be the first… Read more »
Did Leah get concussed against Hacken or in training?
See the 115ers celebrating a draw at home against 10 men. So proud of our boys!!!💪🏾💪🏾💪🏾. But fuck Michael Oliver and PGMOL!!! And to any twat who’ll blame trossard for going for a 50-50, fuck you too!!!
Probably best to read the thread before you write otherwise you might look silly!
I think we need to take more positives from this – it is arguably one of the toughest matches of the season, first gameweek, and after a disappointing loss midweek. I think everyone played much better, Mariona, McCabe and Maanum in particular were great – I’m especially happy for Maanum given a tough last season and her link up play and high press were brilliant. Also don’t forget we kept Shaw very quiet (she was getting increasingly more frustrated throughout) and the Man City goals were a big deflection and then a contender for goal of the season, no GK… Read more »
Agree with a lot of this. Both Less and Stina need to get any sort of goal soon to lift their confidence. I think putting Beth in the centre forward position and using Stina/Less out wide could be an option. I love both our strikers but remain puzzled that Jonas rates Lessi as the best finisher he’s ever worked with…
You are not alone. Perhaps Russo is an amazing finisher in training but doesn’t translate that form into matches.
I think one of the issues last season was not having those additional players in the box when Russo came out to collect, so I quite like Foord and Mead being ‘wide strikers’ and getting involved, it seems to be working well this season (seen in particular when Foord got her 4 goals in UWCL qualifying). So I think positionally we were set up very well – however, I completely agree that we need those Stina/Less goals early on for that confidence builder. Hoping we can have a nice repeat 6 goals against Leicester away next week!
After the Häcken match I could only look at the negatives, but today there are some positives. Over the past four or five months, City have been the best team in the WSL; today we went toe-to-toe with them and, on xG should have beaten them. Despite a couple of shaky moments, once again Bunny Shaw got no change out of Lotte. Katie had her best game for ages. In the battle between one of the best left wingers in the world and one of the best right backs, Lauren Hemp didn’t create much danger (wear that Gold Medal with… Read more »
Hasagawa is an excellent DMF, one of the few opposition players I’d have at the Arsenal.
The positive is it is a better start to the season than losing to Liverpool and it’s one of the big games out of the way! We must start playing Meado in her real position. She was never meant to be a wide forward / winger, that was forced upon her to accommodate a certain other player who is no longer with us! Beth is by far our best finisher so stick her in the middle and let Caitlin and Mariona worry about the touchlines!
Well, I didn’t watch the game, but from the comments, a lot of goals were missed. Bunny Shaw no longer has her coach, who is now at Aston Villa Women’s. I don’t know if that is affecting her performance. I feel like Arsenal is rotating their squad, while City isn’t doing so much. I don’t know if they will be as energetic as they are, with the passing of the season’s games and the CL and FIFA dates. I haven’t seen the game yet. I only saw the highlights. The results of the Arsenal men’s and women’s matches were very… Read more »
Wouldn’t read too much into City’s lack of rotation – they’re 5-0 up against Paris FC, so had less need to rotate against us given they’re likely to rest players mid-week.
I’m talking about the future, there are still many games to be played, look at the teams, I think Arsenal and Chelsea are the only teams with depth in the squad. Paris FC in particular has already said goodbye to the CL, but Gareth Taylor doesn’t know how to use the other options he has on the bench, if you look at the FA CUP, CONTI CUP, WSL, they were practically the same players, and in the second half of the season City started to decrease their goal difference, now they’re in the CL, I don’t think he’ll give them… Read more »