When Arsenal signed Mariona Caldentey this summer to play as a wide forward, Jonas Eidevall was introducing a different type of wide player into his team. Typically, Eidevall has preferred for his wingers to hold the width of the pitch.
Mariona operates a little more like a wide playmaker, however. Drifting into central spaces to create overloads. Arseblog News asks Jonas Eidevall whether he decided that he needed a wide playmaker and therefore signed Mariona or whether Mariona became available and he changed style to accommodate her.
‘That is a very good question, now it is just a question of how honest I am going to be!’ Eidevall joked. ‘It is a combination, when we look at recruitment, we start with ‘what do we need?’ And then building a squad for the future.
‘There is never going to be an exact carbon copy of all the different qualities you start looking for, maybe you find players who give you even more in other areas that you didn’t think was possible.’
Mariona joined from Barcelona this summer having won two Champions League titles and a World Cup with Spain. She played more minutes than any other Barca outfield player last season.
‘Mariona ticked all the key qualities that we were recruiting for when we were looking for the wide forward,’ the Arsenal coach continued. ‘But when a player like that becomes available and there becomes a clear possibility that we can get her to Arsenal, then we think about it the other way. So we say ‘ok, she gives us this, how do we get the best out of her?’
‘So we cannot think we only recruit someone who fits within a box and that is why the question was so good. The thought process now goes ‘I get something I want but now I have to give something in other areas, so we can fit the player as well as possible.’
‘That is true of all players, not only for Mariona. We want to try to create an environment as good as possible for their qualities. To your point, there is no doubt that Mariona has qualities when she can come inside the pitch that are really good and useful for us.’
Arsenal play Rosenborg on Saturday evening at 7.30pm in a UWCL qualifier at Meadow Park. The game will be streamed live on Arsenal.com.
Little bit of DVD, little bit of Kim Little and a whole lot of Mariona. Fabulous signing who has rejuvenated our attack.
Tim, is there still a possibility of a new signing in this transfer window and in which position will it be needed, I see that Catlin Foord who is a left wing is occupying the right wing, or is this due to the lack of Beth Mead in that position?
Against Rangers, Caitlin and Mariona were frequently swapping wings, and Caitlin wasn’t playing as wide as she has been. Probably why Foord scored two goals from inside right and two from inside left. Maybe Mikel should look at Foord’s performance and see if her positioning might provide a lesson for Martinelli?
Well, Mariona won 3 champions leage for Barca