Should injury-ridden Arsenal harbour treble hopes? Eidevall is optimistic! by Michelle
After realising that Arsenal would be without injured players Beth Mead and Vivianne Miedema for the remainder of the season towards the end of last year, many Gooners accepted that this season could very well turn out to be nothing special. However, this has not been the case, as Jonas Eidevall has found a way around it.
Yes, he has had problems, with further injuries afflicting his squad, but he has performed admirably. He is on track to guide Arsenal to winning the treble (the continental cup, the WSL title, and the Champions League).
Things changed after Chelsea eliminated Arsenal from the FA Cup in the 5th round, beating our Gunners 2-0. After that game, Eidevall admitted as quoted by Arseblog, “If you are a pessimist, you start thinking negative thoughts. Instead, you can think, ‘Next time we are going to score five goals because we are a good team.’ I am an optimist.”
Arsenal’s turnaround this season came after they were eliminated from the FA Cup. After losing to Chelsea in the FA Cup final, the two teams met again, in the Continental Cup one week later. This time around, Arsenal rose to the occasion, defeating the Blues 3-1 to claim their first silverware of the season.
The Continental Cup win seemed to breath new life and belief into our Gunners. After that, they collected win after win, which saw them return to the WSL title race picture. Had they beaten Manchester United (they lost 1-0) last week, they would have been favourites to clinch the WSL title. However, with 5 games remaining, things can still change for the better, as our Gunners are only 6 points behind Manchester United, who are top of the table, but with a game in hand.
Besides the league, Arsenal are now a game away from playing in the Women’s Champions League Final in Eindhoven. After eliminating Bayern Munich, with a 2-1 aggregate score, in the Champions League quarter finals, Arsenal secured their place in the semi finals where they play Wolfsburg. The first leg of the semi-final in Germany ended in a 2-2 tie over the weekend. Hopefully, Arsenal will come up with something miraculous to overcome the Germans when they visit the Emirates on May 1st – they will have the support of more than 50,000 fans at Emirates, with them every step of the way!
Following that, they will face either Barcelona or Chelsea in the final; and who says they can’t beat either of them?
Arsenal can end the season by winning the treble, but it will not be easy considering the other recent season-ending injuries to Arsenal captain Kim Little and vice-captain Leah Williamson. Even so, the Arsenal boss is optimistic and believes all will be well, saying as quoted by the Athletic, “I pride myself on that, to always look forward.
“It’s a difficult situation, but that’s why I’m here; it’s my job to help the team find solutions.”
Do you think Arsenal can do the treble? Or even the double? Keep believing, like the boss and his super squad!
COYGW!!
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