Eidevall on Arsenal Women´s 2-0 win over Liverpool with ´tired legs´ By Michelle
Four days after Arsenal Women achieved a stunning 5-1 victory over European heavyweights Lyon in their UEFA Women´s Champions League campaign, Arsenal have now won 12 consecutive matches in the WSL after a deserved 2-0 victory over Liverpool at Prenton Park yesterday.
The Gunners certainly have a gruelling work schedule at the moment, between their Barclays Women´s Super League campaign and their UEFA Champions League campaign.
Jonas chose the same starting lineup for the Liverpool game that Arsenal had used to such devastating effect against Lyon:
Jonas Eidevall spoke to the press after the match yesterday, where he mentioned tired and tired legs more than once when referencing his team and substitutions. Jonas made 5 substitutions in the second half yesterday, including two double substitutions:
64 mins – Maritz on / Weinrother off
Nobbs on / Walti off
76 mins – Beattie on / McCabe off
Miedema on / Blackstenius off
89 mins – Iwabuchi on / Maanum off
Here´s what Jonas had to say after the match:
On Frida Maanum using the left half-space to good effect again…
A lot of time our 10s are in that position, this was another really good performance from Frida, you could see she was tired at the end but she works incredibly hard, and it’s nice to see she gets the rewards from a long period of working really hard in training and preparing herself and being ready when the opportunity arises.
On whether Miedema is disappointed to not start the last couple of games…
I can’t speak on behalf of other players but, of course.
On how hard Miedema will have to work to get back into the team…
Everyone at Arsenal has to work hard, it’s the obligation everyone has when they are representing this club. In the games and in training we are a team, we go 100%. That applies to everyone, not only Viv.
On keeping another clean sheet, a 10th consecutive one in the WSL…
We knew this was going to be a big test with their long throws and set pieces and direct style of play. It was a real strength to see the defenders who started the game and handled it. Lotte played brilliantly throughout but then Jen (Beattie) makes a very good sub coming in. It shows the importance of players being ready to come in so we could sub off some really tired legs in the second half and I thought that brought stability to our performance. Without that I think we would’ve looked really tired in the end.
On the burgeoning centre-back partnership of Catley and Wubben-Moy…
The whole squad has reacted to that challenge (of losing the first choice centre-halves) in a very short time putting processes and workflows together on the pitch as a unit. They have done that very, very well and they have been so good at communicating with each other and collaborating and that is a great starting point. Then, of course, it helps when you get rewarded with clean sheets and wins, it’s not like the opponents doesn’t have any chances but we work very hard to get the margins on our side and that always helps.
On Manu Zinsberger’s performance…
She was very commanding in the air, that’s really important to be able to dominate that territory. That is something Manu has really developed so well over the last 12 months. We don’t have much time in training to prepare so we need to learn from the games.
On sticking with the same team as the Lyon win…
Decisions are never straightforward, there are always a lot of things to consider, that is really important for the players and the club. I was happy with the decision before and I am happy with it now.
On whether he and the team pay attention to records (Arsenal equalled a WSL record for 12 consecutive wins today)…
No, that doesn’t fill the trophy cabinet. Of course the records show the likelihood that we can achieve something together as a team but the records I don’t take any notice of really.
The Gunners will now have their sights firmly set on their next Champions League match against Zurich in 3 days time, which will be held at Emirates Stadium on Matchday 2 – October 27th – 8pm UK. Tickets for the game are still available here. Then Arsenal Women will face West Ham at Meadow Park on Sunday, October 30th 6.45pm UK. Tickets for the West Ham game are available here.
Looks like the gunners will have to work through those tired legs with this workload!
Michelle Maxwell
Follow Michelle on Just Gooner Women on Twitter for regular updates on the Arsenal Women´s Team!
Do you want to read more about the Arsenal Women? Click here….
