Just days after being held to a goalless draw against Everton in the Barclays Women’s Super League, Jonas Eidevall’s Arsenal prepare to head to Germany to open their UEFA Women’s Champions League campaign.
The Gunners will face Bayern Munich on Wednesday, with Eidevall labelling the opportunity as “really exciting” and relishing the chance to “show another version of ourselves” after the disappointment of Sunday’s draw.
What did Jonas Eidevall say?
“For me, the Champions League is very special,” stated the 41-year-old.
“It’s the best teams, the one competition where you compete outside your own country and I think we’re in four competitions, but the Champions League and the [Women’s Super] League will always be very special to me and the team. Right now, we’re in a situation where we need to go full throttle in both of them.”
Bayern Munich are one of Europe’s elite teams and will likely be Arsenal’s closest competition when it comes to fighting for the top spot in their group, but the Swedish manager insisted that “this is what we want to be in the Champions League for.”
Alexander Straus, Bayern’s head coach, previously alluded to Arsenal being the favourites in Group C despite having battled through both of the tournament’s qualifying rounds. Eidevall wasn’t so keen on that assumption, suggesting that “it’s a pointless discussion, who is the favourite and who isn’t. We want to win, they want to win and everyone is going to do their absolute best.”
Embed from Getty ImagesWednesday’s hosts have enjoyed an unbeaten start to the 2024/25 Google Pixel Frauen-Bundesliga campaign, picking up five wins from their first five matches and doing so while maintaining an impressive goal difference that currently sits at +15.
Asked what he expects to see from Bayern when the two sides clash, Eidevall explained: “They’re really strong in the counterattacking game and move with a lot of pace once they’re facing forwards. That part you’ve got to look out for when you play against them.”
“I think they’re a very well organised team and really strong when they face forward. When they’re playing through opposition pressure, it’s full throttle.”
This is much more than the opening game of Arsenal’s UEFA Women’s Champions League campaign, though. Eidevall has been at the centre of immense scrutiny over recent weeks for perceived tactical mismanagement of his side, with Sunday’s goalless draw at Emirates Stadium appearing to be the last straw for many fans.
The Swedish manager is keen to make amends and register a positive result against the reigning German champions, noting that “as a team, we’d like to go forward and show another version of ourselves so that’s an excellent opportunity tomorrow night to do that.”
“It is really important to get results and get off to a good start, not only results-wise but also performance-wise… We need to trust in the way that we play, and be a brave football team.”
Arsenal get their UEFA Women’s Champions League campaign underway at 17:45 BST on Wednesday, 9 October 2024. The match will be shown live in the United Kingdom by DAZN, with extensive coverage also available on FromTheSpot.
