It is only October, yet Arsenal already sit four points adrift of the top of the Barclays Women’s Super League table. Defeat to Chelsea at Emirates Stadium on Saturday left fans infuriated, with many calling for Jonas Eidevall’s contract as Head Coach to be terminated.
The 41-year-old accepted that Arsenal’s poor start to the season “doesn’t help with our league-winning ambitions,” and gave credit to his players, who he says continue to work “extremely hard” to turn their form around.
What did Jonas Eidevall say?
“It’s really disappointing,” Eidevall told reporters in his post-match press conference on Saturday.
The Gunners fell behind inside the opening five minutes, with Mayra Ramírez able to slam an acrobatic overhead kick past Daphne van Domselaar from a corner delivery. Eidevall accepted: “We get off to a really poor start and have conceded four from corners in 2 games. That’s not sustainable if we want to be a top team.”
“The way we defend a cross for their second goal isn’t good enough either. It’s particularly frustrating because it’s not how the pattern looks in the game, it’s a one-off situation,” he continued, going on to add “I think we deservedly scored a goal and we certainly had chances to score the second goal as well.”
Arsenal have now registered just one win from their opening four league matches this season, sitting four points adrift of Chelsea as a result. Had the Blues’ match against Manchester United not been postponed for player welfare concerns, that gap could have feasibly been extended to 7 points.
Embed from Getty Images“It doesn’t help with league-winning ambitions but it doesn’t change the perspective as we go on game-by-game. We need to do our best in every game but there’s no point in hiding away from reality and saying it’s a bad start to the season,” the 41-year-old commented.
“I gave absolutely everything today, in the preparation for this game and I think you can see the players give everything on the pitch. That’s the part you can control as a coach.”
Eidevall was keen to emphasise the players’ unwavering commitment to improving, insisting: “I think they [the fans] should see the players, how incredibly hard they work and how much heart they have for the club. That, I think, should give supporters belief.”
“I understand that supporters are disappointed when we don’t win football matches,” he continued, acknowledging that “just as you’re allowed to show emotions when you win, you’re allowed to show emotions when you lose… I totally understand their frustrations.”
