Speaking to the media just hours after Arsenal confirmed that he had signed a contract extension with the club, Jonas Eidevall cut a pensive figure ahead of the Gunners’ trip to Leigh Sports Village on Friday.
Despite setting a new Barclays Women’s Super League attendance record at Emirates Stadium on Sunday, Arsenal were defeated by Matt Beard’s Liverpool – with Miri Taylor netting the decisive goal in an affair largely dominated by the visitors.
Eidevall highlighted the need for improvement ahead of Friday’s clash, especially given Manchester United’s resilience which was shown as they came from behind to clinch three points against Aston Villa in the opening fixture of the 2023/24 season.
Speaking on his new deal, which is rumoured to keep him in North London for three years, Eidevall said that ‘the commitment is from both parties, we’re all in and it’s very ambitious.’
Embed from Getty ImagesWith the news announced following back-to-back losses in competitive fixtures, some drew similarities to the timing of Mikel Arteta’s contract announcement. Eidevall dismissed the ideas, insisting that ‘we’d much rather have won the last game and then announce the contract. I feel very much supported by the club, I think and I hope they feel the same for me.’
Ahead of last weekend’s fixture against Liverpool, Eidevall hinted that Beth Mead ‘may’ be available for selection – although the England international failed to make the bench. Ahead of Friday’s clash, the answer was much clearer. ‘She is close,’ stated Eidevall, ‘but not in contention.’
He accepted that the performance against Liverpool failed to meet expectations, adding that he ‘didn’t think we played with the right energy.’ He also expressed regret that the Gunners ‘wasted an opportunity’ to impress a strong crowd.
When the conversation turned to Friday’s fixture against a buoyant Manchester United side, Jonas Eidevall heaped on the praise for Marc Skinner and his team – ‘they’re a good football team… I was not particularly happy with either of our performances against them last season.’
With Arsenal’s star signing Alessia Russo set to feature against her former club, she was inevitably a topic of conversation in Thursday’s press conference – and Eidevlal insisted that ‘Alessia has a lot of different qualities and what might be the unique thing is the combination of these qualities.’
