Sky Sports

Jonas Eidevall spoke to the media on Thursday afternoon ahead of the Gunners Women’s Super League match against Manchester United on Friday evening, hours after it was also announced by Arsenal that he had signed a new long-term contract with the club.

“The commitment is from both parties and it is very ambitious, it is about growing the club as much as possible and accelerate the growth of women’s football” responded Eidevall when asked about the new contract. 

“The long-term vision that we have and that we share is the important thing” continued the Arsenal head coach, and added that he feels supported by the club.

After the defeat to Liverpool last weekend in the WSL, Eidevall noted there has been “a mature reaction” and “a lot of accountability and ownership”.  He carried on to say the team want to show “another version of itself”.  Eidevall feels they didn’t play with the right energy against Liverpool but it is now about how they respond.  “We are really disappointed with that performance, and it was a wasted opportunity with 55’000 people in the stands to put on a better display and energise them better” he continued, and he hopes they return for the Villa game (next Sunday at the Emirates) so his side can show them something different because they deserve that as well.

Eidevall confirmed that Beth Mead will not be available (very close though) for the Manchester United game, but Noelle Maritz is fit.  There was no other team news.

With Alessia Russo facing her former side for the first time since joining Arsenal, Eidevall commented that that she is “100% professional and always trains with a lot of motivation, but it is special when you return to play against a club with your former teammates and fans”.  He noted Russo has a lot of different qualities and the unique combination of them makes her potential “sky high”.

The Arsenal head coach said Manchester United are “consistent in the way they play and are a good football team”.  Eidevall added there have been some good and even matches between them over the last two seasons but he was not happy with the Gunners performances or results against them last season.  With the league shaping up to be very competitive this season, Eidevall noted “you need to be 100% for every game and every challenge.”

Eidevall was asked about his views about bringing VAR into women’s games.  He pointed out there needs to be consistency in tournaments with technology in the game and it has to be of the right quality. 

Manchester United v Arsenal is live on Sky Sports Main Event/Premier League in the UK with a 7:30pm (BST) kick off on Friday.  Check local listings/FA Player elsewhere.