Eidevall on this season's new-look squad

If you’ve been eagerly anticipating the start of the Women’s Super League season, you’re not alone.

Jonas Eidevall shared his excitement with our season opener against Liverpool on the horizon.

“Everything is possible when you start a new season and it's a part of how you live football. While many people celebrate the start of a new year, we celebrate the start of a new season!

“We want to bring all the energy, passion and quality on the pitch together.”

A new-look squad with five summer arrivals is a large reason for Eidevall’s optimism and the Lionesses’ Alessia Russo is one of those new faces at London Colney.

“It’s really nice having her her,” said Eidevall. “We can see in training what we saw when she was playing for the opposition and for England - those qualities she can bring us on the pitch.

“That adds both quality and depth to our squad so we are really excited about that.”

Following the departure of key centre-back Rafaelle, Eidevall has also spent the summer strengthening our backline. Alongside recent Ballon d’Or nominee Amanda Ilestedt, we can now count a World Cup winner as a Gunner after Laia Codina joined from Barcelona.

“One standout thing Laia has is the way she passes the ball - she’s a really good passer. She has some really good leadership qualities given her age and she puts a real pride in defending. Those are three key qualities we saw in her.

“She has a really ambitious personality and wants to take the next step in her career and that’s the mentality we really want at Arsenal. I think it is going to be a really good fit.”

We then closed out our transfer window with a bang as 21-year-old midfield starlet Kyra Cooney-Cross made her move to north London.

The Australian’s composure and creativity at this summer’s World Cup immediately singled her out as a player to watch and Eidevall is incredibly keen to foster that potential.

“I think whenever you bring in a new player, there’s always going to be a little bit of adjustment time. Sometimes that goes quickly, sometimes it takes a little bit longer. 

“With all the players we have brought in, we believe in them long-term. We see that they have qualities to bring to the team and Kyra has some tremendous qualities, particularly in how she passes the football, which I think is going to be really good for Arsenal. 

“But this was the first day we had the whole squad back for her to train with. So, of course, we brought her in so she can have an impact immediately, but if that's this weekend or if it comes a little bit later, we’ll have to wait and see.”

When asked if high expectations would affect our new arrivals, the boss chose to reframe that pressure. 

“Is there pressure playing for a club like Arsenal? Of course there is. With all the history that we have and all expectations we have, of course, there is pressure. But that's a privilege.

“We have that pressure because a lot of people care about what we're doing and we want to be ambitious as well. We’re trying to create a culture where we help each other, where we work really hard together and where we can thrive under that pressure.”