Jonas Eidevall was hugely proud of our team's display against Chelsea, as we were crowned 2023 Conti Cup champions on a glorious Sunday afternoon at Selhurst Park.
This marks the first piece of silverware for our head coach, who has been at the helm since September 2021.
"I’m very proud of them," said Eidevall after the match. "It was really a test of character conceding a goal that early on. It really provided a difficult situation but what a way to respond!
"Of course, it helps when you score a goal to get back [on terms]. You just look at the intent and the behaviours, and what we proved on the pitch today. It was very nice."
Defeating our London rivals for the first time this season felt like the culmination of months of hard work for Eidevall's side, after our previous two close encounters.
"It’s very nice to get the reward. We’ve played Chelsea three times in the last two months and all three times we have been the better team. We created more goalscoring opportunities, and I think that really sends a strong message.
If you play against a great team like Chelsea three times in a row and you each time, you outnumber them with goalscoring opportunities, that’s not easy to do. It shows the quality of our team."
Our Gunners never once eased up the pressure on the Chelsea backline, even when we went down the tunnel at half-time with a two-goal cushion.
"We spoke about [momentum] at half-time and I think it’s really important to continue to attack the game, press, build up and sustain our attacks to try and create goalscoring opportunities. For 45 minutes, it’s way too long for us to sit back and be passive - it’s only one goal and that can start to look shaky so I’m really happy with the way we approached the game."
Eidevall, who was left to brace the cold during the celebrations after giving away his coat to a supporter, said it "means the world" to share this win with our supporters.
"That’s why I gave away my coat after the game. After Sunday’s match, there was a guy who was so optimistic, and he said ‘I believe in you guys, you’re going to win’. I said, 'people like you are what make this football club great. Your optimism gives me energy, and I can give that back to the team and it can help our performance. So, you come here and do the same thing next Sunday and we win, you’ll get my coat.'
"I’m very happy for him, very happy for us and now I just need to sort out a new coat. So please help, adidas! Give me a new coat so I won’t be freezing on the sideline on Wednesday!"
Watch the full interview with Jonas by clicking play on the video above.
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