Every word from Jonas and Leah's Rangers presser

Jonas Eidevall held his first press conference of the season ahead of our UWCL qualifier against Rangers.

Joined by Leah Williamson, our head coach fielded questions on team news, a successful pre-season and our expectations for the start of the campaign. 

Here's everything they had to say:

on when Beth and Steph will be back…

JE: It’s a day-by-day thing, I think Beth Mead is definitely getting very close to returning to the squad so she’s the next in line to return.

on integrating new additions during pre-season…

JE: That’s been a real positive in pre-season, seeing our young players from the academy coming up, both in training and playing match minutes. One thing I think you can’t underestimate is the time that players spend together off and on the pitch, building relationships, building an understanding of what you’re looking for, how they like to receive the ball, and what situations they’d like to be played into.

You can’t do it solely on a tactics board: that has to be on the pitch, and that has to be experiences and situations together. We have taken our first steps in that, there are still relationships to build but we’re taking the first steps. One word I would use to describe that is I feel promise, I really look forward to seeing us play every day I go to training and see us play, and every time we set up for a game, I look forward to seeing us play because I can see the potential we have there and it’s really fun and entertaining to work with.

on the importance of tomorrow’s Champions League qualifier…

JE: It’s knockout football, we need to bring our very best from the first second in the game to the very last, so there’s no underestimating opponents for us. We know how tricky of a stage this one is too, so we’re expecting a very good opponent and we’re going to do our absolute very best to try and progress.

on Rangers manager, Jo Potter…

JE: You can obviously see that they have a very clear identity at Rangers in the way that they play, you can see in her coaching career that she is a very good coach. She usually gets the very best out of the environments that she works in, and that speaks a lot about Arsenal as a football club. 

I think a lot of people that have been here, speak very fondly about that [their time at the club], it becomes a very proud part of their history and that’s really nice to hear, of course. That’s what we need to keep on building on, so we create new history for the players and staff that are here now. 

on increasing our level as a team…

LW: We’ve obviously underperformed, so to speak. There’s been a number of teams at the top of the game, trying to take the trophies off each other but it doesn’t always go your way. I don’t think we’ve been that far away, and I feel like we’re getting closer, I’m enjoying the way that we play. 

You say that you’re enjoying watching, I’m enjoying being part of it and seeing how we grow and take what we already had to the next level, because it does need to go up, but I don’t think that’s too far away.

on whether van Domselaar will be in the squad tomorrow…

JE: She will.

on the talent at Rangers…

JE: I think one part that is important to see is obviously that they were very, very close to knocking out Benfica, who we know is a good European team, in last year’s qualifiers. They almost got there on extra time. I think their run in the Champions League last season deserves a lot of respect and we know that they are very capable of putting in good performances in these stages of the season. 

Of course, we'll use Kevin as one person with insight into Rangers, but we also have a very good analytics team that’s been doing their scouting processes, so we feel well prepared.

on whether there is a deliberate focus on converting our chances…

JE: That needs to be a discussion in any football team at any time because at the end of the day, that’s what’s going to win or lose you football matches. If you’re effective in the two penalty areas, you’re going to need to defend in a really effective way, and you need to attack in a really effective way, and you’re right, in the Southampton game, there were so many things I was really pleased with in the first half. 

One thing I wasn’t really pleased with was we didn’t score more goals – I think realistically with the chances we had, we should have scored three goals and we should have put that game to bed much, much earlier. Of course, that’s the demands that we have and that we work towards.

on how the team is dealing with the pressure of the start of the season…

LW: I think last year was a hurtful situation, we were left to regret that for the rest of the year, so everyone knows what it feels like to lose and nobody wants to feel that again, but one of the strengths of the team is the intensity that we play at. 

I think when pressure arrives, a lot of that pressure can be taken out by the way that you play and I’ve seen that on the training pitch, dealing with that transition from playing friendlies then into competitive football and the most competitive you can play is in knockout [football]. It’s been fun to watch, us as a team deal with that over the last week, a couple of weeks, but I think we’re ready. Everyone knows what it means there.

on upping the level between a pre-season friendly and a knockout Champions League match…

JE: Some things you can simulate in pre-seasons and some things you cannot, to simulate the real pressure of playing competitive football. The only thing that resembles playing competitive football is playing competitively. But I know us as a group, and we thrive off that. And I know you framed it a little bit, that there's a lot to be lost this month. It's not the way I look at it. There's a lot that can be achieved here in the first month. There's a lot of good football that can potentially be played in the first month. And that's what we should be enjoying, having those experiences together, enjoying being put under pressure because I think that's going to show us a real true character test as a team. And I’m looking forward to seeing us tomorrow. 

on whether tomorrow presents an opportunity…

JE: Yes, of course I do that. I think it’s few teams that get the opportunity to play in the Champions League to begin with, so of course, that’s an opportunity to play in the Champions League. We know qualification stages are not easy - just ask Manchester City what they think about the qualification stages. We’ve been going through them, so we know how it feels like to win the mini-tournament. We know how it feels like to win the Round 2 Playoffs. We know how exciting it is to be in the group stage. We very much see ourselves as a European club, but we know it isn’t easy, it’s going to be a real challenge tomorrow but we’re ready for it.  

on if there are specific lessons to be learned from last season…

JE: There are always lessons to be learned, but I think that has more been on a preparation level. I think last season was tough for us, with a really quick turnaround and lots of players returning from long-term injuries that we weren’t ready to integrate into the team back then, but we know the more prepared we can make the team now here in preseason. The more situations we have been able to experience together, the more ready we will be here on Wednesday, as well. I think you can never cover everything in preseason. It's impossible, but I feel very confident with the foundations that we go into this season with. 

on strategies to simulate pressure in training…

JE: We try to compete. We try to compete in training because that obviously resembles that a little bit. I try with my refereeing at times, also to stir up some emotions on the pitch. So, there are those sorts of things, but then I also think it’s about sometimes you have to reframe how you think about the pressure because, for me, pressure is not a bad thing. Some people say pressure is a privilege but I go one step further: I think pressure is a necessity for high performance. 

on Jonas’ ability as a referee…

LW: He’s just as bad as he says he is. 

JE: Honest, right? 

on how prepared Leah feels going into this season…

LW: Yeah, I can't sit there and tell you it’s been the perfect off-season and preseason because it hasn’t. We’ve not been allowed that luxury for a long time and I never thought I'd wish for a real preseason where you’re made to run and you feel awful to be quite honest. I’m trying to think of polite words to use to describe a normal preseason but I feel more prepared than I have done, way more prepared, than previous years and to be honest being back on the pitch personally is a win for me to be competing for my spot in the squad and then to compete for Arsenal in this stage. So, I feel good. I think a lot of the girls have had more time than they have done for a long time.  

on the off-season time off they’ve had this summer in comparison to previous years… 

LW: It’s not perfect if you’re going from a sports science point of view but we’ve had time, and we’ve had time as a team even to go on a preseason tour. It was a great opportunity for us and to be involved and not feel like you’re just rushing into everything. There’s been an element of preparation which we’ve done the best we can with. 

on the expectation of getting into the Champions League…

LW: I think it’s, if you go on paper then obviously you would expect us to be there, everybody expects us to be there. We expect that of ourselves. The occasions that the Emirates provides a stage for those occasions, I think is a great thing for women’s football but it’s not about that, it’s about who gets through, and who puts in the performance. We came up short last year, we’ve done it successfully previously, and as a club of this stature and this investment that they put into us, we should be there. 

on the changes at other major European clubs…

JE: My focus is on this mini-tournament here. We, as a team, have the potential to go all the way in Europe. That's how much I believe in our capabilities, but our focus needs to be here and now. And I guess a tough opponent here with Rangers, in our first game and it’s not club football and that’s what’s going to take 100% of our focus and attention.

on the Champions League experience of Rosa Kafaji and Mariona Caldentey…

JE: With Champions League experience, I think that's an important part because European football is different to domestic ones. It's not knockout football. It's nights under the lights. It's a special feeling. And you're coming up against opponents that might do a little bit different things to what you're used to before. 

We've had a lot of players that have been performing very well in the Champions League and then of course, it's really exciting to get a player like Mariona, who obviously has very good experiences from what they were building and what they were doing at Barcelona, that are things that we can learn from her as well as a team. And then a player like Rosa, who comes with her whole football career in front of her and with all that excitement and belief that that brings, the girls can learn from that. 

LW: Yeah, I think the most important thing is making them feel comfortable enough to bring what they’ve been brought here to bring. I can imagine it's quite an intimidating environment just because there are so many of us who have been here so long now as well, and the team's been quite stable for the last couple of years. So, you are the odd one out effectively. 

We as people have a fantastic environment here so that doesn’t concern me, but on the pitch, it's trying to get across how we do things and how we have done things, whilst also giving them enough room to showcase themselves, because they’ve been brought here as an addition to our team and it's important that they feel comfortable to bring that out. 

We're not here to clone them into one of us or clip their wings. It's exciting, that’s when I say it’s exciting to go out to training, because there are things that we haven't had, but we have now in different ways. So it's a very conscious effort, but it seems to be going well so far. So, touch wood, it continues that way. 

on playing the match on home soil with our supporters…

LW: I'm so excited. I think my family's more excited than me - they've missed it as well. But Boreham Wood, we've had some unbelievable Champions League nights there. I've got some great memories there as well.

I think Arsenal fans right now - it's incredible what they show up with every single game, even Southampton at the weekend. The support that we have is incredible and gives you a little taster of it. So I'm excited to be back in front of them and share that with them again. We talk about going from friendlies to, all of a sudden, knock-out football and pressurized situations but I think as soon as you walk out, with the warm-up especially, and you hear them and you see them, we know what's at stake. But ultimately, it's at home, so there's a huge benefit to that as well.

on whether pre-season has allowed space for reflection…

LW: It's nice as a player when you can see where you're at, and then you have time to put in place the things that you want to get to where you want to be. No one expects you to come back in at the start of preseason ready to compete. In previous years, I've not really had the luxury. It's been a necessity to turn up and be exposed, basically in terms of going straight into games. So it's been nice to actually not say, plan ahead. But what do I want to achieve in the season? Where do I need to be? And then trying to put it into work every day.

on whether a solid pre-season has helped build key foundations…

JE: Yeah, I think maybe we need to balance the discussion a little bit. It feels like you guys are talking about this long pre-season in three months' time, and we've been playing all these games together. We have had very few players who have been playing 90 minutes of football for Arsenal. The Olympic players who went further joined us the last week in the US. So we have had a full squad for two weeks. That's our preseason with a full squad. So, yes, that's been great. That's much better than three days the year before, but let's manage the expectations a little bit on what this great pre-season looks like. 

It's still been a pre-season that was very much halted for the international players that they had to play in July because of the international windows, and that compromised their time off. And obviously, then with Olympic players, that also compromised their time off. And yes, we have had more time this season than previously, which is good, but it's far from ideal still. I think we have done very well with the amount of time that we have had at our disposal.

on the potential schedule if we qualify for the Champions League…

JE: We built the squad for playing a lot of competitive football matches. We know autumn, if you make the group stage in the Champions League, becomes a very busy period. For most of the weeks, it's midweek games. I already see with broadcast and so on, that there are going to be three-game weeks with six-day turnarounds and so on. So it's going to require squad depth in order to be successful, no doubt about it, but that's what we plan.

on how important Champions League qualification is for us as a club…

JE: If you look at football as a global club phenomenon, Champions League is what makes European football so special, and what makes the whole world want to come to Europe and compete. So, of course, if I look at the league, it's our bread and butter. That has to be our foundation. That has to be our main target - going to win the league - but Europe always has to be the ambition. 

It's what's going to bring the toughest challenges, and it's going to be knockout football, and it's going to be down to moments and it's the jeopardy of that as well that makes football so so exciting. And as a club, as I said before, I very much see us as a European club. And if you want to be a European club, then you need to be a part of the competitions and be present in the group stages.

on the special European quarter-final against Bayern Munich in 2023…

LW: I remember me and Jonas nearly had an argument before that night even began! My expectations of playing centre-half for 90 minutes and midfield are very different - mainly talking about my lungs!

JE: That backheel was great though.

LW: That night of football was incredible. And the first time I think I felt the real magic of the Champions League. Overturning a 1-0 deficit, so many elements, Frida’s goal was incredible. There was so much about it and the first time, on a night like that, that many people had come out to watch us.

I remember it was raining, it was cold - all of those elements that don't make football so fun. So I think that's actually my core memory when I think about playing in the Champions League again. That's the last game I played in the Champions League. So tomorrow night, regardless of the fact that was a quarter-final and this is a qualifier, it doesn't matter to me. It's Champions League football and I’m very excited to get back involved. And the opportunity of playing those knockout games, I think it's special because it offers you those special moments if you're on the right side of them.