Ahead of tomorrow's vital Champions League qualifier against BK Hacken, Jonas Eidevall has held his pre-match press conference.
Manuela Zinsberger also joined our head coach to address the media at Sobha Realty Training Centre.
Here is everything they had to say:
on whether Leah Williamson is unavailable tomorrow...
JE: Confirmed.
on whether any other players will be missing…
JE: Steph Catley also missed training, so she's also confirmed she can't take part. And Lina Hurtig, she was in training. She's making progress, but she's not far enough ahead to be able to make the squad tomorrow either.
on how important experience will be tomorrow…
JE: I think it's one of the great things with the team that we have, that we have a lot of big game players. We have so much experience and qualities. And you're right. Leah, she's a fantastic player and she would be missed by any team that she doesn't play for. But the strength of our squad is we have players like Manu, who we saw at the weekend. We've got Lotte and Codi playing phenomenally well together, and I think that's a real strength of the squad. And we have enough quality and enough experience to take us through tomorrow.
on the high expectations for the season…
JE: To be honest, even if we had made the group stages last season, I don't think that would have changed the expectations that we have on ourselves. We want to be in the group stage. We have those expectations of ourselves. It's that pressure we put on ourselves that we need to get into the group stage, and that's what we should do.
on our squad’s motivation tomorrow?
MZ: Champions League should be motivation enough, no matter what happened last season. I'm not a fan of talking about the past. I'm more a fan of looking forward. And our motivation is as high as it was last season, I would say even higher. So that's why our expectations - as Jonas just mentioned - is the group stages or even further but we're all taking it step by step. So as I've said, the motivation is high tomorrow to win that game, to turn it around and to finally get into the group stages.
on what we’ve learnt from the away leg…
MZ: Never take anything for granted. I think it's just important to learn from it that it was definitely a hard hit on us. We all hadn't expected that one, but it definitely hit us the way it shouldn't. But it was a big learning that you have to take every chance as it would be your last. Same as in defence, you have to defend as best as possible. Even if they're not big names as a club but never underestimate any opponent, which we have seen at Hacken. We haven't underestimated them, but seen how good they are. But I don't want to talk about the opponent. For us, it's about how we are going to perform tomorrow. We have to be at our best. We need every single player on the pitch, on the bench, who's coming on, and definitely that's going to be a good game tomorrow.
on Manu’s motivation levels…
JE: That's what I'm speaking about with having the right experience and right leadership in the team. Manuela is a prime example of that.
on the pressure to make it through to the group stages…
JE: I’m responsible for the team's results. I'm very positive and optimistic about our chances this season. We're going into the game with really high motivation tomorrow night, and we're going to do everything in our power that we can do to overturn it. And we know for every action we do, we will have a North Bank that is probably going to double that effort for us, and that's going to be a really, really nice atmosphere if we can create that.
on Stina and Frida’s partnership…
JE: I think it's a good partnership that we have. I think we have many good partnerships within the team, and I think when the season progresses, we're going to build even more of those important partnerships for us. But they played very well against Manchester City. That was a big part of our success in that game. But we have a lot of good partnerships in the team.
on whether there’s more pressure on this game because of the deficit…
JE: Not how I view it, because I don't think that anyone puts more pressure on me than I do on myself. I have really high expectations and demands on myself and on the team. And as I said before, I see us as a Champions League team. We need to be in the group stage and that's our ambition, and we're going to do everything in order to be that.
on whether there are positives to take from the City game…
JE: Yeah, I think that was important because I didn't think our performance and result against Hacken was a step in the right direction for us, and that happens in football. Everything is - to Manu's point - about how you react, how you move forward as a team. I think our reaction to that game was really strong. I thought we performed well against Manchester City. I think we were the better team for the full 90 minutes in that game. And I don't think there are many teams that can be that against Manchester City. And we need to draw confidence from that performance, but then we need to understand it's a totally different game here now on Thursday. It's knockout football. It's against a different team. You get nothing for free in football. You have to work for everything. You have to create everything again, and we need to be prepared to do that work tomorrow night.
on how Daphne van Domselaar has settled into the group…
MZ: She’s such a great person. First of all, even the first catch-up with her was great. But with her ambitions on the field, I think we have a wonderful GK group. As the three of us - Naomi, Daphne and me - we are challenging each other and we definitely need every single one. You see how many games we are having. I think everyone is as important as each other. Of course, as a goalkeeper, one is playing, one is not playing like it's always that kind of game. But the most important thing is putting the team first, because in the end, we all want to have the trophy at Arsenal. But as I've said, it's a wonderful GK group. She's bringing in some good stuff on and off the pitch, and you will see that, trust me.
On if Manu feels there is more competition to keep that top goalkeeper spot…
MZ: There's always competition, no matter who comes in. But as I've just said, she's a great person, but an even better football player. And I've just seen it in training, and you will definitely see it as well. Her time will come, and we need her. We need her as we need everyone else, and the season is long, so we need every single player to perform at our best. That's the demands and the standards of Arsenal. I love to have her in our group. And you will see that, trust me.
On Hacken playing a low block last week and how better prepared we are going into a similar situation tomorrow…
JE: I think that they did a little bit of everything when we played them the last time. I think we forced them down into a low block the longer the match proceeded and progressed. I think we know that they're a team that have a good tactical understanding. They're tactically flexible. They can play in different formations. They can play in different ways. They've shown that when we see how they change between playing in the domestic league and in the Champions League as a team, they've been more successful in the Champions League than they've been in the domestic league, and I think that comes to them being good at executing specific game plans. So, we're prepared for a game where they can have a lot of different approaches to manage points, but what really is on our focus is our performance and what we need to do, and we understand that what we do is going to shape a lot of what they're going to do.
On Frida Maanum’s recent performances and confidence shown…
JE: Frida as a player - the 22/23 season was a real breakthrough season for Frida. She had so many strong performances, both in offence and in defence for us as a 10. I think last season, she came in with really high expectations, and we didn't really hit the same levels as the season before, and that's natural and you're chasing that standard, and you're chasing that level again. What personifies great players is that they keep on having grit. They understand that not everything is going to be up here on this level all the time, and Frida is a prime example of that. She works so incredibly hard off and, on the pitch, off and on game days. And I think what we see here now is the result of that of a player working really hard, and she's once again, reaching these really high standards, and it's a real delight to see.
On Laia and Lotte’s recent development as starters and how Manu deals with the centre-back partnerships…
MZ: It's always hard if personal changes are happening because Codi is different to Leah, and Lotte is different to any others. So, it's all about communication. And I think the standards, what we're driving in the training session - lots of communication, lots of how you want to have the ball, receive the ball. Do you want to have it by your feet, or rather, in the space? It's those small margins. And I think that comes maybe a little bit with my experience as well, which I'm trying to bring in.
But as I've said, when Jonas puts up the starting lineup, I'm ready no matter what's happening. It's all about communication, setting the standards right, and just driving it forward. Thanks for the compliment that I've played well. I don't think so because I've conceded two goals, which I never like if I had a chance or not, but you always want to win, so I'm a little bit disappointed. But how we fought back was important. I think the work ethic that we showed was incredible with the fans together. It's always lovely to play at Emirates, but in the end, our standard is to win their game, and that's what we must focus on tomorrow. No matter what's happening, we're going to get that win, and we're going to get to this group stage. Then it's job done.
On goalkeeper rotation at Arsenal and other clubs in the league…
JE: I think it's an interesting topic. For me, it wasn't a surprise that Yamashita was playing at the weekend. I think that's the preferred goalkeeper for them here now at the beginning of the season. But when it comes to goalkeepers, I do think it's different to forwards. And that doesn't mean that there can be certain qualities or attributes one goalkeeper can have that can be a better fit against an opponent. I just think it comes back to the communication part, because I don't think the goalkeepers are where you change it from every week, just trying to be like, ‘Oh, I think you're 51% upper hand at the moment', because I do think it's a position that requires the confidence in being brave and understand that part of being a goalkeeper is going to be to do some mistakes as well.
When you do the mistakes as a goalkeeper, It might have the most detrimental effect on the whole team. But if I choose to have a goalkeeper who is brave at the right moments, I will always choose that over a goalkeeper who is afraid of making mistakes. So for me, it’s really important, yes there’s competition, but there has to be always a lot of confidence in the goalkeepers as well so they understand that when they go out and play, it’s part of what we need to do and we are not going to rotate goalkeepers because there has been one mistake in a game. While I think you can be a little more opportunistic when picking forwards, and that’s the other part of the spectrum, you need to be opportunistic, you need to have players taking chances in those positions. I think it’s a different psychology in how you choose between goalkeepers and forwards.
MZ: We’re having a lot of fun and I think that’s why we’re playing football, but trust me, there’s also a lot of quality. We know exactly when to have fun and exactly when to have the quality, but to answer your question, every single goalkeeper that comes in, no matter if I’m watching someone or playing with someone, I’m always trying to pick the things that make me better. Every goalkeeper is different, every person is different so trying to pick that out, trying to communicate with Daphne all the time. We’re trying to make each other better because for one goalkeeper coach, it’s hard to see everything. That’s what makes the group so special. You can learn from every single person on and off the pitch, so yeah, we’re definitely having fun and we’re definitely having the quality in training and we’re trying to get the best out of it. As Jonas has said, one goalkeeper will most likely play the full 90 minutes but no matter who Jonas is choosing, we have a conversation and at the end, it’s a team effort, we want to win it and if that’s Jonas’ decision, I have to stick to it like everyone else and at the end, if we do that we’re going to hopefully be far ahead.
on Rosa Kafaji...
MZ: Wonderful player. I think one word comes up straight away and that’s the dribbling. She loves to have the ball, she literally runs around. She always has the ball so you can see how passionate she is and her qualities are incredible. I think she’ll bring so much quality to the team both on and off the pitch and you’ve seen it on the pitch with how she’s juggling the ball. She’s a little crazy player who likes sneaking through and that will make the difference in the future.
on how important she’ll be when facing teams with a lower block...
MZ: She’s really important for that. Especially against teams playing really, really low. You need that creative player, someone who loves to be in a tight space and still have the ball. You need different players, different qualities and that’s why maybe Jonas is also trying to retain the ball a bit more, because every other opponent needs other players with other qualities and that’s why we love having so many different forward players, to adapt to every game. Jonas will make the right choice and everyone who comes on can bring up the quality. Rosa will definitely bring quality into the game with her tactical ability and skills.
on Rosa running around the hotel with a ball...
MZ: She loves football and she always has a ball in her hands.
JE: Yes, I’ve seen it! I’ve seen her taking food in the canteen with a ball there.
on how to improve a shot conversion rate...
I think there are a lot of things a coach can do for that. It’s A) to put the players into their best finish positions and B) it’s to pick the players that can finish best from those positions that they’re most likely going to end up in when you’re playing a certain team. It’s about providing both knowledge and support to the players and giving the right confidence because, as I said, I think a forward needs to believe that they need to score every single time.
They need to believe that they will get the ball every single time they run as well and the worst thing is that you do the right run nine times in a row and then the tenth time you stop doing the run because you’ve been like ‘I don’t get the ball on that run’. You need to do it the tenth time because the eleventh time the ball is going to come there. It’s the same thing with finishing. For me, it’s a lot of mental games to be able to reset, to be able to refocus and 100 per cent believe that you will score the next opportunity. That part I think you can help with as a coach too. With everything you do, the coach has a role and the player of course has a role in that and the cooperation between that is important.
on if it’s more about confidence:
I definitely think it’s skill in finishing. I’m not going to go down a road saying it’s luck or unlucky. I think football is a skill sport with fine margins and you have to understand that. You’re not going to be successful all the time but it’s definitely skill and, for me, mentality is one part. I also think it’s about putting players in similar situations over and over again because you will see different forwards come to different chances, for example. You will have some forwards that will come a lot on breakaways for example and 1v1 situations with the goalkeeper. Okay, that means they need to be really good on that. Some of our forwards will come inside from a wing and maybe shoot with a right foot. Okay, that’s one type of finish. Others will finish more in the air for volleys and headers, so it’s more about understanding what kinds of finishes that particular forward is doing and trying to do that as realistic over and over again to become experts in those situations.
on the differences in preparation for must-win games and weekly WSL fixtures:
I think we need to win all the time when we play, to be honest. That’s what the season in the league has taught me. We don’t know what games are going to be the deciding ones, but potentially every single game is deciding, so it’s the same thing when you go to the Champions League. That’s not a new mindset for me or for the team. That’s sometimes what you, if you look at us from the outside or you don’t follow us every week, you might miss that thing, saying certain games are more important to us than others. No they’re not. We’re representing Arsenal and we need to win every time we step on the pitch. That’s our ambition, that’s our standard and tomorrow is no different from that. Next weekend against Leicester is not going to be any different to that. There are no off games, there are no easy games. We need to be on it every time we play.
on if it’s a failure if we don’t win tomorrow...
If we don’t qualify, yes. I would consider that. Our ambition is to go into the group stage and that’s what we need to do.
on the quality of pressing last week...
I usually say that you have a good analyst eye, Tim, and you’re not wrong this time either! You’re very good. If Manu can have the team talk and we can add you onto our analytics department, I think we’re starting to create something special here.
on Leah Williamson’s injury timeframe...
I don’t have one at the moment, sorry. It’s guided by our medical team and when I have something more concrete to communicate, I will do that.
on when she picked up the injury...
Training. I’m not going into more specifics than that. She’s out with a concussion protocol. It was an incident in training and it’s only been one incident. We’re guided by the medical team.
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