Jonas Eidevall believes togetherness is the key to improving Arsenal’s record of just one win in seven league games against Chelsea as they prepare for Sunday’s top-of-the-table meeting with their London rivals.
More than 44,500 tickets have been sold for Arsenal’s first home game of the year, with further available on the day. Considering the men’s team play Tottenham in the north London derby four and a half hours after kick-off at the Emirates, that figure is even more impressive.
“You see on so many occasions, the togetherness in the club, but it’s also there in the way we prepare,” says Eidevall. “Before the game against Lyon there were pitches we couldn’t use because of the snowfall. Within minutes the club organised for us to use the Emirates so we could prepare there.
“Last week we played some training minutes against Tottenham at the Emirates. That’s really important because we have new staff, new players that have never been to the Emirates before. Bringing them there to experience that helps us prepare for the game at the weekend. All these small things together build togetherness. It’s about enjoying that as well and starting to play with it.”
Arsenal hold the record WSL attendance of 47,367 and hosted the league’s second biggest game too. The hope is that this fixture, which pits the leaders against the second-place Gunners, who sit three points behind but with a game in hand, will approach those figures.
“We’ve gone from one-off occasions at the Emirates to now saying, in the WSL, this is the third game in a row that hopefully gets 40,000. Maybe there will be a new record too,” says Eidevall. “How do we use that crowd to energise the state of the game to make it as difficult as possible for the opposing team? These are the things we can maybe start to gather momentum on.”
The Chelsea manager, Emma Hayes, backs this approach to growing the live audience. “Arsenal have done an excellent job at packing the Emirates, they’re an inspiration for the rest of the league,” she says. “We probably need to spend less time talking about it being big games, big stadiums, big crowds, instead we should [move the conversation towards] how we turn 40,000 to 60,000 plus.”
Togetherness is not a new buzzword, but it is the most prominent one emanating from Arsenal of late. Days after the club unveiled new artwork for the exterior of the stadium that showcases the rich history of the women’s team as prominently as the men’s, Eidevall is clear on just how important the closeness of the squad is when it comes to shifting the momentum with a club that has been champions for three seasons in a row.
“It is the foundation to achieve something. When you feel togetherness, you feel safety and you feel somebody will have your back,” he says. “When you create that, you will have a team that plays without fear, that is brave, that is front-footed, that wants to seize the opportunities, that plays to win rather than to not lose.
“That’s the transformation I want to see this team going through. The players may have been through those seven games, but it doesn’t mean the eighth has to be the same. That’s what impresses me most about individuals and teams, it’s about being able to change and develop, to go from one situation and transform it into another. So this is an opportunity to change that: we can’t change history but we can change the future.”
Eidevall has been busy in the January transfer window, because of ACL injuries to Vivianne Miedema and Beth Mead and the outgoing Jordan Nobbs’ desire for first-team football. The Brazilian forward Gio Queiroz has been recalled from her loan spell with Everton, the midfielders Kathrine Kühl and Victoria Pelova have been signed and the goalkeeper Sabrina D’Angelo joins from Vittsjo GIK. However, Eidevall hopes Arsenal’s business is not done.
“I would be disappointed if we can’t bring in a prolific goalscorer,” he says. “That should be a priority for us in this window with the number and the level of games we are playing.”
Hayes is eager to stress this derby will not determine the title race. “To win a league every game has to be interesting and every game has to be treated with the same amount of respect. This game is no different,” she says. Eidevall is just as realistic. “Last season we played Chelsea twice, we took four points off them and they took one, but we didn’t win the trophy. It shows you can be better head-to-head and still not win.”
