Manager Jonas Eidevall has confirmed that Arsenal will have forwards Beth Mead and Vivianne Miedema both available for selection against Manchester United at the Emirates Stadium.
The Gunners, who will be going for a 15th straight victory in the WSL, are three points clear of United as two of the top three collide on Saturday evening. Both Mead and Miedema were doubtful to play, Mead withdrawing from the Lionesses squad last weekend due to 'family circumstances' after playing in the 4-0 win over Japan.
Miedema was granted a leave of absence at the start of the month, missing the win over Leicester and wasn't named in the Netherlands national squad for the international. However, Eidevall said both were ready to play against their title rivals.
"They are both available for selection," he said. "They are ready to go again this weekend, which of course is very good news. We need every player in the squad to be ready, we have a tough opponent and tough games ahead of us so that is very helpful for us." Eidevall also added that both Lotte Wubben-Moy and Jordan Nobbs who also withdrew from England duty also have a chance of featuring for the Gunners, but that Swedish forward Lina Hurtig would not play against United.
Arsenal have already played twice at the Emirates already in 2022, with both outings coming against Tottenham, and winning each without conceding a goal (3-0 and 4-0). The club had already sold 38,000 tickets by Friday as they look to get another bumper crowd, with 47,000 attending the last North London derby.
And the Swedish coach, now in his second season in North London, believes that his players look more at home every time they appear at the Emirates.
"It is a very tough opponent but I am so pleased we can sell such a high number of tickets," Eidevall added. "It is always a beautiful experience and together with our fans we want to recreate this on Saturday.
"It is one of our two homes now. From the time I have been here we feel more and more that this is our home. We love sharing our love for Arsenal with so many people, it helps the bond between the team and the supporters. Man United are strong, so it will be tough, but we are confident we can deliver a good result."
Meanwhile, Manchester United boss Marc Skinner, who was named Barclays Manager of the Month for October, says his team will have to disrupt Arsenal ’s flow if they are to get a positive result on Saturday. The visitors were the only side in the WSL last season to avoid defeat when travelling to Arsenal, drawing 1-1 at Meadow Park last February.
United were beaten 3-1 by Chelsea before the international break, bringing their unbeaten start to a grinding halt, and the United coach feels both sides will have to deal with significantly reduced preparation time ahead of the crunch clash.
“We know what we’re preparing for,” said Skinner. “We’re preparing for a very energetic, very lively, very good team that we’ve got to stop them playing and exploit them with the ball. Hopefully, we can do that on Saturday. It’s hard, you’ve got two sessions before we play. We’ve been working and dripping individual parts throughout the week, but I think Arsenal will be in the same boat. We both haven’t had both of our teams for longer than two days and we play pretty early.
“We’ve been trying to drip feed that (preparation) in, trying to educate away from the pitch, as well as on the pitch, because we’ll have literally two sessions.”
NEW! Our Year: European Champions 2022 - The Official England Winners Book
With a foreword by England manager Sarina Wiegman, this is the only official book of the historic triumph, reliving every kick of a thrilling tournament and telling the stories of the players who made it all happen.
Order from https://reachsportshop.com/book/our-year-european-champion-2022/
