Jonas Eidevall has said that he and his Arsenal side are relishing the prospect of their record-breaking North London Derby at the Emirates Stadium this Saturday.
The fixture has already sold over 51,000 tickets which means that it is set to smash the previous highest ever attendance for a WSL game that took place in 2019 and was also a North London Derby at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
Speaking in his press conference ahead of the game Eidevall expressed his delight at the support his team were expecting to get and stated his belief that this proves interest in the women's game is here to stay after a summer that saw England win the Euros in front of a 90,000 crowd at Wembley Stadium
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"Also remember it’s 50,000 sold tickets," the Swede said when asked to give his opinion on the ticket sales amassed for Saturday's match. It’s not giveaways or discounts, it’s sold tickets. I think that’s really, really special because that doing this the way the club has done it means it’s sustainable. It shows that the interest there is for real.
"The investment from, not just us as a team and a club, but everything the past generations and teams have done to put us on this stage here, we feel that and we want to go out and make the most of it tomorrow so it can happen more frequently."
It's been a challenging week for Arsenal who were left disappointed on Tuesday night after failing to overcome Ajax in their Champions League qualifier at Meadow Park despite dominating much of the match. In the aftermath of that game, Eidevall called on his side to embrace the challenge that next week's second leg in Holland poses and ahead of the prospect of playing in front of a record crowd at the Emirates on Saturday, his message was similarly defiant.
"We’ve been to the FA Cup final which I think was a similar attendance," he said. "They’ve been playing with high attendance figures in the national team, many of the squad were in the North London Derby two seasons ago that has the current WSL record. For us, it’s not something we do every week, but we have experience of that and we’re looking forward to it."
Like with Ajax on Tuesday, the Spurs present a physical challenge for an Arsenal side who will be looking to maintain their position at the top of the WSL. Rehanne Skinner's side committed more fouls than anyone else in the WSL last season, and both of the games last campaign between these two sides were fiercely contested affairs. Despite that though Eidevall insisted that his side are prepared for whatever comes their way and insisted it would be up to the referees to decide the tone of the match.
"I don’t know what the motivation would be for it," he told football.london when asked if he would use the added edge of the derby to motivate his players. "[I won’t say go out there and] enjoy being kicked down when you get the ball.
"I think it’s about preparation for it to know what to expect from the opponent. Also the people who officiate the game need to be aware of the fact that this is the team who fouls the most and it’s a strategy. For me that’s something that you need to look at as an official and say, if you want the game to be that way then let’s go for it, but otherwise you have to caution earlier and that will protect the players and make the game flow a bit better.
"But that’s the referee's call and not mine. We need to be prepared for it and not let it get into our head and just focus on the way that we play."
Eidevall should have a fully fit squad to choose from for Saturday's match, after revealing that Mana Iwabuchi has recovered from the illness that kept her out of Tuesday's draw with Ajax.
Arsenal are selling tickets even on match day, even at the stadium box office up into the first half. You can purchase them using this link
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