Arsenal head coach Jonas Eidevall says that his side must not let last night’s 4-0 defeat to European champions FC Barcelona define them.
The Gunners conceded some sloppy goals and found themselves 3-0 down at the break. Arsenal were a little better in the second half as the visitors’ attacking intensity dropped slightly but they still conceded a further goal as they ended the game on the wrong end of a 4-0 scoreline.
When speaking to the media after the match, Arsenal boss Eidevall said that his side must not let the defeat define them and that they should simply add their learnings to what they have done well so far this season.
“Football is mental as well and we need to take away some of the things that we can learn from and develop,” Eidevall said. “At the same time, we can’t forget what we have been doing really well this season and remind ourselves of that.
“The days leading up to the Leicester game and the game itself are really important to not let this define us, to understand the things that we need to focus on and to move forward, it’s up to us to do it. Everybody understands that needs to be done but then you have to live by it.”
Jen Beattie’s sloppy pass across the back-line handed Barcelona a gift opening goal as Aitana Bonmatí gained possession before racing away and drilling the ball home into the bottom corner of the Arsenal net. Eidevall was in no mood to criticise Beattie or any other player for their mistakes but was disappointed to have surrendered to such an easy goal.
He added “It was not good from us because even if you defend very, very well, they still might score a goal because they have exceptional qualities. Almost any team in the world would have scored from the situation we gave them – that is football, sometimes, that is life, you can do very good things then you make a mistake.
“If you look at every big player in the world, they have all made mistakes in their career. It’s about how you act after that mistake because it’s going to happen to all of us at some point.
“When you play against Barcelona, you need to play the perfect game and that’s our ambition, to get to that. It was good to see that the players kept going and never gave up and that’s very good for our development. It shows the fans and the club the respect they deserve.”
Arsenal are back in action on Sunday evening when Leicester City are the visitors to Meadow Park in the Barclays FA Women’s Super League.