Arsenal head coach Jonas Eidevall admitted that he was disappointed with some of the goals which his side conceded in their 4-1 defeat to TSG 1899 Hoffenheim last night.
The Gunners crept through into the UEFA Women’s Champions League quarter-finals but there was a stage when you did wonder if their opponents would snatch a five-goal victory which would have seen them beat Eidevall’s side to qualification.
Arsenal had a real wobble early in the second half, conceding three goals in five minutes. Some of those goals were of The Gunners’ own making, a theme which has been present in the team in recent weeks. Eidevall admitted his frustration when speaking in the post-match press conference.
“We gave away some very easy goals,” Eidevall said. “I think that has been a common theme for us since coming back from the last international break and we have to put a stop to that.
“The highs in the game are still good but the lows are not good, we keep making these mistakes and we need to put a stop to that. It is impossible to win football matches when we do that, we need to do better, it is as simple as that.”
Eidevall has used different centre-back pairings in recent weeks and he went on to say that the quick turnaround in games allows little time on the training pitch to work on defensive combinations.
He said “We have committed too many mistakes and it is obvious that there is a tight turnaround in games and we don’t have a lot of time to practice and to make those partnerships on the field. We have to work on those relationships in game situations which is much tougher than doing it in practice.
“That is the way that it goes, everyone is trying their best. It is about saying what do we do when we make those mistakes and also, to say that if we are unsure what to do with balls in those situations, we need to lose the ball at other areas than we are doing now centrally.”
Arsenal contest their final game of the year on Sunday when Brighton & Hove Albion are the visitors to Meadow Park.
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