Arsenal head coach Jonas Eidevall says that his side must strike the right balance between attack and defence when they face Manchester United at the LV Bet Stadium this weekend.
The two sides met at the same venue in the quarter-finals of the FA Women’s Continental League Cup a little over a fortnight ago with Manchester United winning 1-0 on that occasion.
While there was little to separate the two sides in terms of possession in that game, Manchester United dominated in chances created and shots on target. Ahead of the two sides’ latest meeting, Arsenal boss Eidevall has emphasised the importance of striking the right balance between attack and defence.
“I think we gave away too many counter attacks,” Eidevall said when speaking to FAWSL Full-Time in his pre-match press conference. “I think from that and from the set pieces, those were the areas where they were creating things.
“We really need to find a balance there to be able to create more ourselves but doing that with a structure that doesn’t break down into a lot of space for them to exploit with counter attacks, that’s the balance that will be so important.”
Reflecting further on the previous meeting between Arsenal and Manchester United, Eidevall said that he did see some positives from the game, although there was lots of scope for his side to improve.
He said “Putting the performance against Manchester United in some perspective, I regard this as a step forward from our performance against Birmingham. If I review it now in light of our games against City and Brighton, I would say that it was still a performance with some room for improvement.
“We know that United have been playing well lately and they have quality players but I think we have a clear plan and clear understanding of what we need to do to win the game.”
Arsenal’s Barclays FA Women’s Super League fixture against Manchester United kicks-off at 12.30pm on Saturday. Tickets remain available and can be purchased by clicking here.