Arsenal head coach Jonas Eidevall says that his side can draw strength from their performance in their 1-1 draw with Chelsea at the Emirates Stadium this afternoon.
The Gunners took the lead in the 57th minute through a Kim Little penalty but they were denied three points at the death with Sam Kerr levelling for Chelsea with a header in the final minute of normal time.
When speaking in the post-match press conference, Arsenal boss Eidevall said that his side were disappointed with the result but they could take real heart from the performance.
“You have to be able to keep two thoughts in your head at the same time; you can be happy with the performance but disappointed with the result,” Eidevall said. “Long term, it is more important to get the performance part right because that is what is going to drive the result.
“We know it is a league with small margins, we know that everything can be decisive about it so that part we are disappointed with. Going forward, we need to draw strength from the performance.”
Arsenal have now played three Barclays Women’s Super League fixtures at the Emirates Stadium this season, each one attracting a crowd in excess of 40,000. Eidevall wants to continue playing matches in N7 so that his side can make the Emirates Stadium a fortress.
He said “It is impressive that it is the third consecutive WSL game that has drawn a huge attendance. My hope is that we can start playing better with a crowd. The more we come here and play in front of a big crowd, the more we can make it into our fortress and create this great Arsenal atmosphere.
“You can see that the players are getting more comfortable with the engagement with the crowd. We will need to create that bond together in order to make the Emirates as difficult as possible for opposing teams to come and play.”
Arsenal’s penalty was a hotly-contested one with Chelsea’s Niamh Charles potentially committing a foul on Caitlin Foord outside of the box. Eidevall said that he puts his trust in the referee to make the correct decision.
“When I watch it back, the referee was in a very good position to spot it,” Eidevall said. “I haven’t seen it in detail but what is important about the rule is to understand it; it is not about the first contact made on a foul, it is about when the foul ends, that’s the point where it should be given. If any part is touching the penalty area line then it should be a penalty kick.
“The referee was in an excellent position so it is one of those where you have to trust her decision.”
Arsenal return to action next Sunday when they travel to Brighton & Hove Albion in the Barclays Women’s Super League.